DAVID C Clements will be debuting songs from his album The Longest Day In History on Monday on what is, coincidentally, the shortest day of the year.
Of course, December 21 is the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, so perhaps Clements could keep this thing going and have an Australia/New Zealand album launch on June 21 next year.
The Belfast singer-songwriter has finished his album, due for release early in 2016, so will be using his Empire gig on Monday to promote his new EP My Dear Mother.
The brilliant title track is a slice of indie-pop perfection and sees Clements move away from Americana into epic shoe-gazey electric guitar-centric goodness that recalls Iain Archer at his very best.
Clements has supported Ed Sheeran, Of Monsters and Men and Gary Lightbody to date and recorded his album with producers Michael Keeney (Duke Special), Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, SOAK) and Ed Woods (Manic Street Preachers, Futureheads).
One song on his EP is a cover of the Neil Young song Philadelphia.
“We’ll probably play that one on Monday,” says Clements. “We’ve been playing it live for donkeys, so it’s nice to break up the set a wee bit. It’s a brilliant song.
“I first heard it at the end of Philadelphia. The end of that film is so emotional anyway and then that song comes on. I just fell in love with it.”
The track was Oscar-nominated in 1993, losing out to another song from the same film – Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen. The song On The Border, also on the My Dear Mother EP, has a real Springsteen vibe to it and Clements admits he is a fan of The Boss.
“Yeah, he’s definitely been an influence on me over the years, more so on stuff that I’ve released before. My current songs have taken a step back from the Americana side of things, so they’re a bit more 'indie singer-songwriter’ stuff, I guess. The songs on the EP are a taster of what the album will be like, without having to give it all away just yet.”
He says Neil Young has been a long-time influence but says he grew up listening to a mix of stuff.
“My parents were into John Denver, Van Morrison and Mary Black, so that’s what we’d be listening to in the car when we were on holidays. So then you end up covering John Denver and stuff for fun, because it turns out you do kind of like them.”
The singer says he and his four-piece band are excited to be playing the Empire again. “It’s a lovely venue and I love playing there. It kind of brings its own atmosphere.”
Clements has a great song called In December – there’s a fantastic live version recorded at 101 Donegall Street in Belfast available on YouTube – so it’s a safe bet that he will play that one live on Monday.
And will he be doing any Christmas covers?
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll bust out a Christmas cover or two. I’m a big fan of Only You by The Flying Pickets. It was originally a song by Yazoo. It’s not really Christmassy, but it was the Christmas number one in 1983.”
The song My Dear Mother certainly deserves to become a hit for Clements and he says he’s happy with how the tune turned out.
“That one was borne out of a time when I was thinking that music wasn’t necessarily going to pan out for me. I think maybe every musician thinks that at some stage – `Is this going to happen?’
“So it came from working out those feelings. That was the one song I wrote in one entire year. But if I was to write one song a year and it turned out like that, I’d be happy enough.”
:: David C Clements plays The Empire on Monday from 8pm (theBelfastEmpire.com), with support from Jamie Neish. Tickets £11. The My Dear Mother EP is available via https://davidcclements.bandcamp.com.
