This weekend 107.7 The End’s Summer Camp returns to Marymoor Park Aug. 25, featuring a killer lineup of up-and-coming alternative rock acts including Fun., Husky, Milo Greene and Alex Clare. The Reporter recently spoke with British crooner, Clare, whose song “Too Close,” is soundtracking the current Internet Explorer 9 commercial – and taking the iTunes charts by storm.

BELLEVUE REPORTER: How did you get in to music?
ALEX CLARE: I’ve always been in to music. I started playing drums when I was really young, and played in some bands informally since I was 15. In London there is a very big open mic scene – [so I was] booking gigs through that.

REPORTER: What inspires your songwriting?
CLARE: Everything. “The Lateness of the Hour,” was definitely about unrequited love. Lots of amazing people and stories in my life.

REPORTER: You grew up listening to jazz and blues records. How did that evolve in to listening to dub step and drum and bass?
CLARE: I grew up in the nineties and early aughts. And drum and bass were really big when I was a kid. I just liked wobbly bass lines, and wanted to incorporate them in my music.

REPORTER: Electronic artists Diplo and Switch produced your debut album. How did that come about?
CLARE: The A&R guy I was working with at my label gave them the demo, and they liked it.

REPORTER: There is a lot more live instrumentation in your music than they are used too. How did that affect how they worked?
CLARE: I guess you’d have to ask them that. I just came at it with the angle that I wanted to incorporate as many live instruments as possible and I think they wanted to do that too.

REPORTER: Your song “Too Close” was recently featured in the Internet Explorer 9 commercial. How did that come about?
CLARE: The gentleman who made the commercial actually had a different song lined up, but that fell through. And he had a friend who played “Too Close” for him because he had the song or the album, and he decided that’s the one he wanted to use.

REPORTER: Has that changed the momentum of your career?
CLARE: My career had slowed down a lot in the UK. My album didn’t sell well originally because there wasn’t a lot of exposure. Now I’m flying all over – from this country to that one. I spend most of my days on planes or in hotel rooms. But it’s great.

REPORTER: How has the songs popularity changed your reception in the UK?
CLARE: Before, I was selling out show for like 200-300 people. Now I’m selling out like 1500 and up. Just the sheer number of people that have heard the song, and bought the album – and want to be there and be a part of it [has increased].

REPORTER: Was “Too Close” a song that you expected to be a hit when you wrote it?
CLARE: As soon as it was written, I felt like it was a good song. You generally figure that out in the first few seconds.

REPORTER: How do the electronic elements in your music translate to the live show?
CLARE: I have a very good synth man and bass man, and between them we work that out. The bass man has a lot of different filters; there’s a lot of gadgetry, but it translates pretty well. If anything, the live show has a lot more energy than the album.

REPORTER: This weekend you are playing The End Summer Camp with 10 other bands. Can you describe the difference between festivals and more intimate shows in regard to your experience?
CLARE: Well for intimate shows the crowds go wild for you. At festival shows you lose that a little bit, but it’s still great.

REPORTER: Adele was one of the first artists to endorse your music. Do you guys have any plans to work together on music in the future?
CLARE: I don’t know her very well. We have quite a few mutual fans, and if we see each other we give a friendly nod. But I think she will be focused on being a mommy; I don’t think there is anything as important [as being a mom] that would come up in the future.

REPORTER: When can we expect new music from you?
CLARE: New music? I would hope, very soon. Album wise, probably not until next year. But [new songs] in the next couple of months, for sure.

——

What: 107.7 The End’s Summer Camp

When: Saturday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m.

Where: Marymoor Park, 6046 West Lake Sammamish Parkway Northeast, Redmond

Featuring: Fun., Alex Clare, Walk The Moon, Husky, Milo Greene, Atlas Genius and more