Jack Of All Trades

Claude VonStroke (aka Barclay Crenshaw) is associated with San Francisco, but the tech-house DJ/producer originates from suburban Detroit and started out as a rapper. “Nothing ever happened,” Crenshaw claims of his hip hop moves at a Connecticut boarding school. “I did a whole album and I had dancers and everything in high school. It was really fun, but it didn't really go past that.” He had dancers? “I did! I had the whole thing going on. I did a big concert. We rapped about going to class and stuff – it was ridiculous,” he laughs. At any rate, Crenshaw learnt the rudiments of making music. “It was the beginning of my production skills.” And he discovered electronica.

Crenshaw eventually left Detroit for Los Angeles to pursue a career in the movies (he has an IMDb credit as production assistant on George Clooney's Batman & Robin). He wound up in San Francisco. Crenshaw was inspired to again focus on music after directing the documentary, Intellect: Techno House Progressive. He was briefly into drum'n'bass. The DJ threw outdoor house parties with friends in SF. In 2005 he founded Dirtybird Records, fostering tougher sounds than other local labels. Crenshaw presented an album, Beware Of The Bird, on the back of 2005's break-out hit, Deep Throat. Crucially, he bucked the intellectualism – and purism – of Detroit techno, being all about fun. Nonetheless, Crenshaw impressed Richie Hawtin with his Who's Afraid Of Detroit?. He'd mix a Fabric volume. Crenshaw is working towards a third album for release in the US autumn. “I'm doing it right now,” he says. 

Crenshaw has stayed loyal to house and techno, but lately he's introduced a bass element. He is an instinctive DJ. “I'm always trying to stay on top of everything but, really, I just find records that I like. I guess my taste changes over the years, but it's always just, 'Do I like this record – will I play this record?' That's what it comes down to, so it's hard to say exactly what's making me change.” He still listens to hip hop. “I don't follow it as closely as I used to – it's kind of the same as drum'n'bass. I used to be really into drum'n'bass, and I still follow it a little, but I can't be into everything all the time. But I like a lot of stuff that's out – some of the weirder stuff appeals to me, like MF Doom and Shabazz Palaces... But I like everything. I like even some pop stuff.”

Crenshaw's ties to Detroit remain strong. “My parents still live there and I go back multiple times a year. I always make a really concerted effort to play in Detroit at least three times a year. I also really prepare for the Detroit festival [Movement] set more than I prepare for anything else – ever. So it is still important to me. There's something about going home – to where you came from – and playing. You never know, I might end up back there! I get so much support from Detroit that it's amazing, even though I left so long ago.”

Crenshaw is embarking on an Australia Day weekend tour with Dirtybird posse members Justin Martin and J Phlip. “I'm pretty much doing a club tour this time around, which I don't always do, so that's kinda nice, actually – 'cause I'm usually on some big festival and now I'm gonna do a few club dates instead. It'll probably sound a little bit more like that – more intimate and maybe not as bashing.” He's reticent about whether fresh LP material will be played. “I probably will try to sneak in some stuff here and there to just test it out and see how it's going, but it won't be finished.” Beyond that, Crenshaw has remixed his cohort Martin (he raves about his 2012 album, Ghettos & Gardens). And he talks up a new Dirtybird comp, The Dirtybird Players Club. “I have another track on that that's almost like a dubsteppy track – kind of.” Keep 'em guessing.

Claude VonStroke will be playing the following dates:

Friday 25 January - Brown Alley, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 26 January - The Ivy, Sydney NSW
Saturday 26 January - Chinese Laundry, Sydney NSW
Sunday 27 January - Sky Room, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 27 Janaury - Ambar, Perth WA