* En anglais uniquement
British folk singer/songwriter
Josienne Clarke uses understated guitar arrangements to convey a sense of longing, managing to pursue melancholy atmosphere whether backed by a chamber orchestra -- as seen in her time working alongside
Ben Walker -- or as a solo artist. After issuing four albums with
Walker,
Clarke issued her debut solo effort,
In All Weather, in 2019. Two years later she released her sophomore long-player, the more indie rock-oriented
A Small Unknowable Thing.
Musically talented at a young age,
Clarke was noticed by her music teachers as an exceptional vocalist, and they encouraged her to join
Brighton Festival Choir when she was 16. She moved to London in the mid-2000s after pursuing, and abandoning, three separate classical music degrees. While attending numerous open-mike nights,
Clarke met
Ben Walker in 2009, and they decided to join forces to form
Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker. They released four albums together, the latter two of which, 2016's Overnight and 2018's
Seedlings All, came out on Rough Trade.
Wanting to get back to stripped-back folk music,
Clarke stepped away from the duo and moved to Scotland. Having changed her surroundings,
Clarke pursued a solo career and became a member of
PicaPica alongside
Samantha Whates,
Adam Beattie, and
Sonny Johns. Her debut solo album, 2019's
In All Weather, also featured
Johns, who was joined by experimental pianist
Elliot Galvin, jazz drummer
Dave Hamblett, and Scottish harpist
Mary Ann Kennedy. In 2021 she released her sophomore full-length outing,
A Small Unknowable Thing, which included the defiant and sonically divergent single "Sit Out." ~ Liam Martin