Dirtybird ringleader Claude VonStroke is back with a new remix album of his latest release, Urban Animal, which he will be incorporating into his performance at Movement. VonStroke, whose real name is Barclay Crenshaw, promises a surprise set filled with plenty of dance floor sizzlers. Labeling Movement his favorite festival, VonStroke hints at other upcoming Detroit appearances, including a Dirtybird BBQ potentially around Labor Day (cat’s out of the bag!), just in time to showcase yet another original record set for release in July. As one of the hardest-working producers in electronic music, VonStroke took some time out of his busy schedule to give Metro Times a personal track-by-track breakdown of Urban Animal RMXS.
• The Clapping Track — (Solomun Remix) “Solomun really surprised me. He did something really out of the box and came out with this like Arabic melody motif. It was really cool, spacey and unusual.”
• Dood — (Kill Frenzy Remix) “It’s super simple, stripped all the way down to nothing. It just really works and I like the vibe of it. It’s kind of old techno style.”
• Urban Animal — (Dixon Dub Mix) “I wasn’t sure if it [the track] was going to make it in! But he [Dixon] came in at the very last second. It’s kind of like an adventure remix. It goes back to the original but you don’t know what’s going to happen. It goes through the whole melodic progression of the original song, but then it comes back in a very deep melodic style.”
• Can’t Wait — (VonStroke’s Where’s Kenny Remix?) “Well, this was supposed to be remixed by Kenny Larkin. But he ended up just not being able to finish it. But I still really love Kenny Larkin. I did that remix in one day. I was like, ‘We can’t just not have a ‘Can’t Wait’ remix, so I’m doing it!’”
• Plasma Jelly — (Eprom Remix) “I’m a massive fan of this guy [Eprom]. I just think his sound design is out of control. He’s just really on another level. It was surprisingly hard to get him to do it, but I got him — eventually.”
• Lay It Down Re-Smoked feat. DJ Nehpets — (Jimmy Edgar Remix) “This [track] was kind of an obvious one because Jimmy is already doing stuff like this and I knew he would want to do it. It’s weird because it’s almost already a remix by me of the original ‘Lay It Down’, so it’s like a double remix. He’s remixing a remix.”
• The Clapping Track — (Doorly Clap & Pop Remix) “The reason I got Doorly to do the second remix is because I really, really liked some of the stuff he was doing with old classic house tracks, like remaking them with new production and making them sound amazing.”
• Sugar & Cinnamon feat. Barry Drift — (Justin Jay Remix) “Justin Jay is a kid from L.A. that I’ve kind of been nurturing along here at Dirtybird. He’s got a different sound than most of the Dirtybird guys. Almost like a Dr. Dre West Coast house sound. He put his own spin on it [the track]. It bumps along but it’s still kind of deep.”
• Oakland Rope feat. Fox & Py — (Photek Remix) “Photek was a major influence on me. It’s just such an incredible sound—it sounds like stuff coming from another planet. Like Saturn.”
• The Bridge — (Tanner Ross Remix) “Tanner Ross has been my friend forever. He’s a really interesting DJ and his remix is kind of a surprise remix, almost like a deep break beat. Everybody likes this remix and I was super happy he was able to get on it.”
• Oakland Rope feat. Fox & Py — (Krust Remix) “The Krust remix is like old Full Cycle (that was the name of his label), just like straightforward drum and bass that I was always a fan of.”
• Dood — (SCNTST Remix) “I’ve been following SCNTST for a while. He did a super weird remix. It’s actually the ‘Dood’ vocal that he’s replayed into a very different melody. If you listen to it again with that knowledge, it’ll be a totally different experience.”
