Dirtybird BBQ | Claude VonStroke/ Justin Martin/ Shiba San/ J.Phlip/ Kill Frenzy w. Special Guest Slick Rick

Raised in Detroit and based in San Francisco, Barclay Crenshaw created the quirky alias "Claude VonStroke" in 2005 and went on to become one of the most well respected label owners and DJs in dance music. His first release, 'Deep Throat' was a hit putting his imprint on the decks of DJs around the globe. A manifesto of sorts, it was the rare dance floor bomb that sounded as much fun to make as it was to dance to. But the real breakthrough came with double-header 'The Whistler/Who's Afraid of Detroit?.' The 12" cemented Claude's reputation as a producer to be reckoned with, crossing borders, genres and musical ears. The Whistler was embraced by the bass crowd, and at the same time sitting just as easily on the more 4/4 floors. Similarly, Who's Afraid of Detroit? (a social comment about the unfounded fears of suburbanites visiting downtown Detroit) is now known as one of the classic dance tracks of the decade.

In 2009, he recorded a mix for Fabric's venerated compilation series and released second album "Bird Brain", which encompassed many diverse aspects of dance music and beyond. It included a collaboration with the legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins as well as two tracks that went to number #1 & #2 on Beatport respectively.

His label, dirtybird, continues to surprise and innovate in the underground dance scene. The label features an enigmatic combination of house, funk, dirty-bass and electronica. Since the creation of dirtybird, Claude has continued to be the dedicated A&R man, signing over 100 EPs and demonstrating his incredible ear for what works on the dance-floor. Staying true to Crenshaw's detroit heritage, dirtybird donates 10% of its profits to a children's music school in Detroit.

A lot of the success of dirtybird and VonStroke can be attributed to a good attitude. Claude VonStroke does not scowl and look mean while he DJs. He does not pretend to know everything and he truly loves his fans. He is grateful to be doing music for a living and he knows that the reason people go to parties is to shake their ass and have fun.

In this day and age of music cross-pollination, Claude VonStroke sits at the forefront of all that is good, proper and most importantly fun. He's just as at home remixing Kenny Larkin or Infinity Ink as he is dropping multiple #1 Beatport hits. DJ wise, his relentless touring of every major city, festival and basement after-party around the world has only enriched this unique perspective on music.

This September, a much anticipated third artist album will come from the dirtybird chief - this time perhap a slightly more moody effort but overall still just as exciting and innovative as previous works.

"Urban Animal" mirrors the way VonStroke Djs - a wide range of house music with sprinkles of drum n bass, funk and soul. The album will be followed up by a massive world tour this fall starting in North America and travelling to Australia and Europe over the winter months.


Justin initially pricked the ears of the electronic music community in 2003 with his first record 'The Sad Piano' on Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly label. Everyone in the electronic music food chain got involved, from the A list DJs like Derrick Carter and Pete Tong that were playing the track, to the international music press that were raving about it. It even translated to the German underground, with Poker Flat licensing it for Steve Bug's 'Bugnology' compilation. Like someone that goes bowling for the first time and gets five strikes and a turkey, Justin couldn't really have hoped for a better entrance.

Feeding off the energy of the San Francisco underground and mentored by fellow super producer Claude VonStroke, Justin was intrinsically involved with the development of dirtybird records, appearing on its first four releases. Justin was soon ready to take flight, releasing a string of solo EPs, which flaunted a very unique sound and garnered still more respect among fellow DJs and heavyweight's of the scene.

In 2010, such respect prompted an invitation for Justin to DJ mix Pete Tong's infamous "Essential Mix" series and also landed his felicitous placement on the front cover of DJ Magazine. Justin continued to roll out two further killer EPs on dirtybird, which were collaborations with his protégée Ardalan. "Mr Spock" earned recognition from major digital news outlet NPR as "surrounding sounds with tactful little details: the hissing white noise; that chubby, wet bass kick. This is music that doesn't need to be heard on the dance floor, though it does work awfully well there". What followed was "Lezgo", which knocked down the genre walls and pretty much remained a firm fixture in every DJ's box throughout 2011.

As well as his formidable arsenal of original productions, Justin is now equally known for his collaborations with his brother Christian as The Martin Brothers, producing such hip-hop influenced hits as 'Duckface', 'Stoopit', 'Dum'. Justin has also made his mark remixing such bona fide classics as Radiohead's 'Nude', Marshall Jefferson's 'Mushrooms', TG's 'Revox' and remixes for labels such as Fools Gold and Greco Roman, firmly establishing himself as the man to make big tracks even bigger.

2011 found Justin in the perfect position to work on his boldest project to date, his debut artist album and he couldn't be more enthusiastically happy with the results. "Ghettos & Gardens" long player will be released on dirtybird late spring 2012, with a string of stunning singles to support the release.

Demand for Justin's skills behind the decks has skyrocketed with his bookings schedule constantly crammed to capacity. With dates everywhere from Panorama Bar (Berlin), Fabric (London), Space (Ibiza) and a full album tour for summer and fall 2012, its no wonder Justin's diary reads like the dreams of a professional raver. Stateside he
continues to be a regular fixture at the Dirtybird events in San Francisco and beyond.

Music journalists typically describe Justin's sound as 'melodic and tough' with his music encapsulating both melody and emotional depth yet always with enough undeniable ass shaking properties to translate to the floor.

He remains as enthusiastic as ever to be involved in the scene. When recently questioned by Resident Advisor on what he'd be doing if he wasn't a DJ or dance music producer he just replied: "Wishing I was a DJ or music producer."

By all accounts, it's hard to tell him to wipe that smile off his face.


With a background in Hip Hop going back many years, the mysterious Shiba San - a proficient DJ and producer - has been creating quite a stir recently with his Deep House / Ghetto House influenced productions fusing old analog sounds with the latest technology of today, achieving rock-solid productions and creating his own personal sound.


J. Phlip (pronounced J Flip) known to some as Jessica Phillippe discovered house music in her hometown of Champaign, Illinois, just 2 hours south of Chicago.

Sometime around her 19th birthday she got her first DJ rig - two belt drive turntables and a mixer lacking EQ knobs for $100 bucks! From then on, her poor roomates were forced to listen to a constant dance party in-between her Systems Engineering studies. There aren't a lot of 4.0 braniac engineering majors who decide to become DJs instead of cashing in on their degrees but Jessica truly loves the music and has dedicated her life to it.

Her proximity to Chicago's famous house scene tremendously affected her sound, but the distance afforded her the freedom to incorporate a variety of other influences into her repertoire. Her sets posses a fun, "lets-not-forget-this-is-dance-music," feeling and simultaneously keep you guessing about what might come next. Her collection spans house, tech house, deep house, techno, booty bass and pretty much anything that make you shake your ass.

Jessica's skills on the decks and in the studio have secured her highly desirable spot as an official member of the Dirtybird crew, after signing her first record to them in 2008. She is currently Claude VonStroke's favorite support DJ and has already played at amazing high profile gigs like Fabric, Space Ibiza, Back to Basics, and Watergate. She was also chosen for URB Magazine's Next 100 of 2009 and is currently residing in Berlin (but is often back and forth between there and her previous home of San Francisco). Look out for her upcoming productions on dirtybird, Pets, and Krush Groove. She WILL be making asses shake on the dancefloor and she's just as excited about it as the day she got her belt drives!


Belgian born and Berlin based producer Seba, better known as Kill Frenzy, has an infinite affinity for crude, lewd, deep and dark vibrations. As a teenager, he acquired a distinct taste for house and techno from the greats: Jeff Mills, Green Velvet, DJ Godfather, David Clarke, DJ Slugo, DJ Milton, DJ Funk. These kingpins would o!ccasionally drop booty records, which further peaked Kill Frenzy's interest.

These tunes went on to lay the foundation for KF's initial releases on Ghetto Test (a subsidiary of the infamous Dust Traxx Records) and Juke Trax (DJ Godfather's Ghetto Tech label). His rapid-fire juke joints, clocking around 160 BPM, were pure youthful adrenaline. Seba soon came back around to his early love of filthy and funky s!ounds create his most well known release thus far, "Make That Booty Clap."
In 2012, Kill Frenzy signed to Claude VonStroke's San Francisco based label, dirtybird. The idyllic pairing of "Booty Clap" and dirtybird, enabled the record to spread like a virus, infecting DJs as d!iverse as Soul Clap and Skrillex—the later of whom helped turn this signature tune into a festival anthem.

Taylr Swft, Kill Frenzy's debut album is due out on dirtybird this coming November. Label boss, VonStroke says:
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"I'm almost sad to start sharing the new Kill Frenzy album with everyone else because it has been my secret weapon all summer.
At one point I was playing seven tracks from the album in the same s!et - it was almost embarrassing. I'm very fickle about choosing what I play and this album is amazing."

Kill Frenzy's inaugural album will include a collective plethora of sounds for an assorted audience with singles like "No Panties" for the ecstatic festival and club-goers and "All Night" for the Funktion- One hungry super fans. Séba's diverse love for bizarre yet melodic, catchy underground house & techno is what has lured DJs and dancers worldwide, making him a force to be reckoned with.


As one of the premier voices to emerge from eighties hip-hop culture, rapper Slick Rick has been influential from the moment he stepped in front of a microphone. Beginning rap as a hobby when he was still a sharp-tongued high school student, the emerging wordsmith verbally fought to be the best. Battling in the lunchroom with his friends, including future "Delancey Street" rapper Dana Dane, the immigrant kid named Ricky Martin Lloyd Waters, who hailed from Mitchum-Surrey, England, was a high school art major who was simultaneously learning to paint pictures with the words tumbled from his tongue.

Creating vivid narratives inspired by spectacle of his new surroundings in the Bronx, he began calling himself "MC Ricky D" and created a persona to fit his lush lyrics. Setting out on the New York City rap circuit, Rick performed locally at school contests, on park benches and inside local holes in the wall.

It wasn't long before he met Harlem based rapper Doug E. Fresh, who was the judge at a talent show that Rick entered. Noting Rick's talent, Doug brought him on board as a member of his already established Get Fresh Crew.