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In 2005, Barclay founded San Francisco’s tech-funk label dirtybird. The idea for the label began when he 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, Dubfire, and Theo Parrish. 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 Claude VonStroke moniker. Since 2005, both VonStroke and the dirtybird label have released over 20 oddball techno and house EPs. VonStroke’s very first record, “Deep Throat,” was a major hit of 2005. The success of the single was followed up by “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?,” another international hit championed by Richie Hawtin who called it the “best track of 2006” in DJ magazine. Soon after that Claude released his full-length debut album, “Beware of the Bird” to outstanding reviews, further establishing him as an original talent in the underground. Since then, he has recorded over 25 remixes for a range of commercial and underground artists from Indy rock group “The Rapture” to Detroit techno legend Kevin Saunderson. Claude has also headlined almost every major club, festival and basement after-party in the world from Fabric to Panorama Bar to D’Edge. 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. A VonStroke DJ set is based on meticulous track selection and outrageous risk taking. He always takes time to find the special ass-wiggling cuts that keep the dance-floor percolating. In an effort to give something back to the community (an influenced by an interview he saw with Mad Mike of Underground Resistance,) Claude recently unveiled a deeper techno label called “mothership.” A large percentage of the label’s proceeds go to a music school for children in Claude’s hometown of Detroit, Michigan. In 2008, Claude will continue to release music on dirtybird and mothership and tour all around the world.
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