Clementine Douglas possesses a voice that exudes fiery passion and pure feeling, yet in a way in which her elegance, poise and control are undeniably irresistible. It’s a vocal that has taken her soaring up the charts with Sonny Fodera’s Top 10 smash ‘Asking’ as well as delivering landmark moments with artists such as Chase & Status, David Guetta, The Blessed Madonna, Dom Dolla and many more. And so the Brighton-based artist has achieved big things entirely as a featured artist: a growing collection of hits, leading to over 400 million streams to date, and the prestigious Vocalist of the Year accolade at the Radio 1 Dance Awards.
But that is just the beginning. This summer will see Clementine Douglas step into the spotlight in her own right with the release of her debut solo artist track ‘Riddles’. While fans will recognise the towering voice that has powered an array of crossover dance and house favourites, ‘Riddles’ side-shifts her sound into a style of her own making. Her soulful, natural delivery is the focal point of a track that brings the warmth of live instrumentation and evocative strings into a song that is every bit as anthemic as her biggest moments.
“I’m trying to bring soulful elements into dance, like live instruments, piano and strings,” she explains, her love of music instantly becoming apparent. “Some dance music can be so electronic and auto-tuned that you lose the humanity of it. With this, there’s no auto-tune, I just want to make it feel kind of raw, and like it has some textures and a human touch to it.”
The idea of embarking upon a solo project started in the summer of 2023. Buoyed by the example set by artists who emerged from a similar situation, such as RAYE and Becky Hill, Clementine craved the freedom of being able to fully control her creativity. While she vulnerably admits to “a lot of self-doubt and fear, but excitement too” it kickstarted a rich vein of inspiration which has proved the depth and quality of songwriting to fire up her solo career. And while she has co-written many of her most famous moments by writing a capellas for producers to build upon, ‘Riddles’ originated from a different approach: a simple jam session with Stu Crichton and Brian Lee.
‘Riddles’ is a song about Clementine’s story up to this point. Or as she offers, “It’s about the journey that I’ve been on. The longing, the love and the passion of music, but also getting wrapped up in all of the noise and nonsense that comes with it. It’s about trying to focus on the root of why I do what I do.”
That journey takes us back to Clementine’s childhood. While Wikipedia asserts otherwise, she most definitely wasn’t born in Chicago. Her early life took her from Birmingham to Canada to Dubai and Australia and back again. Back in Brum, she loved the music of her parents’ heritage: the reggae and soul played by her Jamaican father (himself a keen DJ) along with the energising folk and rootsy balladeering from her Irish mother. Clementine grew up with a love of timeless soul from Etta James and Stevie Wonder before delving into the UK garage scene, all the while writing songs.
Eventually she followed that dream. She moved to Brighton to study music, which provided her with the time to work on her own material plus a community of people to collaborate with. Her first band, Kudu Blue, made some serious headway. But when lockdown hit, Clementine was stuck at home with a head full of song ideas but no real outlet for them. Realising that many producers would be in the same boat, she sent out a capellas for them to work from. Soon there were tracks out there with GetSome and Trutopia, followed by her first collab with Sonny Fodera on ‘Angel’ - although it wasn’t always glamorous: you would have found her working in a kitchen or as a dinner lady to support her session work.
It was ‘Mixed Emotions’ with Chase & Status that changed everything. Clementine had always been a fan of theirs (“They have really stayed on top of their game, but they’ve also stayed true to what they do”) and a surprise live moment put her on the biggest of stages: a (very) last minute addition to Radio 1’s Big Weekend. That was the moment that made her a go-to collaborator, leading to all the big moments that have followed, as well as her status as a writer for artists outside the dance music sphere, including names as varied as P!NK and Amber Marks.
And now Clementine Douglas’s initial ambition for her solo era is simple. “to keep making music that I love, and to reach people who also love it,” starting with ‘Riddles’ and her debut live show at this summer’s Boardmasters. An award-winning, chart-bound voice now fully in control of her destiny? There can no doubt unlocking her full potential will see Clementine’s ascendency accelerate in the months to come.
