Claude vonStroke Interview
The Detroit born house and techno producer who released his first record aged 32 talks annual BBQ’s and who he’d most like to sign!
How are you and the family?
We are good just getting ramped up for the holidays in California.
First off, what track got you up and ready for the day this morning?
My five year old was singing the Dreidel song and we aren't even Jewish. But he got one at school and knew the rules of the game so we played a round of it and sang the tune together.
Is there someone or something that changed your perspective on music?
I think when Justin Martin signed his first track was when I started thinking... hey wait a minute, Justin is my buddy and he's not that different from me. Why don’t I try and make a house tune to release as well? I had been making music forever but I never considered it a possible "career" before that.
What made you switch from film to music?
Film requires 5-1000 people to do a project from start to finish. It also takes forever and is extremely expensive even on the smallest of budgets. Music requires me and about three days to make a track. And I find music more satisfying because there is no filter between me and the public. There is no actor to screw up my lines or no set designer to ruin the look of the shot or whatever. There is just me making the tunes; it is direct and immediate.
Would you say your own DVD, “Intellect: Techno House Progressive” affected this change?
Yeah I would. It was a ball breaking project and by the end of that I was ready to quit film for a long time. I know everyone would expect me to say it was because I learned all about music but really I learned all about film and I learned enough to know it wasn’t for me in the long term.
When did you come up with the idea of the dirtybird BBQ’s? Did you always know it was gonna be huge? Should we be expecting more? How about one in the UK?
It’s not my idea actually, it’s Christian Martin's idea to do the BBQ’s. It’s his labour of love from the start. He bought a sound system on his credit card and never let the concept die. He is dedicated!! Funny you should ask about London because NEWSFLASH we are having a huge dirtybird BBQ/party April 7th over there!! A heated tent perhaps but a BBQ no less. The party will then move into a large warehouse and go till 6am. Confirmed line-up is already me, Justin Martin, Catz n Dogz, French Fries, Julio Bashmore, Eats Everything, J Phlip, Tom Flynn and a lot more!!
If you could go to a party, just to party and not play, which party would you go to?
I’m slightly biased but for sure it would be our BBQ in the park here in San Francisco. It’s so chilled but you can also get nasty. It’s the best of both worlds and if the weather is nice, you cannot beat it.
Which city defined your music more, Detroit or San Francisco?
San Francisco but I wouldn’t even exist without Detroit. So it’s not really fair to say SF. But that’s where I developed my whole game.
If you could remove one law, what would it be?
The average speed cameras in the UK. Always killing me when I’m trying to rush from one city to another.
Do you still play the cello? Do you use this skill/ instrument in any of your tracks?
I use the musicality and the theory I learned to naturally listen to music and make music. I don’t play the cello anymore. Honestly, I hated playing the cello. It is a beautiful instrument but not really for a 13 year old kid who wants to be cool. Then it is a nightmare. Even then I was already listening to hip hop and trying to figure out how "beats" were made. I bought a sampler before anyone even knew what a sampler was. I'm glad to have played the cello and to have parents that valued music and creativity but I wouldn't be here doing this interview if I was still playing the cello.
Would you say that had an effect on you following music?
It had an effect on my brain for melodies and gauging pitch. The cello has no frets so you have to hit the notes exactly right for them to be in tune almost like singing with your fingers. I definitely became a freak about being in tune; it is still one of my biggest things with music. If a singer misses a note and I know it wasn’t intentional it drives me nuts, especially on a non-live recording.
You said in our previous interview that you didn’t start doing music until you were 32. What did you do until then and what inspired you to pursue house music?
I didn’t actually say that. I said I didn’t release a record until was 32. I have made music since I was 12. I made hip-hop, drum n bass, techno etc. I just never could figure out the path to doing this as a career until I was much older. Now with the internet everyone can find out any info they want. People know what they have to do to make it. Back then there was nothing. No road map whatsoever unless you were friends with someone already in the industry. Information was much much harder to get a hold of. I remember when I was 12 spending almost a year just trying to figure out what the standard DJ setup was for someone like Grandmaster Flash. It wasn’t documented anywhere and there were no books or magazines about it. I didn’t live in New York and I was too young to go to clubs. It’s so easy to forget about the "pre-internet days" hehe.
Last time we saw you, it was at Ultra Music Festival and it was sick, I think you had a chicken on your head. Do you reckon you have the most fun in your shows?
Shows are great and that is what we are all about at dirtybird. We have fun. We don’t pretend to be moody or scowl at the audience. We enjoy it with the people. We are not trying to be stupid but we are trying to see some smiles.
Music defines people and is a culture. Coming from hip hop, classical music, drum and bass, and then finally house and techno, do you see the difference in different cultures in each of these genres of music?
Yes but the most encouraging thing to me is how much the lines are blurring right now. Younger kids don’t care if you are hip hop or techno or breaks or DnB. They care if you are good and that is extremely liberating for me. Sometimes the house scene can get quite claustrophobic and this is why I admire these guys like Soul Clap and Gaslamp Killer. They aren’t showing up to your party to play house or dubstep, they are showing up to play cool music. I want to integrate all the music I love into my sets. Yes, I have to be aware of the club environment, but kids today are down with the program far more than the 25-35 purist market.
You drew the logo for dirtybird when you were little, is that what inspired the bird related release titles? Is illustration another skill to add to that growing list?
My illustration skills are about as good as our crappy logo but yes, the releases are inspired by the bird theme sometimes. It cannot be helped. We live dirtybird really.
Do you ever feel pressure to create a sound that people recognise as yours?
No but I do feel pressure to make everything amazing. It can’t leave here without me thinking it's top quality. If I don't get any kind of shivers when I hear it then I don’t really like it.
You’ve had some pretty glowing references for J Phlip. If you could pick anyone for your party, who would you pick?
J phlip is a great DJ, she gets it 100% and I think she will be really famous in the long run. If I could pick anyone right now it would be Justin Martin I imagine.
Any hot tips for 2012?
The music industry is all based touring now, even for the big guns. Don’t plan on making your fortune producing music. Plan your releases to make the biggest impact, not sell the most copies. (both would be nice though)! There will come a time when it will not be feasible for a music label to operate without taking a small cut of their artists touring. Right now the system is geared so that even middle range artists all have managers that run their social media and make itineraries and answer the phone. These people are making more than the record labels that make the artists famous. I believe that will have to change. I bet there are already a ton of labels that are doing this or at least planning on it. It is inevitable that the label will need to get some of the pie if music sales continue to sink under things like spotify and all that.
Which person do you most wish you’d signed?
Maceo Plex. We did a few records with him but I think I was the one who told him not to change his name!! Wow, bad advice huh? Anyway I'm so happy for Eric. It’s super amazing and a lesson that if you stick with it and you are talented like he is then the world will eventually come around to your point of view. It is amazing that sometimes you can be one of the best producers but you don’t have one of the pieces of the puzzle to make it big and it never happens. I have seen it a few times already. A lot of artists don’t really understand that you have to do a bit more than simply release tracks. You actually do have to think about where you are releasing them, who you send them to, what remixes you say yes to, everything. And i mean everything down to your press photos. Maceo Plex is the perfect example. Eric was making the illest tunes for 15 years and nothing was really happening. Then one year he makes some adjustments to the sound, adds some vocals, renames himself and he's the #5 DJ on the new RA poll from not even being in the poll ever before! It's fantastic when someone really good finally gets what they deserve.
Can you give us an exclusive?
I think I already did with the London party! Read above!
How are you and the family?
We are good just getting ramped up for the holidays in California.
First off, what track got you up and ready for the day this morning?
My five year old was singing the Dreidel song and we aren't even Jewish. But he got one at school and knew the rules of the game so we played a round of it and sang the tune together.
Is there someone or something that changed your perspective on music?
I think when Justin Martin signed his first track was when I started thinking... hey wait a minute, Justin is my buddy and he's not that different from me. Why don’t I try and make a house tune to release as well? I had been making music forever but I never considered it a possible "career" before that.
What made you switch from film to music?
Film requires 5-1000 people to do a project from start to finish. It also takes forever and is extremely expensive even on the smallest of budgets. Music requires me and about three days to make a track. And I find music more satisfying because there is no filter between me and the public. There is no actor to screw up my lines or no set designer to ruin the look of the shot or whatever. There is just me making the tunes; it is direct and immediate.
Would you say your own DVD, “Intellect: Techno House Progressive” affected this change?
Yeah I would. It was a ball breaking project and by the end of that I was ready to quit film for a long time. I know everyone would expect me to say it was because I learned all about music but really I learned all about film and I learned enough to know it wasn’t for me in the long term.
When did you come up with the idea of the dirtybird BBQ’s? Did you always know it was gonna be huge? Should we be expecting more? How about one in the UK?
It’s not my idea actually, it’s Christian Martin's idea to do the BBQ’s. It’s his labour of love from the start. He bought a sound system on his credit card and never let the concept die. He is dedicated!! Funny you should ask about London because NEWSFLASH we are having a huge dirtybird BBQ/party April 7th over there!! A heated tent perhaps but a BBQ no less. The party will then move into a large warehouse and go till 6am. Confirmed line-up is already me, Justin Martin, Catz n Dogz, French Fries, Julio Bashmore, Eats Everything, J Phlip, Tom Flynn and a lot more!!
If you could go to a party, just to party and not play, which party would you go to?
I’m slightly biased but for sure it would be our BBQ in the park here in San Francisco. It’s so chilled but you can also get nasty. It’s the best of both worlds and if the weather is nice, you cannot beat it.
Which city defined your music more, Detroit or San Francisco?
San Francisco but I wouldn’t even exist without Detroit. So it’s not really fair to say SF. But that’s where I developed my whole game.
If you could remove one law, what would it be?
The average speed cameras in the UK. Always killing me when I’m trying to rush from one city to another.
Do you still play the cello? Do you use this skill/ instrument in any of your tracks?
I use the musicality and the theory I learned to naturally listen to music and make music. I don’t play the cello anymore. Honestly, I hated playing the cello. It is a beautiful instrument but not really for a 13 year old kid who wants to be cool. Then it is a nightmare. Even then I was already listening to hip hop and trying to figure out how "beats" were made. I bought a sampler before anyone even knew what a sampler was. I'm glad to have played the cello and to have parents that valued music and creativity but I wouldn't be here doing this interview if I was still playing the cello.
Would you say that had an effect on you following music?
It had an effect on my brain for melodies and gauging pitch. The cello has no frets so you have to hit the notes exactly right for them to be in tune almost like singing with your fingers. I definitely became a freak about being in tune; it is still one of my biggest things with music. If a singer misses a note and I know it wasn’t intentional it drives me nuts, especially on a non-live recording.
You said in our previous interview that you didn’t start doing music until you were 32. What did you do until then and what inspired you to pursue house music?
I didn’t actually say that. I said I didn’t release a record until was 32. I have made music since I was 12. I made hip-hop, drum n bass, techno etc. I just never could figure out the path to doing this as a career until I was much older. Now with the internet everyone can find out any info they want. People know what they have to do to make it. Back then there was nothing. No road map whatsoever unless you were friends with someone already in the industry. Information was much much harder to get a hold of. I remember when I was 12 spending almost a year just trying to figure out what the standard DJ setup was for someone like Grandmaster Flash. It wasn’t documented anywhere and there were no books or magazines about it. I didn’t live in New York and I was too young to go to clubs. It’s so easy to forget about the "pre-internet days" hehe.
Last time we saw you, it was at Ultra Music Festival and it was sick, I think you had a chicken on your head. Do you reckon you have the most fun in your shows?
Shows are great and that is what we are all about at dirtybird. We have fun. We don’t pretend to be moody or scowl at the audience. We enjoy it with the people. We are not trying to be stupid but we are trying to see some smiles.
Music defines people and is a culture. Coming from hip hop, classical music, drum and bass, and then finally house and techno, do you see the difference in different cultures in each of these genres of music?
Yes but the most encouraging thing to me is how much the lines are blurring right now. Younger kids don’t care if you are hip hop or techno or breaks or DnB. They care if you are good and that is extremely liberating for me. Sometimes the house scene can get quite claustrophobic and this is why I admire these guys like Soul Clap and Gaslamp Killer. They aren’t showing up to your party to play house or dubstep, they are showing up to play cool music. I want to integrate all the music I love into my sets. Yes, I have to be aware of the club environment, but kids today are down with the program far more than the 25-35 purist market.
You drew the logo for dirtybird when you were little, is that what inspired the bird related release titles? Is illustration another skill to add to that growing list?
My illustration skills are about as good as our crappy logo but yes, the releases are inspired by the bird theme sometimes. It cannot be helped. We live dirtybird really.
Do you ever feel pressure to create a sound that people recognise as yours?
No but I do feel pressure to make everything amazing. It can’t leave here without me thinking it's top quality. If I don't get any kind of shivers when I hear it then I don’t really like it.
You’ve had some pretty glowing references for J Phlip. If you could pick anyone for your party, who would you pick?
J phlip is a great DJ, she gets it 100% and I think she will be really famous in the long run. If I could pick anyone right now it would be Justin Martin I imagine.
Any hot tips for 2012?
The music industry is all based touring now, even for the big guns. Don’t plan on making your fortune producing music. Plan your releases to make the biggest impact, not sell the most copies. (both would be nice though)! There will come a time when it will not be feasible for a music label to operate without taking a small cut of their artists touring. Right now the system is geared so that even middle range artists all have managers that run their social media and make itineraries and answer the phone. These people are making more than the record labels that make the artists famous. I believe that will have to change. I bet there are already a ton of labels that are doing this or at least planning on it. It is inevitable that the label will need to get some of the pie if music sales continue to sink under things like spotify and all that.
Which person do you most wish you’d signed?
Maceo Plex. We did a few records with him but I think I was the one who told him not to change his name!! Wow, bad advice huh? Anyway I'm so happy for Eric. It’s super amazing and a lesson that if you stick with it and you are talented like he is then the world will eventually come around to your point of view. It is amazing that sometimes you can be one of the best producers but you don’t have one of the pieces of the puzzle to make it big and it never happens. I have seen it a few times already. A lot of artists don’t really understand that you have to do a bit more than simply release tracks. You actually do have to think about where you are releasing them, who you send them to, what remixes you say yes to, everything. And i mean everything down to your press photos. Maceo Plex is the perfect example. Eric was making the illest tunes for 15 years and nothing was really happening. Then one year he makes some adjustments to the sound, adds some vocals, renames himself and he's the #5 DJ on the new RA poll from not even being in the poll ever before! It's fantastic when someone really good finally gets what they deserve.
Can you give us an exclusive?
I think I already did with the London party! Read above!
