SHAWN K. CLEMENT – COMPOSER - BIO

Shawn has had a multi-faceted career as a composer in a variety of genres and styles. As a songwriter, producer, performer and engineer, he has written over 25,000 pieces of music, which have earned him more than 300 credits on TV series, Films, Video Games and Records. He has been nominated for, as well as won, over the years, many awards.  A notable piece of work, QUANTUM QUEST (performed by the San Francisco Philharmonic and recorded at Skywalker Ranch), was nominated for Hollywood Music in Media Awards’ Best Score, and won a Global Music Award.  He has literally worked for every major studio, every major television network as well as for every major cable network.
 
In 2011, he was commissioned by The Wounded Warriors’ Project to write the orchestral piece, The Warrior’s Hymn, for The Tribute for Wounded Warriors. It was premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC by a 106-member orchestra, 247-member choir, and was sung by Jon Anderson of YES.
 
That piece was later recorded in the studio with Robin Zander of Cheap Trick on vocals; Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, The Who, Cheap Trick, George Harrison, Alice Cooper, etc.) producing; Warren Huart (The Frey, Aerosmith, Korn, Ace Frehley) mixing; Bob Ludwig (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Nine Inch Nails, etc.) mastering; a 40-piece choir and the Skywalker Symphony.
 
The record release of Warrior’s Hymn and another Jazz/fusion record called Raw Fungus (which also had an All-Star lineup) he recorded in the same year, received multiple award nominations and wins.
 
His latest project has been a recording of various works he has written over the last 2 years, which includes a very diverse group of musicians, including the late Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Nice), Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Jeff Beck, Chick Corea, Faith Hill, Megadeath), Ike Willis (Frank Zappa), Don Adey (Moody Blues), Geoff Downs (YES, Asia, The Buggles), Tony Franklin (The Firm with Jimmy Page, Kenny Wayne Shepperd, White Snake, Quiet Riot..), Chaka Khan, and many more….
 
In addition to working as a composer, he has also run his own successful production company that was housed inside Paramount Pictures, which developed and produced feature films and television shows.  A personal highlight while at Paramount, was when Ray Bradbury personally asked Clement, not only to score the only documentary Ray approved about his life, but was also asked to co-produce, along with Joe Mantegna.  Unfortunately, Ray passed away before the film was completed. A panel was held at Comic Con, along with Joe and Edward James Olmos, amongst others.  A befitting place as Ray was one of the co-creators of Comic con.
 
As a side note, he has instructed a multitude of people in diverse environments.  He has conducted music theory and composition seminars at Lowell University, instructed for the Musician’s Institute, professionally taught guitar techniques for 7 years, and also spearheaded many “master-classes” and panels around the world for NAMM, ASCAP, BMI, CCC, GDC, Berklee College of Music and Comic Con to name a few.  These master-classes and panels encompassed many aspects of the business including compositional techniques, publishing, contractual issues copyright issues, artist rights and career trajectory theories - all pertaining to the creative film scoring business.  All of this experience has kept Clement on the vanguard of leading industry-companies, which has given him even more insight into modern technology and music.

Producer, Musician, Recordist, Synthesist. Original member of Freezepop, Lifestyle and Karacter. Occasional remixer.

Poetic, weighted lyrics paint alluring, sometimes dark stories against multi-layered guitars and keyboards, a flirty bass, and invitingly dance-able drums that result in songs that haunt, soar and envelop the audience in intimate soundscapes. Frontman JP (vox, samples, guitars), along with bandmates David Leatherwood (bass, lead guitars), Joan Chew (bass), and Konrad Meissner (drums), are often backed by a host of talented guest musicians--like Fountains of Wayne guitarist Jody Porter, who added an extra touch of psychedelia to two mesmerizing tracks; "Crystals" and "Days Turn To Nights" on their 2016 E.P. "MY Body Your Mind." Their live shows are marked by JP’s intense, emotion driven performance. 

herMajesty released their version of Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot” on 4/14/16.


"You may have heard ambient rock group herMajesty's on KEXP in Seattle and WFUV in NYC. If not, the NYC-based band will hook you with their haunting lyrics and vocals, as well as pulsating guitar riffs and keyboard lines."
Indie Shuffle

"herMajesty immerses themselves into each song fully, which in turn creates a dynamic sound highlighted by sizzling guitar work and J.P’s distinct vocals. Add in the perfectly timed keyboards, bass and percussion and it becomes a monster sound which can fill any room, small or large."
Pancakes & Whiskey


This page includes tracks by Ajda the Turkish Queen and her various projects: solo, and with Black Fortress of Opium and Turkish Queen.

"Faces of a Queen" is Ajda's newest record, released April 2023, and features members of a band formed in Boston back in spring of 2018.  The new album picks up where Ajda's previous band Black Fortress of Opium left off, offering something for many tastes - gothy mandolin, heavy guitars, soulful piano, and even a poppy song with harpsichord.

Other recent solo recordings include "Take This Ride" from indie producer Martin Bisi's studio commemorative BC35 LP and "Bobby's Car" released on BC35 Vol. II, both on the Bronson Recordings label (Italy).

Ajda's previous band Black Fortress of Opium formed in Boston area in 2006, making their name with two well-received albums and one 6 song EP, and sharing bills with acts like Serena Maneesh (4AD), Dame Darcy, Barbez (Tzadik), and Paul Wallfisch (Swans/Botanica/Firewater/Little Annie Anxiety).  The band's 2008 self-titled debut was the product of a collaboration with Martin Bisi, who produced and recorded the album in his Brooklyn studio, and had previously worked with acts including Sonic Youth, Swans, and The Dresden Dolls.  Warmly received by press and radio, the album garnered favorable reviews and airplay from the Boston Metro, All Music Guide, Terrascope, Northeast Performer, New York Music Daily, WFMU, etc.

Black Fortress of Opium released their sophomore album titled "Stratospherical," in 2012, on which Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls) played drums, and on which one-time bassist Dave Yanolis (ex-Nisi Period) appears. Black Fortress of Opium again heavily collaborated with fifth horseman Martin Bisi, who recorded basic tracks and mixed most cuts. Additional engineers Rafi Sofer at Q Division, former BFOO bassist Joel Simches (who also produced two cuts), and Danny Gold, as well additional instrumentalists, contributed to the effort.

The "Slow Burn" EP was released in Fall 2021, offering up 6 more tracks from the BFoO archives.

Ajda solo press:
“Bolstered by Wallfisch and Viglione, noir singer/guitarist Ajda the Turkish Queen’s toweringly gorgeous, Lynchian waltz Take This Ride is the strongest track here. “ ~ New York Music Daily

“'Take This Ride’ is a beautiful song that sounds like John Barry going head to head with Jarboe alongside Bee and Flower. Western tinged with rich harmonies, it’s a remarkably coherent, mesmerizingly lovely piece of music led by Ajda The Turkish Queen....such beauty is an oasis, a soft pool of fading moonlight…” ~ Sonic Abuse 

Black Fortress of Opium press:
“Both rootsy and ethereal (think Turkey by way of Texas)” – Andrew Wilson, Boston Band Crush

"Black Fortress of Opium are a brawling, dark monster of a band that seems like it should be playing shows with, say, Nicki Jaine or the Dresden Dolls rather than Gogol Bordello." – Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

"Treading a darker almost gothic path, probably through a Victorian cemetery at dusk, Black Fortress of Opium, are moody and magnificent on their self-titled album...a beautiful collection of brooding and melancholy songs" - Terrascope UK

"Intensity and dark regality… dominant feelings of haunting, other-worldliness and mystique…Black Fortress of Opium truly makes you believe that you just may be listening to something highly monumental." – Northeast Performer Magazine

"...like Siouxsie & the Banshees as covered by Live Skull" - Lucid Culture

"You needn't be a visitor to a drug den to be carried far, far away by this album's potent blend...a truly interesting new band…coming through loud and clear on this amazing debut, and if its exotic stylings were any stronger, they might induce hallucinations...or at least permanent rejection of conformity" – Playback STL

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