The belly of the beast. In Clinton Kane’s debut 2022 album MAYBE SOMEDAY IT'LL ALL BE OK, it’s not a destination but a setting. It songs – bruising, revelatory, distinctly blood-written and devastatingly relatable – all take root from his deepest, innermost feelings, from the world that lives behind his eyes. His telling of his tales defies his youth – which affirms his stature as a truth-teller we can believe in.
Ahead of his debut show in Singapore via Live Nation, the Australia-based Norwegian-Filipino troubadour demystifies his process and unearths the stories whose pulse his music beats with.
You've had a legitimately fantastic year. Where's your head at right now?
It's all over the place, to be honest. It's just left, right and centre – everywhere. I'm on tour now, so I'm just focussed on getting it right every single night and taking care of myself. I don't want to have to cancel any shows ,so that's really important to me. That's all I'm thinking of right now; that's all that matters to me. [He's in Vancouver]
What's it like being able to tour on the strength of music you've made by yourself and for yourself?
It's great, man. It's a blessing I appreciate every day. When I think about the fact that people are singing my songs and I'm making money out of it all, it just hits me as crazy. It's a crazy feeling I'm never going to be able to describe.
What's one lesson that 2022 taught you?
The year's already going to end? That's quick! When did that happen? What? It feels like it was just July!
What I've learnt this year is to not take things, people and experiences for granted. That's what I've learnt from this year. Now, I'm sad.
Let's talk about MAYBE SOMEDAY IT'LL ALL BE OK. The album cover is invokes Die Hard.
That was definitely intentional. The house signifies my childhood and growing up – all the pent-up feelings and emotions. Burning it all down was the perfect way to reflect how this album would tear down all those old feelings and create the hope that everything will be ok.
I wouldn't say that this album is the foundation of a fresh start. It's more that it gives you the tools with which to lay that foundation. I don't think the fresh start has started yet.
One of the best aspects of the album is that it plays as if the songs were happening in real time, spontaneously.
I think it's just because what I was feeling was so strong and intense when I wrote them, you know? The songs were created over a span of different months. But each one was recorded the moment I felt what spurred me to write it. At the end of the day, all that matters to me is the emotion behind a song.
For me, there's no point to a song it it doesn't make you feel anything.
Is that why the songs are not weighed down by too much production? Most of the songs are composed of just your voice and the guitar.
Simplicity is all that matters to me. My songs come from very real and authentic moments in time. In my head, the production would've messed it up – honestly. I don't want to take away from why I write, or why I even have music. In all the music and shows I play, the main drive is emotion, always.
You've told the love of your life that she deserves "the world times two". But it sounds like you're letting her go. Why?
It wasn't my choice. I had no choice, you know what I mean? There comes a point in a relationship where fighting for someone isn't enough anymore. You just realise the futility of a one-sided fight. It took me a while to understand that.
No one's ever asked me this before. What a funny question: "Why did you let her go?" This is the best question I've ever been asked in my life.
How has the journey to finding your voice been?
Honestly, it fell in my lap. As far as how I started, I wrote a song, and it blew up the next morning. I wrote, sung and played everything, so finding out my voice came very easily to me. Now is the time it gets interesting. After three years of being at it, I'm seeing where I'm going. I'm slowly finding out about different kinds of music I like and what I'm inspired by.
You're 24 now, and you're sitting on 752 million streams across all platforms. What does the world look like from that perspective?
I don't know, man. It's 8.30pm. I've got a six-hour flight. What're you doing to me right now?
I don't really think about it that much. I don't look at streams at all. Essentially, I'm an attention whore but I'm not self-centred. I don't think about looking and updating stuff about myself. That doesn't interest me at all.
I'm much more about bettering myself by going and doing bigger.
Catch Clinton Kane live in Singapore on Tuesday, 6 December at The Theatre at Mediacorp at 8pm. Click here for tickets.
