Claude VonStroke

Seeing as his brand of house and techno music is often delivered with a dash of humor, it’s no surprise that Claude VonStroke — in name, at least — was launched as a joke. Producer Barclay Crenshaw became known as Claude VonStroke in 2005 when he was looking for a name to fit a quirky series of his techno tracks. Crenshaw debuted the name that same year with the “Deep Throat” 12″, released on his own label, Dirtybird. The year 2006 was especially productive, with both “The Whistler” and the “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?” singles, as well as the debut album Beware of the Bird. The Bird Brain album, along with an entry in the Fabric mix series (Fabric 46), followed in 2009. The 2011 release Makeovers featured a selection of the producer’s remixes for the likes of Cajmere, Katy B, Kenny Larkin, and Girl Unit, while the 2013 mix-CD Dirtybird Players’ Mix featured tracks from the growing Dirtybird roster. That same year, Crenshaw released his third studio album, Urban Animal, which featured guest appearances from DJ Nehpets, Mr. Fox, and Py. His production output slowed during the next few years, highlighted by a collaboration with touring partner Green Velvet (as Get Real), while work for Rihanna, the Chemical Brothers, and Disclosure boosted his reputation as a remixer. Additionally, he hosted a radio program, The Birdhouse, and established a traveling series of like-named parties. In 2017, Crenshaw made his debut under his own name with a hip hop album simply titled, Barclay Crewnshaw. The following year he returned to the VonStroke moniker first with the Eprom collaboration “Grenade” and then the two-song single “Walay (My Bae).” ~ David Jeffries