Friday 30 August 2013

Claude VonStroke!

The larger than life tech head Claude Vonstroke, born in Detroit, Michigan, Claude found a huge interest in hip hop but later decided to embraces the electronic dance culture and embraced it, he did.



VonStroke or Barclay (his real name) played many local house party’s growing in Detroit while he was new to the dance culture him and his friends were making up very European dj name and Claude VonStroke was one of them. After being made to dj for his friend’s birthday party, flyers were soon around town that VonStroke was in town and from that day the name still stands.




VonStroke has a very playful mindset when producing, incorporating very unusual and comical sounds into his records but at the same keeps his production levels at a very high standard. His first album ‘Beware of the bird’ was released in 2006 and defiantly this was his induction the house world and the singles ‘The Whistler’, ‘Deep Throat’ and probably the most famous ‘Who’s afraid of Detroit’ were an essential in every djs sets.

A year before his first album he met the very talented ‘The Martinez Brothers’ and set up the tech label ‘Dirtybird’ which now is one of the most respected labels in dance today.

With singles ‘Don’t go’ by Justin Martian, ‘String Thing’ by Shadow Child, ‘Static’ by Justin Jay and the labels most famous ‘Jack’ by Breach has cemented the labels relevance the genre.

VonStroke hasn’t made a solo single for few years a new Ep was long overdue. ‘Can’t Wait’ is a reflection on VonStrokes big personality by using a bassline that blows the eardrums when played in the club. This track though has a very unpredictably arrangement, when building, making the crowd think that what is about to drop will cause headaches for a week, he lets it back down into a light piano riff which gives this track a definite unique feel but certainly has gone down well since the release.

The other single on the EP ‘The Clapping Track’ is another exciting cut. The track main feature is what sticks the track out to the rest. The overused 808 clap which features in nearly everyone’s tracks is not used, instead he uses noise from the audiences using their applause in his breakdowns. Another very dominant sound in a very distorted organ stab, which doesn’t sound very sweet but works in this simplistic house track.

If you want to experience two tracks which will literally blow your socks off this EP is a must have. An unusually blend of sounds leaves listeners satisfied and a definite change from all the rest, similar sounding house tracks out there.


Check out, listen or buy:
http://www.globalgroove.co.uk/deep-house/a-vonstroke-claude/cant-wait-the-clapping-track-a69992.html

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Pete does 1991!

Check out Pete Mixing from 1991, had it ever sounded so good.