ALEX CLARE: SOUL MANGLED BY MAJOR LAZER

Written By: arthur on May 17, 2011 No Comment

Soulful vocalist Alex Clare is here to shock your soundsystem with some superb emotive dubstep. The new Island Records signing, whose Diplo & Switch produced debut single Up All Night has generated a genuine buzz across radio, press and the blogosphere, follows up with the April 18th release of his new single Too Close.

The single, produced once again by Diplo & Switch, is taken from Clare’s forthcoming debut album which will be released in the summer. The 25 year old Golders Green native recently previewed tracks from the album during a couple of incendiary live shows and will be putting in more live shows in the coming months.

Clare writes and sings his own songs but is not a singer songwriter, not in the traditional sense anyway. After playing in a succession of London bands and following a brief career as a chef, too many long hours and too many sliced fingers, Alex decided to go it alone and started writing songs and demoing them himself. Things happened very quickly from there. The demos found their way to Island Records and two weeks later a deal was on the table. The opportunity to work with much sought after producers – Diplo and Switch, of Major Lazer fame arose and it seemed such a perfect fit. The three of them headed off to New Orleans, Jamaica and LA, where they recorded the bulk of the album, an album which incorporates soul and jazz, funk and jungle, punk rock and dubstep and looks set to be one of the most exciting releases of 2011.

Speaking of the collaboration Clare says “They understand what I want from the arrangements. I love those heavy, sine-wave bass lines and they knew how to push them way beyond even my expectations.”

Alex says the duo made him think about his songs in a totally new way, in came polyrhythms and synth sounds that just wouldn’t have happened otherwise. “I tend to be a bit more reserved when I write,” he laughs. “They put it all out there – and it works.”

Listen for yourself and see if he’s right.

“Hey England…does this get played on the radio? It should” The FADER

“a compelling debut” – Sunday Times Culture

“A giddily upbeat and genre-defying outburst of fervent energy, justifying the almost tangible buzz Clare has been attracting” The Sun

“Oodles of chutzpah..tasty dancefloor disorder” The Guardian Guide Pick of the week

“as sweaty as it is shiny… Soul mangled by the Major Lazer massive” The Guardian Online

“Stunning metal reggaeton debut from London lad” Mixmag Tune of the month

Peep bellow for the visual take for Too Close, Clare sings his heart out in the ruins as samurai trainers battle out for victory. The fighting along with syncronised basslines and slow motion edits makes this clip an engaging watch!

Yeti Out x