RCRD LBL

This is dirtybird

Posted 11/14/2007 2:15 AM by rcrd lbl

Tags: dance, electronic, techno, disco

dirtybird (it's lowercase) is something like a phenomenon. In 2003, while young filmmaker Barclay Crenshaw (aka Claude VonStroke) was finishing his film ("Intellect") about how to become a famous DJ, he ran into a problem. Namely, how to license the classic tracks from the over 40 DJs he interviewed for the lengthy project. Ever the industrious mind, Crenshaw recruited a few friends to start making original music for the project, including one Justin Martin. As they cut tracks, it suddenly became apparent that musicmaking was the next step in the game.

dirtybird records was soon born and almost immediately the label had a bona-fide hit. "Deep Throat" from the amicable VonStroke took off on an international level and Martin's "Cicada" soon followed suite. Once Crenshaw dropped "The Whistler" the table was set: dirtybird became an imprint even the largest DJs followed in earnest.

The winning formula sprung from dirtybird's approach to dance music. "It's dance music, it's supposed to be fun" became a kind of mantra to the core producers: VonStroke, Justin and Christian Martin and their friend Worthy, who provided the soundsystem (and name) that bore the label's identity. Dirtybird was originally an outdoor, Golden Gate Park party where the four met.

So now, four years on, the label has come to represent a dance music that is a bit tongue-in-cheek, a bit cheeky, even. From VonStroke's "Beware of the Bird" to Worthy's debut hit "Irst_te?" there is little elitist about dirtybird. The idea, frankly, is to make dance music with a kind of whimsy that overlooks scenes, genre and pretensions. Dance music made for one thing -- to make you dance.

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