Claptone – Fantast

One of the most mysterious names in dance music, Claptone is a rather unique breed of producer. Mixmag once described Claptone as “one of the most visible characters in the global deep house scene” and his music as “crisply produced and effortlessly infectious”. Truly fitting, his music contains eclectic atmospheres and moody rhythms. Fantast is a representation of the depth the German producer carries towards his productions and features some high quality collaborations as well.

Fantast contains so many different records, so if you are looking for one sound in particular you are out of luck. There is everything from upbeat, disco/pop records to the rich and grungy “Animal” featuring Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The album is quite energetic and features tracks with funky vocals as well as plenty of acoustic instrumentation.

Speaking directly to the album, Claptone illustrates how:

Over the last two years it has been a great pleasure to work on this album as a counterpoint to the hectic world of travelling as a DJ. To lose myself when making music, to dive into and create my very own realm of beauty. I admit it’s a dreamy, a heartfelt, at times a naive and surely escapist album, but what to do if one – on the quest for his soul – develops a strong desire to go back to his roots, back to nature? Did I find myself on that journey? Rather not. But I found some beautiful moments in the green, out in the woods, out in the fields, under the moon and in the night, moments, which I want to share with you. And there is one thing I learned and now it can be told, I am and have always been a ‘Fantast’.” – Claptone

Kicking things of with Birdsong, the smooth vocals and bright chords set the mood quite nicely. Ben Duffy sits at the forefront of the track “In The Night” while the background track is cheerful and runs with a groovy piano hook. Claptone really managed to bring in some top notch collaborators on this album, featuring Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, Blaenavon, Tender, Jones, Zola Blood, Austra’s Katie Stelmanis, The Boxer Rebellion’s Nathan Nicholson, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Joan as a Policewoman and Matt Simons.

There is good news for fans of the deep house maverick as he has a hefty summer tour coming up. You can find his tour dates below.

CLAPTONE US TOUR DATES:

6/10 – Vinyl Springs – Denver, CO

6/22 – The Works – Detroit, MI

6/23 – Cornucopia Majesty Boat Party – New York, NY

6/23 – Output – New York, NY

6/30 – Electric Forest – Rothbury, MI

7/20 – Global Dance Festival – Denver, CO

8/10 – Shambhala Music Festival – Salmo, BC, CAN

8/12 – Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA

8/18 – All My Friends – Los Angeles, CA

9/29 – Goldrush Music Festival – Chandler, AZ

10/26 – Voodoo Festival – New Orleans, LA