If you ever attended a Dirtybird party, you are no stranger to the label's (or should I say family?) unique energy and style. Constantly breeding a true sense of community between tech house lovers who wanted more than minimal bass lines and no interaction on the dancefloor, Dirtybird provides it all and more with enthusiasm, originality and passion. From the traditional summer BBQ events to their own camping festival in California, the Dirtybird crew has been on top of their game on their non-stop party mode while unfailingly recruiting more and more fans by the minute.

Part of such success can be directly credited to Dirtybird's mastermind and big bossClaude VonStroke. Known for his charismatic and energetic personality, VonStroke is without a doubt one of the most respected producers and DJs in electronic music - always delivering bass-driven tracks and instant hits through the one-of-a-kind label. You would think after years leading the tech house scene and creating a whole community dedicated to his label, VonStroke would be satisfied with his accomplishments; but there's no such thing as too high for the Ohio native. Stepping outside of his musical comfort zone, VonStroke certifies once again his versatility delivering a project completely new and distinct than anything we've ever seen from him: Barclay Crenshaw.

Putting his alias Claude VonStroke to the side and performing under his real name - Barclay Crenshaw is a door to VonStroke's brilliantly innovative mind and another opening for his multifaceted creativity. Proving that a genre should not define an artist, Barclay Crenshaw shows how Claude VonStroke can be both one and many; capturing the artist's endless stamina and energy using music as the creative expressive medium it should be. With a self-titled debut album, Crenshaw's kaleidoscopic compositions insert us in an uncommon narrative: an excentric manifesto that tells the story of an explorer who finds artifacts suggesting that an alien race has visited Earth, abducted a large group of children and returned them a few days later. With no records of what happened to the children, the only clue to the strange occurrence is the cryptic music left behind. In between cosmic sounds like "The Gene Sequence" and metaphysical jams like "Sleepy Kids" ; Crenshaw goes beyond the limit of conceptual genres and defines his individuality on a skilfully diverse 10-track journey.

Implying both abstraction and representation, Crenshaw's saturnine vibes and mysterious beats differ completely from the traditional upbeat VonStroke tracks. Blending synthetic elements and translating his endless curiosity into his new project, he playfully enters a new era of downtempo sounds and futuristic tracks although never compromising quality while experimenting with new sounds. With Dirtybird's tech funk masterpieces and with a new collection of mind-wandering tracks, the chasm between the two genres delivered by VonStroke and Crenshaw is very noticeable. Still, this same chasm is what allows us to understand and appreciate the artist's gifted brain on a deeper level. Although completely divergent in style, both personas share the same approach to gathering inspiration widely and delivering perfectly-crafted music. Remaining inspiring, utterly creative and fresh; the synergy between Claude VonStroke and Barclay Crenshaw results on a blurred line between alias, alter ego and reality; creating an inimitable, versatile and rare-minded artist.