Prepossessing the ability to effortlessly maneuver through the realms of house and techno, as dawn breaks over 2012 the many facets of Tim Green’s production dexterity is casting reflections in innumerable directions, illuminating a musical and thought-induced excursion on which the 27-year old is embarking.

Experimenting across the spectrum of electronic music, whether putting out reverberating minimal techno of Amnesia peak-time kind-of-measures, or sprinkling some of that unmistakeable TG charm over productions of popular appeal, his work is stamped by ingenuity, fearlessness and fun – which also granted him the ‘Best Breakthrough Producer’ award at DJ Mag’s Best of British in 2010.

After fully bursting onto the scene in 2008 with modern classics ‘Revox’ and ‘Mr Dry’ snapped up by highly-revered Dirtybird and Trapez Records respectively, and picking up support from top players such as Sven Vath, Richie Hawtin and Luciano along the way, Tim swiftly catapulted himself into the upper echelons of the techno hierarchy. A string of high profile releases followed in short succession adding Cocoon, Get Physical, Saved & Four:Twenty to an already impressive back catalogue, as well as remixes for XL Records, Sci+Tec, Moshi Moshi and Souvenir.

With an idiosyncratic groove and off-kilter cheekiness his sound has seen him tour the electronic bastions of the world, including Space – Ibiza, Womb – Tokyo, Fabric – London, Sankeys – Manchester, Watergate – Berlin, D-edge – Sao Paulo, Electric Pickle – Miami, WHP – Manchester, Bestival – Isle Of White, SW4 Festival – London, Zouk – Singapore, Rex Club – Paris. As we are heading into 2012 Tim makes a welcomed return to his underground roots, captivating crowds in more intimate yet discerning settings, along with heading up his own night Bedlam, which is currently on everyone’s lips.

On the production side of things 2012 is already looking like another stella year with
with a dark and twisted remix of Sacha Robotti ft Qzen’s Fotograf on Klasse Recordings and, following on from last year’s ‘In Love EP’ on Get Physical, he has teamed up with Robert Dietz & Audiofly for a remix package due for release in April. This summer will see him return once more to Cocoon to release the outstanding ‘Curious Smile’, plus an EP for Get Physical and remixes for Supernature & Oh Yeah Records, as well as putting the finishing touches to his much anticipated debut artist album.

Taking into consideration the achievements Tim has reached in the span of merely four years, it is a gathered electronic community that awaits his next move, Where to next?

Biography

London based Tim Green is one of those producers who doesn’t turn in a lot of filler tracks. His unique style and flare shine for all to see when the 25 year old puts his music out there. Ask some of the worlds top labels such as Cocoon, Get Physical or Dirtybird, on which Tim regularly releases some of his finest work. Tracks like Lone Time, Old Sunshine, Kitch-in, Mr. Dry as well as countless remixes for the likes of Cassius, Booka Shade, Tiefschwarz & Claude Von Stroke have become anthems in the house, techno and electronic world.

Tim’s music has been destroying discerning dancefloors for little under 4 years. Amassing a huge army of fans and supporters across the globe. It has been championed by the likes of Sven Vath, Pete Tong, Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, Sasha & John Digweed, Hot Chip, Luciano, Deadmu5, MANDY, Dubfire, Ricardo Villalobos, Laurent Garnier, Joris Voorn, Nic Fanciulli, Matthias Tanzmann, Steve Angello, Anja Schnieder and many more of the worlds top artists. Beatport top 10’s, a BBC Radio1 Essential Mix, and award nominations have followed, and his rise from Bedroom producer to highly acclaimed electronic artist is complete.

As a DJ, Tims talents have taken him to every corner of the globe. From Asia, Australia, South America, North America, and extensively across Europe Tim can be found rocking dancefloors every weekend in some of the worlds best clubs. From Fabric London, to Womb Tokyo, Watergate Berlin, Studio 80 Amsterdam, Tribe Festival Brazil, Rex Club Paris, Circus Liverpool, Mondo Madrid, Nuit Sonores Festival France, Lost Baggage Sydney and many more. Not to mention his own club night called Bedlam which he holds in his home county of Kent and welcomes along esteemed colleges to a raucous party atmosphere.

Whats on the cards now you may ask? A busy dj schedule across North America, South America, Asia, Ibiza, UK & extensively across the rest of Europe, but that’s not all. Tim is currently working on his debut artist album, which is sure to catapult his profile even higher than into the upper echelons of the electronic world. Expect the unexpected. Like we said, he doesn’t turn in a lot of filler tracks…

Riva Starr is one of house music’s brightest, chirpiest and talented DJs and producers. He rose to undeniable fame when he released his unique, bouncy album ‘If Life gives you Lemons, Make Lemonade’ and continues to push forward with his Snatch! Label, releasing cuts from DJ Sneak and more.

Whether it’s acid, filter, bounce or more, Riva’s energetic sets and inch perfect mixing ability, crossed with a general sense of party fuelled fun, have kept him firmly at the top of the chain, leaving fans around the world waiting for Riva’s magic touch. Here, for the latest podcast, Riva turns out the samedeft ability and enthusiasm, which can be heard with every fade, drop and mix that he turns his hand to.

House and bass music collide.

Claude VonStroke has released tracks featuring monkeys, whistling and gurgling. Claude VonStroke has also retained credibility. These two things don’t exactly add up. But that should tell you something about the man in question. The San Francisco-based producer has been releasing bass-heavy house with a sense of fun since 2005. The ongoing twist, however, is that just when you think you have him figured out, he’ll go deep on a track like “Aundy” or remix a bass music anthem to devastating effect.

VonStroke’s Dirtybird label has been the vehicle for almost all of his original material but that’s not to say it’s been a one man show: a family of artists has formed around the imprint, with names like Justin and Christian Martin, Catz ‘n Dogz, J. Phlip and Julio Bashmore all achieving international recognition from the Dirtybird stable. Looking at RA.271′s tracklist you could be forgiven for thinking that this was mostly an “influences mix” but as is explained below, Claude VonStroke has recently taken to playing whatever the heck he feels like. And he has his grandma to thank for that.

What have you been up to recently?

I’m on my new remix album tour called “Makeovers.” Right now I’m doing the North American part of the tour. After this I’m going to my dad’s birthday in Detroit with our family for a week. Then finally I will get home to work on new tunes!

How and where was the mix recorded?

It was actually made at a cabin in Minnesota—no joke. I didn’t have any access to a DJ setup so it’s done in Ableton, but in the wilderness of Minnesota where my wife is from. Every year we go on a cabin trip to the middle of nowhere, like an hour past Brianerd if you know Minnesota. I had to wait until everyone was asleep to work on it in the middle of the night which might give you a sense of the vibe in the second half. When it was done I had to go into my brother-in-law’s car, turn it on and listen to it on his car stereo like a nut in the middle of the night.

Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix?

You can hear the beginning of the set is very bass-oriented, then going Dance Mania style, then deeper into house. The concept of my stuff is always the same: just choose all the tracks I love and try to put them together in a way that makes sense. I also wanted to throw in a couple surprises like the EPMD track because I’ve started to drop all kinds of music in my sets. I’m not really satisfied with just playing three hours of house. I’m doing tons of drum & bass, hip-hop and reggae edits—like Easter eggs for the crowd. No obvious radio tracks but cool stuff like Krust, EPMD, Ed Rush, Fela Kuti, Damien Marley, whatever.

You just had a show on Rinse and put out a remix of Girl Unit’s “Wut” through Night Slugs. What do you think is the common ground between yourself and the UK scene?

I really enjoyed meeting all the Night Slugs guys in London and to tell you the truth I asked them if I could do that remix for free. So part of it is me kind of putting myself in the position to be in alliance with the UK bass scene. It really harkens back to my original first love, drum & bass. I was an unsuccessful drum & bass DJ, I never got into the right clique or made the right tracks or got the right lucky break or whatever. I’m still overcompensating for that perhaps.

As far as house music, Dirtybird is one of the only American bassline labels. We always deliver on basslines. That is definitely not the focus at most labels. So it’s not really any accident that we have strong ties with towns like Bristol and Leeds—towns where people go ape-shit for basslines. We definitely give it a different flavour on the West Coast; not quite as dark or moody perhaps. But even as I say that I just signed another Bristol guy last week!

Are there any firm plans for a Claude VonStroke live show?

Nope. But maybe something else. I’m delving into some different ideas this year, no concrete plans but I am practicing live loop making on Maschine—that kind of thing. You can expect the unexpected I imagine. I’m getting a lot more comfortable with big risks and just going for it musically. As your grandma always says, you can’t please everyone all of the time, so you might as well go crazy.

What are you up to next?

I’m working with some other producers and exploring new ideas. I think there will be a new VonStroke album next year as well. Definitely some new singles soon. I can’t say much more until I actually do some tunes and see what happens.

Since then, VonStroke has gone on to champion the likes of Justin and Christian Martin, J Phlip, Worthy, Catz’n’Dogz, Tim Green, Style of Eye and Julio Bashmore. From soaring tech-house, to wobbly basslines always laced with a deep-rooted sense of fun, Dirtybird has become a revered name for dance music fans around the world and this mix delivered exactly the kind of sound you’d expect.

From bumping, jacking house, to ludicrous samples and from booty-shaking grooves to addictive basslines, the VonStroke imprint has never taken itself too seriously but has retained the autonomy and credibility usually reserved for older labels. The sound deployed in this mix is reflective of this mantra and contains a number of unreleased records.

Crack had the opportunity to chat to Claude in the wake of this mix. Read our interview with him here: http://www.youlovecrack.com/article/243/claude-vonstroke

Small innovation today, as our 37th podcast mixed by Tim Green is delivered with an interview of the young English producer. This music globe-trotter has already been through many labels, from Dirtybird to Get Physical or Cocoon, with always the same success in the end. He nicely agreed to talk to us about his career, his projects and his influences in this interview, accompanied by an excellent set going from house to tech house, two hours mixed with perfect taste and technique. Perfect to dance till the “small hours of the morning”, as the title of the mix suggests it.

Hi Tim, can you introduce yourself briefly ?
Hi im Tim Green. A musician/producer from the UK.

When and how did you get into music production and DJing ?
About 4/5 years ago. I have always been a musician growing up, but got into producing and djing when I first heard electronic music. Daft Punk was what changed my life originally!

Fondation, Get Physical, Dirtybird, Cocoon, Trapez… While some artists release all their material on the same label, you’ve already released records on almost ten… Is it a choice or do you just take advantage of the opportunities that are offered to you ?
Yeah its always something I like to do. I enjoy being varied and trying new things musically. So releasing different types of tracks on different labels is appealing to me. So far Im always changing my sound and direction. So I don’t know if there would be 1 label that could possibly cater for everything. Maybe there is, but still, I like to work with different labels. Is always nice working with friends and their labels too. But im not planning on releasing on many other labels now. I think before I have been finding my feet a little musically.

You seem to be quite close to the Get Physical family now as you are often part of this label’s gigs… Are you considering settling down on this label ?
Yeah I really love Get Physical….. M.a.n.d.y., DJ T etc… and everyone who runs GP. Is a really nice family of people. Is definitely a label I want to really focus on. But honestly I don’t think ill ever settle for one label. Even if I had my own label, I would not settle on it. As I said before, I prefer to work with lots of different labels. To always keep things interesting and work with new people. But again, im not planning to release on many more labels in the future.

What’s your opinion on all the hype that is currently surrounding labels like Crosstown Rebels, Hot Creations, Wolf + Lamb, Visionquest etc..?
I think they are totally worth the hype! I love all the music these guys are doing. Really nice to have more musicality put back into underground music. Im always playing records from these labels. Plus all these guys have a great sense of humour and are really nice people. I think this comes across in the music also.

It’s been a while since your last release (apart from remixes)… Is there a specific reason for this ?
Haha, yeah there is a few reasons. Firstly I take a long time to finish music that I actually like and am happy with. Secondly, I have been touring a lot and adapting to this kind of lifestyle. Thirdly I have been working on my album also (which is not going to be a 4/4 dance album) whilst working on some new singles at the same time. So its all taking a bit longer, but mainly because im balancing a lot of things all at once.

You are mostly known for your DJing skills, but have you ever considered starting a live set ?
Yeah hopefully with the album its something I would like to perform in a live sense. But for me im hesitant to just do a live set with a laptop or something. I come from playing guitar in bands, working in professional studios recording jazz and folk growing up. So it would be great if I did it more from a band point of view, singing, playing guitars+keyboards etc… I think live music should be spontaneous, where musicians feed off each other, so its always different and new. But its something I will have to experiment with im sure.

What other projects do you have in the pipeline ?
The other focus at the moment is my night Bedlam. Which we (me and my manager) have been doing in Kent, south of england. Its been going so great! We have had previous guests like Cassy, Matthias Tanzmann, Audiofly, Lee Burridge, 2000 & one, M.a.n.d.y. and Martin Buttrich. We are also taking it london now, with our first party in March Headlined by Art Department!

Who are the DJs and producers that you like and that inspire you at the moment ?
Wow there are so many! I think my always favourite has to be Matthias Tanzmann. For his own productions, his label and especially his Djing. Other artists Im loving at the moment are Amir, Maceo Plex, Tanner Ross, Luca Albano, No One, Guti and SECT. These are just the ones I remember right now anyway haha.

You have played in Paris on the 11th of March for a Get Physical night with Siopis and Audiofly… What do you think of this city regarding its nightlife ?
Yeah I really like it! I have payed quite a few times now in Paris, in different places. They each have different crowds and vibes. I think you can never tell how it will turn out in Paris, so it can be unexpected. But vie always enjoyed it anyway.

Thanks Tim !

Sweden’s Linus Eklow has changed his style more times than Lady Gaga has costume changes in a week. But he’s no bandwagon-jumping, short-attention-span-having attention-seeker – more one to stay ahead of the crowds and do it in some style. From his early jacking house days through his period of big-riffed euphoric electro house, through massive quirky tracks like The Big Kazoo on Dirtybird and into the banging noisy madness of his current work with the likes of Slagsmalsklubben. Most importantly, he always does it with much aplomb, and you could never accuse his work of being boring. It’s hyperactive, charismatic, colourful, energy-packed stuff.

This week’s Podcast sees this favourite of Annie Mac’s rip through a selection of full-on, mind-mashing grooves for lovers of bass and bleeps. Approach with caution; handle with care.

Sum up this podcast in 10 words…
This is basically stuff that I love to dance to.

What’s your personal favourite track on it?
Bubonic.

What’s the special ingredient in this mix?
Its a track that WAS in the beginning that I had to take away last minute, due to legal reasons, a remix of M.I.A by Tony Senghore. It worked kind of like the emperor´s new clothes, it formed the mix, but then was taken away.

What’s the best gig you’ve played recently?
I had a fantastic time at The Rex club in Paris recently with Djedjotronic.

What have you got coming up?
We are doing remixes of mine and Magnus The Magnus track Antidote, that will be released in December. with mixes from Harvard Bass and Tony Senghore. Also working on an E.P for Sound Pellegrino that will be released early next year called Wet and Dry. I´m going on a US-tour in december, and I´m very excited about going to L.A for the first time.

And finally, do you have a special message for our readers?
Yes, Less carbs, more fat.

New to San Francisco-based Dirtybird’s roster of house music luminaries is Birmingham producer Tom Flynn. Soon to be released, the Tom Flynn EP has already been getting spins from folks like Catz ‘n Dogz, Julio Bashmore, and Thomas Schumacher, solidifying the EP as yet another great 2010 release from the influential imprint. To celebrate the release, label head Claude VonStroke contributed an edit of Tom Flynn’s unreleased “Wig Wag” and has passed it along to us to offer free of charge. The track is in keeping with Dirtybird’s love of rhythmic complexity and soulful melody, and should offer a compelling argument to get familiar with this upstart.

While the man finishes the last touches of his move from San Francisco to Berlin, packing up his life into one suitcases (or two), he still managed to find some time to put this mix together for us! Be on the lookout for Alland playing close to you in Europe as he will be operating his tour from September to November.

In the meantime, here is an hour of purely magnetic mid-summer 115 unhurried bpm grooves! Enough to leave you completely strapped to your reclining chair, grilling by the cool pool. Kick back some more…

Cats N’ Dogs are Grzegorz Demianczuk and Wojciech Taranczuk.

The name is new, but chances are you’ve already heard Catz ‘n Dogz. Previously, as “3 Channels,” the best friend duo have already released red hot club records on some of the most respected underground dance labels in the world including Trapez, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Boxer, dirtybird, Leena, Trenton, and their own imprint, Channels Recordings. After making underground techno for many years, the duo have now ventured into new territory. This time, as Catz n’ Dogz, the boys have headed towards deep house without losing sight of their harder techno roots – exploring lush organic soundscapes with live drums and instrumentation.

Originally hailing from New Zealand but raised in Australia, Emerson has enjoyed tremendous success on both sides of the Tasman and is easily the most successful DJ/Producer to come out of both countries.

Emerson first got the bug to collect music very early in life as his mother owned several independent record stores. This gave him access to pretty much anything and everything he could ever want to hear.

As fate would have it, Emerson returned to New Zealand in 1996 to visit family and friends. This visit ended up lasting for seven years and, before long, he had established himself as one of the country’s top DJ’s, balancing national tours with monthly gigs back in Australia.

In 1998 he met Christiaan Ercolano and formed House of Downtown. This quickly gathered an impressive following with the success of their weekly radio show and their debut single ‘Up For the One’, which was supported by the likes of Derrick May.

The pair were soon snapped up by Universal Music who offered them their own label to run and release on. Subsequently, they produced two full-length albums. During this time, they also produced the complete movie score for UK Company Film Four (of ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ fame) for the movie ‘Stickmen’.

In 2003, Emerson relocated to Australia to concentrate on production and audio engineering, producing for other artists and leaving his own music aside for the time. It didn’t take him long to find himself at the forefront of audio engineering in Australia, working with such great bands as The Presets, The Sleepy Jackson, Teenager and Pnau.

Having now worked for both major and independent labels locally and internationally, under aliases, in groups, and producing and engineering for many world-class acts, Emerson has finally stepped out from behind the desk.

After 10 years producing and DJing, Emerson has now dedicated himself to refining his sound and cement his place at its forefront the first time.

From his early productions on Darren Emerson’s Underwater imprint, to becoming one of the latest signings on Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird label, and now with a string of high profile releases to follow – It is clear Emerson Todd is breaking out in a big way.

Emerson has now built up a reputation that has projected him onto the international circuit. We look forward to seeing what is next in store for this talented producer.

ʻOne of the most exciting prospects of 2009ʼ – Jesse Rose

Lucas Hunter & Nat Self are ʻZombie Disco Squadʼ the multi-talented production duo that are taking house music in a new direction. Taking influences from Balie Funk, African rhythms, Baltimore, Hip-Hop, the so-called fidget sound and making it sound fresh. You wonʼt find any cheesy gimmicks in their records but what you will find are tracks played by some of the most influential DJʼs and clubs around the globe.

Zombie Disco Squad started life in 2006 after putting on nights around Londonʼs pivotal venues such as the The Social and Catch. They made their name with regular mixtapes, which toured the globe via the internet and had a string of internet ʻhitsʼ (10,000 downloads for the track ʻStraight Boyʼ). Influenced by African percussion, foreign languages and jacking music Lucas & Nat were soon traveling around the world touring the states and across Europe. They had touched down in clubs such as Fabric in London, Panorama Bar in Berlin and Hive in Zurich before even having one official single release. Their remixes, on the other hand, have had plays by Radio 1ʼs Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Zane Lowe to name a few.

The boys have already picked up support from across the board with Jesse Rose signing them exclusively to his Made to Play label but not before one Mr Claude VonStroke stepped in for a single on DirtyBird.
2009 is looking like their breakthrough year with a residency at Panorama Bar in Berlin, tours with Made to Play, releases on Daniel Haaksmanʼs Man Recordings, dirtybird, Made to Play and a production sound that is second to non. If you donʼt know, get to know… you have been warned!

VonStroke is the head of San Francisco’s foremost tech-funk label, Dirtybird, and the man behind some of house and techno’s biggest tunes of the past decade: ‘The Whistler’, ‘Deep Throat’ and ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit?’. His Dirtybird parties have built up a reputation as some of the West Coast’s wildest, and VonStroke also recently released his second album, Bird Brain.

Couple that with legions of fans and imitators in America and abroad, a Fabric CD, another successful label in Mothership and a serious eye for talent (VonStroke recently snapped up Bristol upstart Julio Bashmore for a Dirtybird EP), and you’re dealing with one of the best.

VonStroke’s FACT mix features Julio Bashmore, Mike Monday, Justin Martin and plenty of new Dirtybird material from the label’s new signings and the big man himself .

Hey Claude – how’s it going?

“It’s going great. I’m about to head off to Hawaii to celebrate the album release with my family!”

Tell us about the mix you’ve done for FACT…

“It’s a nice smattering of album tracks with other new label material and some stuff I’m digging at the moment.”

Is it a reflection of the stuff you’ve been playing out lately?

“Yes, for sure. Right now we are in a flurry of label signings and I am playing like 80% label material. It’s a renaissance!  Usually I’m scouring the universe for new hot shit but I have so much right at the front door right now I can play whole sets of new Dirtybird and Mothership tracks. It’s great.”

Tell us about your new album, Bird Brain. What can we expect from it?

“It is a slimy, booty, peaceful, jackin’, greasy & calming experience. All ten tracks are completely different from each other but they all have a common vibe to them. There is no tracky track filler bullshit. I thought about and worked on each track until I was happy with all of them.”

You’ve just signed Julio Bashmore, a UK producer we’re a big fan of. How did you come across his stuff?

“The guys at Fabric got him on a new compilation they were putting together of that new UK housey dubstep style sound. They told me about him and then the very next week I went to play in Bristol and the promoter brought him to the show! I got even more tracks from him in Bristol and we were able to snag a couple sweet tunes. In fact this mix opens with a chillin’ Julio Bashmore track called ‘World Peace’.”

Your labelmate Christian Martin recently played London rave Night Slugs with Cooly G, and dubstep’s Joker and UK house’s Crazy Cousinz have been playing ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit’ in their sets. Are you into the London/UK house stuff that’s about?

“Yeah well I’m a fan of about 1% of it but that’s just like everything.  I’m a fan of 0.3% of all music I suppose. Christian is like our dubstep crossover guy. I think he would actually make a better dubstep/house guy than a straight Dirtybird guy.”

What else is happening in the world of Claude VonStroke?

“I am now preparing Dirtybird’s five year birthday project [for the start of 2010] and figuring out when to release all these cool records. I’m doing a Planet E remix and some other interesting music projects next year including my new alias, the Grizzl. At the end of this month I start the Bird Brain album world tour and visit all my favorite clubs. Thanks for letting me do a mix!”

Every once in a while a new producer just smashes their way through into the bigtime. That’s what’s happening with Riva Starr’s sneak-in-and-blow-the-place-up approach. An act whose influence comes from blogs, wild afterparties, music that works for the kids as well as the cool ubercoolische europeans, Riva seems to have sprung onto the scene fully formed – but in reality he’s been working his arse off for years.
Riva Starr plunders the best in tech house and beeping, burping synth lines to create a dirty, messy dancefloor affair. His first appearance on Jesse Rose’s ubercool Frontroom label with the Thizzle EP led to a release on Claude Vonstroke’s pivotal Dirtybird label with the WTF?! EP – described by IDJ as “essential – 5/5″. Then there were two releases in quick succession on Southern Fried – a remix of Armand van Helden’s smash J’Taime, and his own EP, Scratch’n'Itch, which had raves from a stupidly wide variety of DJs…
And the gigs have kept apace. Just in the last months there’s been a China tour, Glastonbury, Glade and Fusion Festivals, two slots at the Winter Music Conference – the Dirtybird party and a huge Lot49 event – an Australian and US tour on the pipeline and definitely more to come…
A single mix offered to the influential Discobelle blog was downloaded TWELVE THOUSAND times, and a sneaky download of a DJ edit of La Conga, his followup single on Dirtybird, lead to that single going top 5 on Beatport through pure word of mouth – no ads, a secret release with no press, and it had gone top 10 in the tech-house chart before Beatport decided maybe the track should have some advertising…
As the Scatterblog review of Riva’s career says … “It’s not like he has a big trademark bassline, or some sort of analog synth style (although he does have some mad analog synths), instead he incorporates a range of different sounds. It seems like the main thing that ties each song together is just that each one has an awesome hook of some kind. Music is all about having a cool sounding something these days, it’s not about ripping out some big guitar solo, or having a really musically sound piece (how many songs are based around three notes these days, but sound fresh as), Riva Starr is easily on top of all that…”
What’s next? A follow-up on Southern Fried with a Derrick Carter rmx. A new sampleadelic track Maria on Get Physical’s Kindisch records that is already doing damages worldwide reaching the top 10 on the Beatport house chart, a new single on Jesse Rose’MADE TO PLAY…
Collaborations with London’s underground scene. A few remixes due out during the summer. And a new label, Snatch! – for the stripped-back musical types who aren’t ashamed to get their rave on…
“…i’m usually a safe guy – but if u touch my knobs you can expect me to crack your skull open…” (Riva Starr – drunk mode – Brick Lane, 2003)

Claude VonStroke is better known to locals, as Barclay Crenshaw, the owner of San Francisco’s quirky tech-funk label, dirtybird. The label consists of Crenshaw (VonStroke,) fellow producer Justin Martin, and a diverse assortment of top remixers from around the globe such as John Tejada, Audion, Diplo, 3 Channels, Dj Assault, and Kevin Saunderson.

The idea for dirtybird began in 2003 when Crenshaw was producing an intense 5 hour DVD about electronic music called Intellect. The project was a labor of love, taking almost 2 years to complete and starring over 35 top producers and legendary DJs such as Derrick May, Swayzak, Derrick Carter, Deep Dish, Paul Van Dyk, Theo Parish, and many more. The main goal of the Intellect project was to make an informative dvd that could help DJs advance their careers in electronic music. The result was Crenshaw himself starting dirtybird records and a production career under the alias, Claude VonStroke.

Since 2005, dirtybird has managed to solidify a reputation for releasing oddball classic techno and house tracks. The outdoor dirtybird parties in San Francisco’s scenic Golden Gate Park have also become a legendary summer destination point for both locals and international travelers.

In addition to production and label management, Claude VonStroke has an intense regimen for preparation and a great ear for song selection. His DJ sets are always inspiring and surprising. You will never hear a set of monotonous music because Claude always takes time to find the special cuts that make for a completely original experience that is not to be missed.

In 2007, Claude is hard at work on his second album. He also has plans to introduce a new deep techno sub-label this year called Mothership.