Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Claptone, Kaos/Different Recordings 2021.
I don’t know whether you’ve come across Claptone, the masked one, yet but this single is being pushed hard in the lead-up to the release of Claptone’s third album, Closer, which is due early November.
If you’re into house and dance music you may well have heard some of Claptone’s work.
It’s not a genre that I’m particularly familiar with but his involvement with Seal caught my attention.
Apparently, their collaboration on Just A Ghost has resulted in Seal releasing his first original music in six years.
I hadn’t realised that it had been so long since we’ve heard anything new from him.
I suppose his attention has been elsewhere, particularly with his involvement in The Voice and its spin-offs.
Claptone commented that “the stars aligned when Seal and I were working on Just A Ghost.”
The track certainly makes full use of Seal’s wonderful soul-drenched voice and it’s sure to return him to the charts.
Most of us will remember Seal’s big hits like, Kiss From A Rose, Killer and Crazy.
Claptone is an interesting character. Who is he? Is there more than one Claptone?
He is certainly never seen without the mask but rumours that there were more than one person performing as Claptone flourished when he simultaneously performed at two concerts in two different countries at the same time.
Whoever he or they are, the double ruse and disguise is a clever marketing ploy.
Just A Ghost, and the album that it comes from, Closer, was co-produced by Claptone with Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, The Killers, Madonna) and it continues his exploration of electronic house music fused with pop.
It’s a formular that works well for him and it certainly moves him into the mainstream, broadening the appeal of his music.
