German tech-house titan Claptone has just released his fourth studio album, Wanderer, four and a half years since the success of Closer. Rosie Riot finds out more about the release, what influenced its title, and the process behind its melody-driven sound.
Few artists have made such an indelible and iconic mark in electronic music as Claptone. Touch down in Ibiza, for example, and the likelihood of seeing his golden Venetian mask emblazoned on walls and billboards is high. The melodic masked DJ producer is of course the visionary behind The Masquerade, the global touring event series which has reached Tomorrowland, Coachella, Rock in Rio, and Ultra Music Festival, to name but a few.
This is all, of course, on top of Ibiza’s glittering superclubs, where past stints at Pacha and Amnesia have paved the way for a 2026 Club Chinois residency.
But aside from touring – something that has heavily influenced his recent album – he has also worked on several singles, remixes and collaborations, including the exquisite Digging Deeper with Alison Goldfrapp. He even launched his own club-focused label in 2023 – Golden Recordings. And now, four and a half years after 2021’s Closer, he is finally releasing Wanderer, his hotly anticipated fourth studio 11-track album.
909originals was lucky enough to chat to the mysterious masked maverick of melodic about his new long player, which features emotive, uplifting, vocal-led tracks, including the shimmering Black & Gold featuring Hannah Boleyn. In other words, the buzz around Wanderer is deafening.
Where did the name ‘Wanderer’ come from – what influenced its name?
The idea of ‘wandering’ speaks to something I genuinely live. Claptone is forever wandering since he exists everywhere – from Chinois in Ibiza, to Tomorrowland, to an arena in Argentina. It’s solely about finding the right track, with the right formula.
For Claptone, wandering is not a sign of being lost, but the honest way to keep evolving.
You’ve had some brilliant collaborations in the five years since the last album, and done a lot. Have the projects you worked on influenced your work on Wanderer?
They have definitely inspired me. They inspired me to go further into the Claptone universe. It inspired me to push for more emotional depth in my tracks, and with all of the tracks that were on this album, I wanted to find new emotional ground, rather than extending what I have said with my previous albums.
There were times when I had a lot of doubt, when I questioned the direction, relevance, and if this new chapter in the universe of Claptone was even necessary. However, all of this gave me the sense I needed to have to create this album.
You were quoted as saying that Wanderer exists in the fragile tension between clarity and haze, dream and reality – introspective without retreating inward, emotional without losing precision’. Is this type of balance and subtlety a benchmark of the album, and where did this sentiment derive from?
Yes, it is definitely a balance that I wanted to have in the album, since I wanted to create real emotions with my new tracks.
In this day and age, we are living in a fast-paced environment. I wanted each track to feel timeless, where each track is given space to breathe, creating something genuine.
What do you feel are the main differences between this album and Closer in terms of its overall sound, feel, and development in terms of its evolution?
Every album is a new chapter in the Claptone universe. My goal has always been to create music that has a certain timeless quality.
I want to create deep, melody-driven songs with voices and lyrics that expand the world I’ve created, not generic club tracks. I hope that everybody gets this same feeling when they are listening to Wanderer.
How does the process of creating a vocal-led track work usually, or can it differ track to track?
I am always looking for voices that stand out, express true individuality, and that have not been heard yet in the house industry. I don’t want to work with the same voices that are on every other track.
So, for each track, I try to find the vocalist who can make the lyrics feel like they belong to the story of that track. I am always searching for new, genuine vocalists that are not yet familiar to the public eye.
This way, I ensure that my tracks always feel new and exciting. I really hope that I also give them a simple jump-start in the industry.
Do you usually have a melody in mind, or is it more of a collaborative experience?
I usually start with a clear idea in my mind and then look for the vocalist who best fits that vision. From there, we go on a creative journey together to create the perfect track. For this album, every collaboration was carefully selected, adding an extra layer to the new chapter in the Claptone universe.
When you first burst onto the scene back in 2012, did you ever imagine you’d be where you are now?
I already expected it to go this far, since it was something I was drawn to building. Honestly, when I look back at my journey, I am still pretty surprised about how far I have gotten. I am so happy that I have always stayed true to myself and still have the same intentions and motivation that I had from the start.
So, if I am looking back on the journey, I am extremely proud of myself for having released four albums with the same intentions and motivations.
Any other projects we should know about for this summer and the rest of 2026?
My residency, The Masquerade, is returning to Club Chinois in Ibiza this summer. Also, throughout the rest of 2026, Claptone has many exciting shows lined up that I’m really looking forward to!
Claptone – Wanderer is out now, check it out here. Words by Rosie Riot.
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