Claptone is back shake-up the dancefloor with his brand new single Wake Up. The House and Garage-layered inspired track which features the husky and soulful vocals of Platinum selling singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow.
“Let Wake Up conquer your heart with intensely deep and honest lyrics on a bed of garage bass with a side of powerful uplifting piano stabs. There’s a yearning deeply rooted in too many months of isolation, an emotional congestion that erupts on the dancefloor of the first festival after far too long. James Vincent McMorrow's wonderfully soft, husky soul voice on this piece of vintage 90s pop house evokes moments of happiness and melancholia at the same time.” – Claptone
Claptone announces his new and forthcoming third studio album, Closer. Set for release on Nov 12th, 2021 via Different Recordings / PIAS, the album will feature a string of collaborators and pop icons including Barry Manilow, Seal, James Vincent McMorrow and many more.
Closer has been in the making for over three years and showcases a natural development in sound for Claptone. The album has been co-produced by Stuart Price, the three-time Grammy-winning electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists such as Madonna, The Killers, Dua Lipa and Pet Shop Boys. The aptly titled album is the next phase of the enigmatic artist’s musical evolution following the 2018 LP, Fantast and the 2015 debut, Charmer.
“Closer is about the joy and sometimes the pain of being human. It’s an ode to togetherness as well as empowerment, to heartache as well as bliss. I celebrate emotions. I allow myself to get closer to human beings and be human on the quest for my soul. Charmer was merely an introduction from a mystic being coming out of the shadows. On Fantast, I tried to find my roots in nature, and it was more of an escapist album, whereas Closer embraces people and the universe inside them.” – Claptone
Joining Claptone on his mission to embrace people, the album features a host of global collaborators. Peter Bjorn and John take centre stage on Satellite, with Seal providing original vocals on Just A Ghost. The album balances both iconic names with established artists and exciting new talent as Claptone enlists Mayer Hawthorne, Mansionair, APRE, Dizzy, SPELLES, Lau.Ra, Two Another and long-time Claptone collaborator, Nathan Nicholson, ex-singer of The Boxer Rebellion.
Closer also features a surprise and intriguing pairing between Claptone and American pop icon and showman, Barry Manilow. A further exhibition of Claptone’s critical acclaim which spans across the realms of the underground to Pop Music, the collaboration took flight when Claptone noticed Barry Manilow taking part in a TV interview where he mentioned that his favourite act was “Some guy named Claptone”. “So, I hit him up. He was like, ‘let’s do something’!” Manilow (whose career spans 50 years with hits such as Mandy and Copacabana) said “he was looking for a Dusty Springfield/Pet Shop Boys moment”. That moment has now arrived, with Barry Manilow featuring on standout album track, Nobody.
“I am a perfectionist full stop. I wrote those songs and I love those songs. And I am very happy with the outcome. Here is so much substance. I love to work with unique voices, unique characters. This pushes me to deliver the best in production as well.” – Claptone
The announcement of Closer follows the release of album singles Zero, Golden feat. Two Another, My Night feat. APRE and the latest single Wake Up feat. James Vincent McMorrow, which were unveiled earlier this year, offering a first glimpse of the anticipated LP.
Claptone's latest single 'My Night' feat. APRE gets the special remix treatment from some carefully curated and highly respected names, Myd, Ferreck Dawn and Picard Brothers who have reworked the release in their own signature styles.
With the Myd remix you will find it full of relentless pace, with a heavy analogue kick drum and cowbel, floating gentle synths and a huge focus on the vocals. This is a brilliant simple, stripped down and super effective version. Myd is an artist that is on the up, super creative, larger than life multi-instrumentalist and pioneer of club culture as part of Club Cheval. He has produced for SCH and Kanye West and is now part of the infamous ED Banger records family.
The Ferreck Dawn remix conversely sits in Claptone’s underground world, driving and main room, with big builds and tension releasing drops. The feel is bouncy and Housey, with piano stabs that build and build into a long and tension building drop. It’s fun and energetic and a great DJ weapon in true Ferreck style. Already an accomplished producer and DJ with the best part of 20 years’ experience on the international scene, he is supported by a wave of DJs that include Carl Cox, Luciano and Nic Fanciulli. He recently caught great hype with his vocal house stomper 'In My Arms' becoming a sure-fire dance anthem.
French filtered Disco - this is what you get from the Picard Brothers, having worked with the biggest artists in the world including Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Major Lazer and Rudimental. Here they deliver a little of the French Touch, classic sounding disco house but still super contemporary. Driving disco style beats, funky guitar licks and those famous French filters throughout.
This new remix package follows original Claptone singles My Night (original) Golden’ and ‘Zero’ and freshly released remixes on Storm Queen’s ‘For A Fool’ and Trans-X ‘Living On Video’ as well as reworks for pop superstars Ava Max, Dua Lipa, Michael Kiwanuka and Mark Ronson.
Just turn on ‘My Night’ and - bam - you'll be hit by a confetti-cannon of fun. As Claptone puts it: “If I had a surfboard this is one [track] I’d instinctively develop a desire to catch a wave to. It’s one of those that you instantly wanna listen to again after it ends and again after it ends and so on. I really love it with all of my heart.” “My Night” is co-produced with the almighty Stuart Price and has everything a proper hit requires, it’s sticky like superglue, and only slightly less addictive than a Netflix binge.
It’s no wonder Claptone is 'really excited about working on this one with extremely talented UK Indie Pop duo APRE contributing their energetic vocals. If one can believe their bio - and I always do - they are inspired by the socially conscious observational lyricism as alternative indie. Add the smell of early summer, a pinch of French house and Claptone of course and you got ‘My Night’.
Setting the scene perfectly APRE and Claptone shout out to all those who’ve had a night out ruined by a close friend or loved one, who they ultimately feel responsible for. Invoking memories of messy nights and bleary mornings.
‘I was thinking about the theme of the song it brought me back to a night out I had in a club in Manchester that went so very wrong. I decided I wanted this song to be for all those people who were trying to have a good night out, which was then completely ruined by their friend or partner.’ – Charlie (APRE)
‘My Night’ is simultaneously released with the cult movie inspired official video. Think 80s styling with a heavy dose of feelgood nostalgia throughout. The video follows two teenagers finding a secret underground dancefloor and a place where they can show off their BMX skills. Directed by Keith Musil who has previously worked with Fox, Universal, Interscope, Warner Bros, Vice and GQ TV amongst many others.
This new release follows original singles Golden’ and ‘Zero’ and freshly released remixes on Storm Queen’s ‘For A Fool’ and Trans-X ‘Living On Video’ as well as reworks for pop superstars Ava Max, Dua Lipa, Michael Kiwanuka and Mark Ronson.
Even not being able to tour has not slowed him down, continuing his worldwide visability, he has now performed on over 50+ livestreamed sets across 2020/21, with a staggering total of 63 Million combined views on YouTube. There are also plans ahead to return the most famous club in the world Pacha Ibiza with his now internationally renowned show ‘The Masquerade’, signifying that this year there is still much, much more to come.
On Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26, Tomorrowland is organising Tomorrowland Around the World, the digital festival: a spectacular entertainment experience open to people of all ages and places, unfazed by borders or boundaries – a world premiere and a major step in the future of digital music festivals. And the best thing: Claptone will be part of it!
Claptone continues his form on ‘Golden’ featuring the vocal talents of Two Another. Out on Different Recordings on April 23rd.
Making the most out of a year void of a busy touring schedule, Claptone’s long studio sessions have amassed a wealth of exciting new original material including first release of 2021 ‘Zero’, a spellbinding tech house masterpiece.
Progressing from his signature electronic sound Claptone now layers new pop elements in ‘Golden’ blending with his inimitable dance music style, giving this release a fresh new feel. Here he has collaborated with Amsterdam/Stockholm based duo Two Another who’s soulful vocals perfectly compliment the track delivering a lower slung, slower vibe.
“Golden” is no doubt a very positive and powerful song. You look back on all the difficult times you had to go through and realize how they made you much stronger. My hope is that “Golden”, when you lose yourself in the song’s groove and melody, warms your heart, fills it with hope and joy and will indeed make you feel golden." Claptone.
Claptone has teamed up with British conceptual brand Lovebullets to launch a bespoke necklace.
The limited edition collaborative pendant, restricted to just 100 pieces, is a miniature sculpture of the iconic Claptone mask, sculpted from gold-plated bullet brass metal. Produced by Lovebullets in London, they will all be sold exclusively via www.claptone.com.
Lovebullets was founded at Glastonbury, with an ethos of transforming items of destruction into works of art, jewellery and fashion accessories to express an ideology of love overriding negative thoughts. The concept originated from a fantasy story written by designer Martin Jegede, telling the tale of mystical love angels with power to transform items of destruction into beautiful works of art. This story was brought to life at Glastonbury in 2008 by Martin and Eve, who rode to the festival in a decommissioned army tank called the 'Love Tank' transformed into a DJ booth to celebrate their anniversary and Lovebullets.
Following on from Storm Queen’s first release in 8 years, ‘For A Fool’ is now remixed by enigmatic DJ and Producer, Claptone and is out now via FFRR.
‘For A Fool’ beckoned the long-awaited return of Storm Queen and landed an incredible 8 years after the release of the inimitable ‘Look Right Through’, which hit #1 in the UK with the MK remix and has also reached platinum status along the way.
An equally shadowy character, German producer and DJ Claptone steps in for remix duties on ‘For A Fool’ and follows on from his remix work for the likes of Mark Ronson and Michael Kiwanuka as well as pop super stars Dua Lipa and Ava Max. Injecting his brand of sublime club focused House sound and extra bass bounce, utilizing the original vocal to great effect seeing the masked figure path the way Storm Queen’s return for the dancefloor.
