Jesse Clegg on his new single
The song made its debut at number 11 on the South African iTunes chart, receiving rave reviews. Use Me has already been playlisted on Jacaranda FM and currently sits at number 16 on the Jacaranda Top 20, powered by Chamberlains.
The track is produced by Prime Circle’s Deholm Harding and engineered by Monark’s Ewald van Rensburg. Use Me retains Clegg’s characteristic song-writing, but also marks an exciting new direction for the singer.
Clegg describes Use Me as a song about love and the complex feelings that come with it.
“Use Me is a song about the dual nature of love. Love can be an inspiring emotion that can rejuvenate you, but there are also destructive moments that can become obsessive. It is a complex feeling and, at times, dangerous - and that’s what makes it special and intriguing.
“The song tells a story of someone navigating a relationship that is both beautiful and chaotic and, ultimately, trying to find meaning in the tension between the two,” said Clegg when asked about the song.
An accompanying music video, directed by Pierre Smith, has also been released.
The video, which makes use of modern drone-camera technology to capture the landscape, features images of high winds, rough seas and a number of intimate piano scenes.
“The video was shot outside George in the Wilderness National Park,” Clegg said.
“We used cutting-edge drone technology, piloted by the SA Champion Carl Nicholl, to capture the expansive scenery of the area. The idea was to represent nature in its rawest form - its stunning beauty but also its inherent violence.
The crashing waves and stark desert were metaphoric for the ambiguous emotional layers of the song. We can marvel at the ocean/desert, but it is also a perilous place and one must be cautious. The song, ‘Use Me,’ talks about a relationship that is similarly ambiguous, compassionate and inspiring, but also fraught with danger. The deep tension in all passionate relationships is what makes them unique, the question is whether it is sustainable.”
Jesse Clegg is currently finishing off the recording of his new EP; the new release can be expected towards the end of 2015.