Claptone collabs with Man Parrish on electro banger ‘Flashdance’
By Lilly Rumler
Claptone unveils ‘Flashdance’, the follow-up to ‘Euphoria’ and second single on his new label Golden Recordings, out now.
‘Flashdance’ is another banger from the club-focused Golden Recordings label, as Claptone layers hair-raising synth stabs over an anthemic house beat. A collaboration with New York icon Man Parrish, the track is a ready-made crowd pleaser, replete with intricate percussion, long snare build ups and huge bass-heavy drops.
"I’ve always been in love with early 80s HipHop and Electro, a time when HipHop wasn’t just Rap Music but was not thinkable without Breakdance and Graffiti. These different outlets of expression brought musicians, dancers and artists together and felt much more colorful and open than some years later when MTV discovered Rap Music in which rappers constantly displayed their machismo”, says Claptone. “Also musically that era was quite spectacular with DJs extending breaks from soul and disco records on one hand and crews producing their own music on cheap electronic equipment on the other. I fell in love with both but even more so with early electro based on Kraftwerk but with a danceable twist. One of the heroes of that music is undoubtedly Man Parrish who produced a string of amazing tracks like ‘Hip Hop, Be Bop’, ‘Male Stripper‘ and of course ‘Man Made‘ amongst others. I’m beyond thrilled about my new single ‘Flashdance‘, which sound-beams ‘Boogie Down Bronx‘ straight to 2023. Working with Man Parrish is nothing less than a dream come true. Music would surely not be the same without him.”
Proclaimed as the “Godfather Of Electronic Music” by the New York Times, Man Parrish is a founding force behind EDM and a legend of the New York scene. He has sold over five million records worldwide, plus an additional 80 million through the distribution and sales of the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto video games that contain his music.
Claptone has dropped 3 artist albums ‘Charmer’ (2015), ‘Fantast’ (2019) and ‘Closer’ ‘2022’ over the past 8 years including singles like ‘No Eyes’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Under The Moon’, ‘Queen of Ice’ and ‘Just A Ghost’. Well known for his remix work, including his reimagining of Gregory Porter’s ‘Liquid Spirit’, his uplifting and vocal-heavy style of house has gone on to rack up millions of plays on YouTube, with his Spotify currently enjoying over four million monthly listeners. More recently he has remixed tracks from superstars Elton John, Dua Lipa, Gorillaz, Mark Ronson, Depeche Mode, Ava Max, Rufus du Sol, Pet Shop Boys, Michael Kiwanuka, Rag’n’Bone Man, New Order and more.
The Venetian mask-donning producer also launched the immersive and otherworldly ‘The Masquerade’ events in 2017, with guests including Fatboy Slim, MK, Purple Disco Machine, James Hype, Vintage Culture, Armand Van Helden, John Summit, Meduza, Faithless, Nora En Pure and Pete Tong joining the fun across showcases in Australia, South America, North America, London, Paris, Amsterdam and multiple seasons at Pacha Ibiza - the latest of which has just kicked off for the summer.
Now with his own recently launched record label, Golden Recordings, Claptone is increasing his stratospheric reach of influence. With Man Parrish as his latest iconic collaborator, ‘Flashdance’ is set to become one of the biggest club anthems of the summer.