Artist Of The Week #283 - David C Clements
This week's Artist of the Week is Irish singer & songwriter David C Clements - who has just released his new album 'The Garden'.
Marking his first full-length release since his breakthrough debut LP 'The Longest Day In History' in 2016, 'The Garden' heralds a new beginning for Clements as an artist. He calls time a blessing and a curse. In the eight years since the release of his debut album, he has toiled through creativity's long winters and now offers up 'The Garden', an 11-track alternative folk record featuring songs written with Iain Archer and Jacknife Lee.
He took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there David, how are you? So your album is out now – how does it feel to have it out there?
It’s very surreal for me to have the album out there now. It took such a long time to make, about 8 years from start to finish, yet it also feels like it’s happening all of a sudden. It’s an album that I am deeply proud of, made with three of my favourite producers and writers, and it means the world to me that it’s out there for people to hear.
It is called ‘The Garden’ – what is the meaning behind that?
It’s named after one of my favourite songs on the album; ’The Garden.’ It’s a song written in part for my daughter. Having kids can make you reevaluate your beliefs and what’s important to you as now you’ve got someone to pass them on to. It’s a theme that carries through other parts of the album; what it is to have a life well lived. In that sense ’The Garden’ represents Eden and where we look for that. For me it meant the end of looking beyond ourselves, but instead finding meaning within the shared experience of being human. ’The Garden’ is something that grows around you through the ones you love.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
It was recorded with three of my favourite producers - Michael Keeney (Foy Vance, SOAK) in his studio in my hometown of Bangor, Co Down, Jacknife Lee (REM, Snow Patrol) in LA and Iain Archer (James Bay, Noah Kahan). Jacknife definitely pushed me artistically, which was great for me and in a lot of ways very freeing. His studio is filled with vinyl, synths and fairy lights. We also finished a track called ‘Already Here' remotely in 2020. We’d started it when I was with him, but it needed more writing so after him encouraging me to write deeply ("Joy : Death and the other stuff” were his words) I sent him a vocal recorded in my garage which he then built the instrumentation around and created this incredible build and release style track that we loved so much it became the opener of the album. Iain is one of my all-time favourite artists so I knew I’d be in good hands for my first real dip in to co-writing. He’s got this ability to draw things out of you and write songs that simultaneously feel mine, yet I also know I couldn’t have got there without him. Having Keeney throughout though was amazing; to have him help drive the process along and shape the whole thing in to the album that it is. He started it with me, and I couldn’t have finished it with anyone else.
What are the key influences behind the album?
Listening to artists like James Vincent McMorrow and David Bazan really helped push what it is to be a ’singer/songwriter.’ It took so long to make that lyrically it has accidentally journaled the guts of my thirties. Life sort of got in the way, and yet has made the album what it is and hopefully is how people will connect with it.
If the album could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why?
I once had a song synced on an episode of ‘Deadliest Catch’ so maybe something nautical? Something involving the ocean, but a bit less ‘deadly’.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
One of my favourite sections is the middle 8 of ‘Summer Sedative.’ For me it captures the feeling of weathering out long, tough winters and longing for the sun to shine both inside my head and out:
I am a bird, caged, trying to hover. I am young love waiting for summer. Pulled from the car crash, trying to recover. I’m like wine turned back into water. Oh god won’t you just bring back summer?
Now the album is out there – what next for you?
I’m playing a big show in Belfast’s iconic Ulster Hall on 20th December this year, and after that hopefully some shows outside of Northern Ireland.
