Claptone

About

Claptone is achieving greatness across the globe. From his irresistible live shows to countless award-winning productions, the internationally-renowned artist has reached stratospheric recognition. Even from behind his trademark Venetian guise, there’s no masking the love Claptone shares with an audience, as shown by the success of The Masquerade. The masked DJ’s spellbinding event concept has allured crowds of thousands to sold-out venues across Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Miami, Paris, Bogota, Santiago de Chile, San Francisco, Madrid, New York, Melbourne, as well as Buenos Aires, which was the biggest Masquerade show to date with more than 20,000 in attendance. The Masquerade takeovers were originally born at Amnesia in 2016, continuing in 2017 and 2018, before a massively well-received Ibiza residency at Pacha beginning in 2019. The famed residency has showcased world-exclusive B2Bs from the likes of Purple Disco Machine, Diplo, Wade, and Fatboy Slim. Other DJs to have graced the stage include John Summit, MK, James Hype, Dom Dolla, Vintage Culture, Armand Van Helden, Meduza, Faithless, and Pete Tong. Now returning home to Amnesia for the 2024 season, working in tandem with HE.SHE.THEY., The Masquerade lays the foundations for a new era with fresh artists, incredible production, and theatrics that draw on the club’s rich Ibizan history. It’s huge news for the island, with one of its most beloved parties relocating to one of its most iconic clubs for Tuesdays on the Amnesia Terrace. Following up on The Masquerade’s most successful and attended season to date last year, Claptone says: “I am excited to return to Amnesia this year as it’s where I started The Masquerade in Ibiza - so it’s a sort of a homecoming for me!” Expanding his global status, Claptone has also launched his own label, Golden Recordings, with a series of scorching singles including The Big Easy, Flashdance with New York legend Man Parrish, and Euphoria, which has gained nearly six million Spotify streams. The new label is releasing music to “celebrate House Music and its everlasting golden era,” in the words of Claptone himself. The golden era is now in full swing with the label’s fifth single, Come With Me, which dropped on March 1st. Meanwhile, the festival fun never stops. Swooping in at Tomorrowland for a fifth year in 2023 with two sets, the DJ enigma took the legendary Belgian festival by storm, playing the main stage and All4House stage alongside Vintage Culture, Meduza, and James Hype. Claptone keeps flying higher and further, gracing prestigious festivals including Coachella, Rock in Rio, Hideout, Creamfields, Sunrise, Beyond Wonderland, Big Burn, îleSoniq, Ultra Music Festival, Mysteryland, Afterhills, Melt!, and Lollapalooza. Fans fall prey regularly to Claptone at Elrow events worldwide, including his Las Vegas debut which led to a Sin City residency. It doesn’t stop there for the busiest being in nightlife. Claptone won the vote for ‘Highest House DJ’ four years running in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs, and it’s no wonder: with a constant flow of electric shows, including 50+ weekly live-streamed sets reaching a staggering 100 million combined views on YouTube across 2020/2021 alone, Claptone’s golden beak is never dry. In recent years, the man of mystery played over a staggering 275 shows per annum, all the while receiving international praise for his production excellence. On his third album, aptly titled Closer (fall 2021), he put forth a musical journey that connects listeners sonically and emotionally to the enigmatic artist more than ever before. Along with support from shrewd talents, Claptone enlists timeless vocalists from myriad eras such as Barry Manilow and Seal, fresh-faced acts like James Vincent McMorrow and Mansionair, as well as repeat collaborators Nathan Nicholson and Peter Bjorn and John (to name a few), creating a veritable rap sheet of names hand-picked by the masked DJ, then hand-delivered to the masses in the form of a 14-track, indie-pop-oriented magnum opus. Co-produced by Stuart Price (whose production credits read like a red-carpet VIP list, having worked with everyone from Madonna to The Killers), the collaborative spirit of Closer adds challenging new flavors to Claptone’s palette, all just as delicious in their own way. Having risen to fame with chart-topping originals such as Cream, No Eyes, Heartbeat, Under The Moon, and The Drums (Din Daa Daa), Claptone has built upon his success with a variety of remix collaborations. Notable standouts include his remix of Mark Ronson’s Don’t Leave Me Lonely, the enlistment of Mylo to release Claptone’s epic single Drop The Pressure, reaching the third spot on Beatport’s Top 100 Best Selling Tracks 2020, and the hit remix of Michael Kiwanuka’s You Ain’t The Problem—a tune that captured the ears and hearts of everyone, even snagging Barack Obama’s vote when the US President elected it to top his 2021 Summer Essential Playlist. Demand for a Claptone redub doesn’t stop there. He has chopped up hits for Sir Elton John, Gregory Porter, Depeche Mode, Disclosure, New Order, Bastille, Gorillaz, Pet Shop Boys, Florence & The Machine, Marina & The Diamonds, Purple Disco Machine, Dua Lipa, Ava Max, Storm Queen, and Trans-X’s Living On Video as part of Unidisc’s 20th anniversary. Claptone may wear a mask, but his DJ talents are always in plain sight. With his golden era in full flow in 2024, they’re on display more than ever before.