Claude VonStroke always has an ear to the ground for forward-thinking sounds, and the forthcoming remix package for his third album “Urban Animal” reflects it.
The Dirtybird boss tapped Berlin-based Detroit product Jimmy Edgar to rework “Lay it Down Re-Smoked,” the bumping track by DJ Nehpets that he had licensed and remixed himself. The eclectic Ultramajic label head lent his signature rhythmic touch to the remix, replacing Claude’s buzzing bass and stuttered percussion with menacing low end and metallic synth stabs. Listen to the full premiere of Edgar’s remix exclusively on Billboard CODE:
“Asking Jimmy Edgar to do a remix on my album was a no brainer. Who doesn’t like a modern house artist from Detroit who is bringing back the old booty/juke vibe in full force?” VonStroke tells Billboard. “I swear after I heard Jimmy bring back the classic style of using the clap in on the down beat, it only took about three months for me to get 35 promos and demos all with the clap on the one. That’s the sign of a leader, everyone else is copying his label Ultramajic right now.”
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VonStroke also remixed his own track “Can’t Wait” for the package, sampling and chopping up his wife’s voice atop percussive bass rhythms and plucky synthesizers to lend a more upbeat bounce the moody and melodic original. Listen to the full premiere of VonStroke’s “Where’s Kenny?” remix exclusively on Billboard CODE:
VonStroke says he handpicked innovators and trendsetters in their respective genres for the sprawling remix package, which also features reinterpretations by Solomun, Eprom, Dixon, Photek, Doorly, Krust, Tanner Ross and SCNTST, as well as fellow Dirtybirds Kill Frenzy and Justin Jay.
Claude VonStroke’s “Urban Animal RMXS” package is available on May 5 through Dirtybird.