PRESS RELEASES

R.KELLY CLIPPERTON    new photos - "Order will keep you calm", FEB '10

One of the things I actually enjoy about getting older is self-actualization.  Some folks probably had it all figured out at 20, but I’m a late bloomer in every way, and realizing great and finer details about myself as the years pass is invigorating and exciting.

I love order.  I need order.  This is one of these new realizations.  Though entirely obvious to those who’ve been close to me for years, I didn’t realize why I needed order until recently: it keeps me calm.  The calming effect it gives me to see my CDs alphabetized, my photos in my album in chronological order, my toothbrush in the same place, lists, deadlines….  I believe the modern term for this is Anal Retentive or Control Freak, both of which are fantastically negative and I choose to ignore. 

I was born with a frenzied and chaotic personality and order allows me to get tasks completed. 

I’ve spent much of my life trying to figure out how I fit into the pastiche of socialization and creativity.  In this ever increasingly detached world, I search for community and a sense of belonging even more than in my youth.  That effortless fit into your tribe. 

My fascination with order, is evident in my earliest of works.  A play that I wrote and directed in ‘91, brotherhood, was about a family with 4 kids and I insisted that the 20somethings look very similar.  Hair colour, eye colour, height… It stemmed from photos I’d seen of famous families, noting how facially similar some were, to the point that I assumed their lives were effortless with this aspect in tact.

These photos are an extension of my need for order and an expression of want for togetherness.  Uniforms, resemblance, balance...  In each image there is a slight element of distress, which enhances the notion that no matter what goes wrong, continuity will pull you through.  In my darkest of dark places I see the simplicity of uniform to be lifesaving. 

People as a whole: their heart; soul; dreams; desires… are like puzzles, as cliché as that is… slowly assembled over time to reveal an actualized image.  A complete picture.  Sometimes pieces are bashed together that don’t fit. Often pieces go missing.  Some are realized very early in life, some never.  I love taking photographs that could be one of those pieces to someone:  the subject, the audience but most of all, me.  This body of work is me trying to fit a few more pieces in place, still looking for that world that seems effortless,  searching for happiness.

 

 

Kelly and the Kellygirls new album ‘Modernism’, MARCH '09

When Kelly and the Kellygirls song and video for ‘Catherine Deneuve and the Deus ex Machina’ became an international success in 2007 via youTube, mastermind, songwriter and leader R.Kelly Clipperton had affirmation that his work could reach greater audiences.  Following the additional success of playing to 10 000 people in Trafalgar Square for London UK Pride, he found himself inspired to surge forth on his most ambitious project of songs to date: ‘Modernism’ the 16 song concept album by Kelly and the Kellygirls will be released internationally on May 19, 2009.

“This is the album I have always intended to make, the one that has been lurking deep in me for years… I’m not sure why it came out now, but I’m thrilled it has.  It’s certainly the most accomplished thing I’ve done”. Kelly
The Latin-influenced, beat-driven, multi-lingual and strikingly optimistic album is sure to be the feel-good record of the summer as it drops May 19, 2009 on Clipperton’s own Renaissance Projects.

‘Modernism’ is a very dense, energetic collection of songs with a sonic assault of horns, flamenco guitar, solid rhythm and Kelly’s sexy baritone voice buoying the whole experience in a way that has yet to be heard… hence the title.
“Concept albums; everywhere from Kate Bush’s ‘The Hounds of Love’ to Eurythmics’ ‘Savage’ to Bowie’s ‘Outside’ inspired me to hone my themes both lyrically and musically.” Kelly
‘Modernism’ officially began its journey in December 2007 upon Kelly receiving news that The Toronto Arts Council and Canadian Council for the Arts were both to be funding the project.  The first few songs brought to rehearsals included ‘C’mon Boys’ and ‘Chest Full of Love’, but it wasn’t until the Italian-sung ‘Tarantino’ appeared, and became the backbone of the album, that the concept gelled.

“If I have a desire for a future life, it would be to return as one who has a natural inclination for languages.  I sadly do not, but it is an overwhelming desire of mine to appear as though I do.  I worked very hard on the Italian and Portuguese that I sing on the album.  The bits of French and Spanish came easier.  What I learned the most about myself through the process was how free my voice was while singing in other languages… an entirely different colour came through.  It was very liberating.” Kelly.

Continuing a pioneering journey that began with Kelly and the Kellygirls first album ‘swing swing’ in 2004, to the black and blue bawdy burlesque of ‘We love You but not as Much as we love Ourselves’ in 2006, ‘Modernism’, which was engineered by Peter D. Hudson and Rob Sanzo and mixed by award-winning Brad Nelson, threads Kelly’s characteristically diverse baritone with elements of swing, ska, jazz, big band and more recently reggae, fado and mariachi.

The opening flamenco twists and soca beat of the anthemic ‘C’mon Boys’ sets the tone for the album. The record then travels down a feverish road of discovery as we are exposed to the island flavoured ‘Chest Full of Love’, charmed by the innocence of the ska-tinged ‘Big Heart / Big Tears’, seduced by a sad plea for understanding in the Cuban-fueled ‘X’ and experience the strikingly beautiful fatalism of ‘Para A Espinha’ (eng trans: ‘To the Spine’).  The album closes in the sonic explosion of ‘City on Fire’, inspired by the Queen St West fires in Toronto, early 2008.

Kelly along with The Kellygirls will be touring Canada, Europe and parts of the US in the summer months following the albums release in Toronto at the end of May.
“Performing these songs live it what truly brings them to life and what I enjoy doing the most.  I can’t wait to bring them to the world.  The spirit of Latin celebrations has inspired me for decades, and now a new chapter in the story of Kelly and the Kellygirls has begun.” Kelly.

Artist: Kelly and the Kellygirls
Album: Modernism
Label: Renaissance Projects
Catalogue No: KATKGM03
Release: May 19, 2009
via Indiepool within Canada and iTunes internationally

Tracks:
01. Two Hundred Degrees Fahrenheit
02.  C’mon Boys
03. (Quentin on the Radio)
04. Tarantino
05. Chest Full of Love
06. Big Heart / Big Tears
07. X
08. Para A Espinha
09. Bully
10. Doubledare
11. Better Times
12. (Bully II)
13. Erotic City
14. California Mille
15. City on Fire
16. Summer’s Gone (excerpt)

 

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