Alex Clare

London, England musician Alex Clare grew up listening to his father's jazz records, was drawn to blues and soul (Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder), and eventually drum'n'bass and U.K. garage. Though Clare took up the trumpet and drums as a youngster, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open-mike nights with original material. A demo earned him a deal with the Island label in the U.K., and he was set up with producers Diplo and Switch, who contributed to the making of Clare's first album, The Lateness of the Hour, released in July 2011. Despite the producers' reputations for creating busy, bass-heavy club music, the album did place something of a spotlight on Clare's soul-searching songwriting and deep, rich voice.

"Too Close" is the second single from Clare's debut studio album, The Lateness of the Hour. The track was written by Alex Clare and Jim Duguid and produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer. In March 2012, "Too Close" was selected as the soundtrack to Microsoft's advertisement for Internet Explorer 9, released the following month. The feature saw the track achieve international success, peaking at number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the UK Singles Chart. In May 2012, an instrumental version of the song was used in an advertisement for the UK version of the television series Revenge.

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