Klemen Strips Away the Mask on 'Golden Hour'
- Curious For Music Team
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
After lighting up the Eurovision stage in 2025, Slovenian artist Klemen returns to the deeply personal terrain of his debut album, Golden Hour, ahead of its physical release in early 2026 and a London headline show at Notting Hill Arts Club on February 17.
Known across Europe for his razor-sharp musical comedy and viral impersonations of world leaders and pop icons, Klemen has spent years performing as everyone but himself. Now, Golden Hour asks the question: what happens when the mask comes off?
The album’s 11 tracks reveal a Klemen stripped of caricature, moving deliberately into tender, reflective spaces. Gone are the punchlines; in their place are moments of quiet vulnerability and emotional resonance. Standout track “Is Anybody Out There?” crystallizes this shift. Born from a collaborative writing session with Shelly McErlaine and Michèl Vedère, the song emerged from a candid conversation about human connection and emotional weight. Klemen’s voice, unadorned, traces a path from self-doubt to hope: searching for connection, finding light in darkness, and turning personal vulnerability into collective empathy.
This openness first reached a wider audience with “How Much Time Do We Have Left,” Klemen’s Eurovision ballad written for his wife, Mojca, following her recovery from a previously incurable illness. Their shared stage moment transformed a private story into something universal, resonating across the continent. While the artist’s comedic videos—from the viral Putin, Putout to his Eurovision winners impersonation medley—have circulated widely and garnered hundreds of millions of views, Golden Hour reframes these public performances, revealing the emotional architecture beneath the humor.
The duality of Klemen’s artistry will be on full display at his upcoming London show, where satire and sincerity will intertwine seamlessly. Fans can expect the sharp, performative timing that made him famous alongside the unguarded intimacy of Golden Hour. Across comedy, theatre, television, and music, Klemen has always mastered control—now he’s exploring what it means to loosen it, to let an audience witness not only his craft but his inner life.
In a culture dominated by algorithms, viral clips, and caricatured personas, Golden Hour offers something increasingly rare: a quieter, fully human self shared at full volume. It’s a record that navigates both the public and the private, the funny and the raw, proving that Klemen’s most striking impersonation yet may be of no one but himself.
The album is available digitally, with a new vinyl and CD edition now available via: www.klemenslakonja.com
