ALEX CLARE ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM,PLAYS PRAGUE THIS FEBRUARY
Alex Clare is playing show in Prague, Roxy, 8 February
The first single from the album, ‘Tell Me What You Need’ looks at how some things in relationships are good and some things are confusing, frustrating and sometimes difficult. Alex comes from a family where you shout and scream to make your point while his wife is little more reserved. “You have to learn to ride the bumps,” he says. “I talk with my hands, raise my voice and put all my cards on the table, while my wife tends to close up and wait for the storm to pass.”
London-born singer, songwriter and producer Alex Clare is one of those lucky people who will never be short of something startling to tell when the lights dim and true conversation really begins.
“Where do you even start with a story like mine?” he laughs, down the line from his home in Jerusalem - and he makes a good point. Alex signed a major label deal with Island in 2010, released a single and an album then got unceremoniously dropped. When, in 2012, a song called ‘Too Close’ was pulled from the album and placed on an Internet Explorer 9 advert it prompted millions of sales and, lo and behold, he got re-signed. Eighteen months later he made a new album that the label failed to get behind and, as you might expect, it sold, in his own words, “nothing.” He got married, toured the US, Russia and Europe and started a family.
In the summer of 2015 he removed himself to a narrow boat on the River Lea with his friend, bass-player and founder member of Submotion Orchestra, Chris Hargreaves and the pair began to record again.
What they came up with is a remarkable work called ‘Tail of Lions’. Written and recorded in a few short weeks, Alex would spend months with Chris working on exactly the right mix for this new collection, a place where soul, rock and funk meet steel-sharp electronica and iced-out drum and bass.
The title comes from a Jewish expression. Alex explains:
“It’s better to be the tail of a lion than the head of a fox… we live in a society where the focus on success and celebrity seem to far outweigh the focus on ability and effort - all the money, limited talent."
‘Tail of Lions’ was A&R’d by the two men on their boat. “We’re not trying to make hit records,” Alex says. “We’re only interested in making nasty sounding music to play live.”
‘Tail of Lions’ is a very different record from his two previous examples. Alex’s perspective has changed so much, on life and love and fatherhood - he has two young children now and much of his time is devoted to them. The realities of his own life have changed. “I’ve had to step up” he says. “So many big things are happening in Europe and the US and, of course, just over the border from where we are in Syria.”
Alex now revels in a complete creative control he’s never had before. “I’m trying to get my craziest ideas out there and that’s not always easy. There were songs on both my last albums that I didn’t like, but the label wanted them on and that meant songs I really liked got left off - and that’s crazy.”
“I want to make music that people dance to. I want to build up that energy so people can really let go and that’s my whole focus. Ultimately, I don’t need anyone to A&R that.”
Tracklisting:
- Tell Me What You Need
- Get Real
- Surviving Ain’t Living
- Bring Me Down
- Basic
- Gotta Get Up
- Tired From The Fire
- Love Can Heal
- Open My Eyes
- You’ll Be Fine
Hledat
