For the past 15 years, Claude VonStroke‘s Dirtybird Records has imbued the underground with its idiosyncratic, avant-garde approach to independent production. Considering the evergreen youth that the imprint has brought to the electronic sector, it’s somewhat hard to believe that the label is blowing out the candles on its fifteenth birthday this year. Harnessing all of the energy of a teenager without the growing pains, Dirtybird Records and its celebrated offshoots, Dirtybird Campout and Dirtybird BBQ, were a central focus of VonStroke’s recent AMA on February 19.
Arriving hot on the heels of the experimentalist’s fourth studio album as Claude VonStroke, Freaks & Beaks, and a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix to boot, the AMA canvassed the tastemaker’s activity to date and the flair that the future holds for Dirtybird Records. As the initiated know to expect, it’ll be considerable, and inimitable.
Here are 7 takeaways from Claude VonStroke’s AMA:
House DJs don’t typically score Main Stage slots because they don’t fit stage specific mold
Only *one* component of Dirtybird Records was not affected when the label uprooted from San Francisco and relocated to Los Angeles
Following his own course was the most fruitful move of his career
He’s looking to take Dirtybird Campout and/or Dirtybird BBQ international
Signing a new artist to Dirtybird Records is a multi-step endeavor
His experience in different electronic cultures has illuminated similarities between certain scenes
His favorite moment of his career to date was successfully launching Dirtybird Campout
Photo credit: Aaron Glassman