Benjamin Clementine’s London is already a powerful song, but the video gives it a whole other emotional register.
Despite the title, it isn’t set in London at all. Director Colin Solal Cardo places Clementine on the rooftops of Paris, the city where he busked, struggled, and slowly found his footing as an artist.
The video plays out like a quiet piece of visual poetry. Clementine wanders across rooftops, taps out lyrics on a battered typewriter, plays an invisible piano, and throws handwritten messages into the air. It feels fragile, theatrical, and deliberately unresolved. Much like the song itself.
Premiered by i-D Magazine in June 2015, the video arrived just as Clementine’s debut album At Least For Now was beginning to resonate. The album went on to win the 2015 Mercury Music Prize.
A big part of why the video works is Clementine himself. Not only is he beautiful but his spinto tenor voice that draws comparisons with Nina Simone and Rufus Waiwnwright is sublime.
If you’ve only ever listened to London, stop what you’re doing and watch the video. It doesn’t just complement the song; it deepens it.
