What is it about a masked man? It worked for the Phantom of the Opera, Tuxedo Mask was like catnip for Sailor Moon, and Daft Punk and Deadmau5 are masquerade amalgams sent from heaven to bless us with their groovy feels.
Performing on the Mysteryland Mainstage from 6:20-7:20 on Saturday, you can lay eyes and ears on a more unfamiliar up and coming masked music maker.
Claptone is a German DJ who performs in a mythical beaked mask. It’s a little creepy, and a little cool. His BBC 1 Radio Mix, pointed to by Beatport as one of the best of the year so far, is moody and triumphant to match. This is house, if the house has a pool in the back, and it’s deep. BOOM. Non-stop, European, you-can-live-forever-on-the-dance-floor kind of vibe. Perhaps that’s what the mythical mask is about. It’s a signal to abandon the rules of the ordinary, a risk to chance the unknown in exchange for the mundane. A dare.
What separates great house music from mediocre house music? Selection and Surprise. Claptone is a curator, as evidenced by the gems tucked in the two hour long sound-saga that is his Essential Mix. We’re talking the moment when you’re jamming out doing the dishes and you have to stop and look at your laptop because you’re like, “OMG is this the White Stripes?”
Then, “What? James Brown!?”
And finally, “Yessssssss I effing LOVE Sting and The Police!!”
Claptone masks his voice as well. But he can’t hide his accent and the tender inflection when he talks about his peers featured on the mix. Besides superior assembly of a set, it’s engaging to hear an artist speak on a more personal level and make it clear they are enthusiastic about the community as a whole.
Catch his BBC Essential Mix here and get ready to see the myth himself Saturday at Mysteryland!
