Lately, I’ve been spending a good chunk of my listening hours digging deeper into the tech side of house. I’ve long been a fan and love the lane this style cuts through both sonically and energy-wise. When you get the right crowd who shares your appreciation, good times ensue. I need more of this life and look forward to taking the night off and unleashing on some sort of off-the-radar event in the near future. The grimier the better.
One label who has been holding their own in this realm for more than a decade is Dirtybird Records. Founded by Barclay Crenshaw aka Claude VonStroke, this label is in that sweet spot of being big, but not too big, churning out underground favorites for more than a decade. It’s inception has an interesting story, as well.
It was during the 2002 production of the DJ documentary, Intellect, that the label was created as a vehicle to provide music to the soundtrack. Through this project VonStroke met Christian Martin and Justin Martin, who would later go onto being one of the label’s first artists and ignite his ascension into the higher echelons of electronic dance music. This San Fransisco outfit has been holding the torch ever since, burning up dance floors around the world with their releases.
One of the first tracks to bring me on board was VonStroke’s now classic, ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit’. That’s a good jump off point if you’re just new to the game, and you can peep it below before hearing the latest from the Dirtybird.
Who’s Afraid of Detroit by Claude VonStroke
Things are heating up next as Dom Dolla continues the homage to Cali’s Golden City on this informative little burner. Some interview dialog waxing poetic on why San Francisco has long had a thriving and exciting music scene adds I nice counterpoint to this ruggedly evil groove.
San Francisco where’s your disco?
San Frandisco by Dom Dolla
Chris Lake is crushing it right now and teams up with Solardo on this chubby burner. Again, with a dash of spoken word and pitched-down vocals that complete the recipe. This proven formula works and is the perfect elixir for revitalizing the energy in your posterior. Believe that.
Free Your Body by Chris Lake & Solardo
Bringing thing back to where we started, Claude VonStroke teams up with the legendary Green Velvet as they take a page from a certain well-endowed female country icon on this joint. This ain’t no 9 to 5, but Von Stroke’s ‘Jolean’ is definitely a track that puts in some serious work after midnight.
Jolean by Claude Vonstroke & Green Velvet
Wave (Justin Martin Remix) by Catz ‘N Dogs feat. Zensofly and Maxville
JT James is a DJ, producer and writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. A veteran of the DJ and recording worlds. he has produced several projects in the genres of hip hop and electronic music under various aliases such as James Divine, Track Nicholson and Sandy Villanova. In addition, he continues to perform at over 200 events throughout the year. Be on the lookout for his upcoming single with underground hip hop legend Ras Kass and his electronic music collaboration with James Landau, coming your way in 2020.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jtjamesmusic
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Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/jt-james/loving-is-a-fearless-sound/
If you are looking to book JT James or any DJ in his roster, head over to Essential Entertainment and give us a shout on the website in the link below. Cheers!
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