Justin Martin made the very first release on dirtybird records in 2005. Seven years later, he delivers his long awaited debut artist album with the very same smile and fun loving attitude he’s had since the beginning.  “Ghettos & Gardens” is exactly as advertised – a tender and tough collection of songs that build you up with sweeping strings, then break you down with earth shattering basslines. It’s sunsets vs. cyclones, roses vs. razors, and bunny rabbits vs. wolverines.

Maybe it’s the streets of San Francisco that made his music this way – a place where you can see a beautiful woman and a crippled homeless addict on the same city block. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of the famous dirtybird Golden Gate park parties, where Justin’s loving parents make tacos and chop fresh salsa while total freaks lose their minds in front of the massive sound system.  Not a whole lot of producers are just as influenced by E40 as they are by LTJ Bukem, and even fewer of them played the jazz saxophone in high school.

Whatever is going on, most people would say that Justin is one of the most charismatic likable DJs to walk the earth. In this album Justin demonstrates his unique ability to blur the lines between musical genres, taking us through beautiful melodies, UK basslines, moody funk and devastating drops. You can hear the meticulous production techniques in every track – from the slow Hip-Hop style of Hood Rich to the heavy duty low-end of Molokini.  The whole thing is fresh and uplifting like the smell of ozone after a lightning strike. Ghettos & Gardens sounds like nothing else out there – it could not have come from anyone but Justin Martin. Such originality is a formidable achievement, and adds to Justin’s reputation as one of the most talented and exciting electronic music producers of our time.

Ghettos & Gardens will be released on dirtybird in May 2012.

Visit his artist page here on Sumi.

The duo’s refreshing take on dancefloor music has, in the last 12 months, propelled them into the limelight  like never before. Perhaps it was getting the remix treatment from the incomparable Carl Craig and rising star Tanner Ross on their most recent Mothership release. Or the A&R home runs they scored with Pets Recordings, debuting Eats Everything’s smash “Entrance Song” and curating remixes from Maceo Plex, Axel Boman and KiNK. Or maybe it was their first appearance in Resident Advisor’s hallowed Top 100 DJ Poll. In any and all cases, the truth is clear: Catz N’ Dogz are well n’ truly at the top of their game.

It began in 2003, when best friends Greg and Voitek hosted their first club night in their home town Szczecin, Poland. Back then they were known as 3 Channels, and they developed organically from there, into their first club residency, and into a regular hosting slot with Szczecin’s ABC Radio. As 3 Channels amassed a loyal legion of fans, they broadened their creative pursuits again, and production was their next natural outlet. Their techno-centric tracks swiftly caught the attention and then joined the rosters of some of the most respected underground dance labels in the world: Trapez, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Boxer, Leena, Trenton, as well as the boys’ own budding imprint Channels Rec. The instant that Claude VonStroke heard 3 Channels’ red-hot club records, he snapped the twosome up for his Dirtybird label; there they remixed Claude’s infamous anthem “Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?” for a highly limited (and highly sought-after) one‐sided vinyl release, followed by the dancefloor-destroyer Chicken Affair EP, which appealed to the broadest spectrum of underground house and techno DJs.

By 2008, the boys had completely evolved, reemerging with a looser, freewheeling house sound, a hybrid masterpiece of a debut album, Stars of Zoo, and a new name: Catz n’ Dogz. The pair integrated deep house signatures without losing sight of their techno roots, all the while exploring lush, organic soundscapes. Their combination of meticulous, cinematicatmospheres, minimal techno arrangements and live instrumentation spawned a string of acclaimed releases for Sentence Records, Get Physical and Dirtybird’s sister label Mothership.

Catz n’ Dogz’ sophomore album took an entire year to create, but it proved to be more than worth the wait: Escape from Zoo found the guys boldly leaping over the barriers in 2010, wildly roaming the terrain and straying further and further from convention. Escape from Zoo freely explored the intertwined vines of street bass, disco, R&B, deep house, hip-hop, and it blossomed through collaborations with heavy hitters dOP, Claude VonStroke and Jazzanova’s Paul Randolph.

Even as the rapturous response to Escape from Zoo launched them headlong into a heavy period of touring, live shows and festivals at hotspots around the globe, the boy endeavoured to further develop the scope of the Catz n’ Dogz universe. They launched Pets Recordings with the distinct aim of bringing Poland’s production talent to an international audience, they kicked off the Petcast podcast series, and took their label showcases on the road, establishing residencies at Berlin’s connoisseur clubs Watergate and Farbfernseher, alongside regular appearances in Szczecin and various other Polish cities.

Whether you’re charmed by their bass-heavy, colourful and always groove-laden DJ sets, drawn in by their arresting live show, weaving your your way through their illustrious output as producers, or delving into the magical tunes curated from their close network of friends, Grzegorz and Wojciech (or Greg n’ Voitek) are simply two of the hottest house Catz (n’ Dogz) on the scene today.

Visit their artist page here on Sumi.

The duo’s refreshing take on dancefloor music has, in the last 12 months, propelled them into the limelight  like never before. Perhaps it was getting the remix treatment from the incomparable Carl Craig and rising star Tanner Ross on their most recent Mothership release. Or the A&R home runs they scored with Pets Recordings, debuting Eats Everything’s smash “Entrance Song” and curating remixes from Maceo Plex, Axel Boman and KiNK. Or maybe it was their first appearance in Resident Advisor’s hallowed Top 100 DJ Poll. In any and all cases, the truth is clear: Catz N’ Dogz are well n’ truly at the top of their game.

It began in 2003, when best friends Greg and Voitek hosted their first club night in their home town Szczecin, Poland. Back then they were known as 3 Channels, and they developed organically from there, into their first club residency, and into a regular hosting slot with Szczecin’s ABC Radio. As 3 Channels amassed a loyal legion of fans, they broadened their creative pursuits again, and production was their next natural outlet. Their techno-centric tracks swiftly caught the attention and then joined the rosters of some of the most respected underground dance labels in the world: Trapez, Crosstown Rebels, Pokerflat, Boxer, Leena, Trenton, as well as the boys’ own budding imprint Channels Rec. The instant that Claude VonStroke heard 3 Channels’ red-hot club records, he snapped the twosome up for his Dirtybird label; there they remixed Claude’s infamous anthem “Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?” for a highly limited (and highly sought-after) one‐sided vinyl release, followed by the dancefloor-destroyer Chicken Affair EP, which appealed to the broadest spectrum of underground house and techno DJs.

By 2008, the boys had completely evolved, reemerging with a looser, freewheeling house sound, a hybrid masterpiece of a debut album, Stars of Zoo, and a new name: Catz n’ Dogz. The pair integrated deep house signatures without losing sight of their techno roots, all the while exploring lush, organic soundscapes. Their combination of meticulous, cinematicatmospheres, minimal techno arrangements and live instrumentation spawned a string of acclaimed releases for Sentence Records, Get Physical and Dirtybird’s sister label Mothership.

Catz n’ Dogz’ sophomore album took an entire year to create, but it proved to be more than worth the wait: Escape from Zoo found the guys boldly leaping over the barriers in 2010, wildly roaming the terrain and straying further and further from convention. Escape from Zoo freely explored the intertwined vines of street bass, disco, R&B, deep house, hip-hop, and it blossomed through collaborations with heavy hitters dOP, Claude VonStroke and Jazzanova’s Paul Randolph.

Even as the rapturous response to Escape from Zoo launched them headlong into a heavy period of touring, live shows and festivals at hotspots around the globe, the boy endeavoured to further develop the scope of the Catz n’ Dogz universe. They launched Pets Recordings with the distinct aim of bringing Poland’s production talent to an international audience, they kicked off the Petcast podcast series, and took their label showcases on the road, establishing residencies at Berlin’s connoisseur clubs Watergate and Farbfernseher, alongside regular appearances in Szczecin and various other Polish cities.

Whether you’re charmed by their bass-heavy, colourful and always groove-laden DJ sets, drawn in by their arresting live show, weaving your your way through their illustrious output as producers, or delving into the magical tunes curated from their close network of friends, Grzegorz and Wojciech (or Greg n’ Voitek) are simply two of the hottest house Catz (n’ Dogz) on the scene today.

Debuted on Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show the track become one of the most anticipated releases of the year, with DJs from all genres championing it ahead of its full release on Taylor’s own Dubsided label.

I Still Love You goes completely against everything you would expect from a Switch record. Stripped back and almost downtempo, the production provides the perfectly stark backdrop for Andrea’s raw and soulful vocals lamenting the loss of love.

Now resident in California, Taylor has gone from being an underground house pioneer to one of the most in demand producers in the world having leant his skills behind the desk to bonafide pop superstars such as Beyonce and M.I.A. whilst collaborating with Diplo as Major Lazer.

The first original Switch release since 2006’s club smash A Bit Patchy, I Still Love You shows that rubbing shoulders with LA’s great and good hasn’t dimmed Taylor’s innate understanding on how to work a dancefloor and represents the first salvo in what he has promised to be a new glut of releases on his revitalised Dubsided imprint.

I Still Love You is available now on iTunes and Beatport.

It has to be the very laid-back nature of his residence Oslo that makes him overmodest. Except for his peers Hans-Peter Lindstrom (Feedelity Records) and Todd Terje who he works and records with and some of the city’s legendary characters like the idiosyncratic Rune Lindbæk or the mysterious DJ Strangefruit, that place is nowhere as busy, hectic and all-important as some of Europe’s club capitals like to portray themselves. When it comes to the musical output, Prins and his royal household leads di way though, as dub poets might say.
Together with Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Thomas created the climax of the on-going fascination with retro futurism and their self-titled debut album for the Belgian Eskimo Label.
His own label Full Pupp has some of the best house-not-house, neo-disco or call-it-what-you-want dance music records to offer that you heard in a long time. All done by exclusive Norwegian talent, a new outfit called Internasjonal will join the global dots with producers from all corners of the known-world, where he currently turns up every weekend with a crate of vinyl, his record grips and an immaculate way to play with it . In other words, there is no stopping him now.

But it was not always like that. The Prins had to go through the school of hard knocks like so many before him. Back, way back in time, he started playing around as a DJ at a puerile age. Viewed as an extension of his break-dancing efforts, belt-driven turntables where enough to support his mix of hip hop, electro and an array of Arthur Baker’s and Shep Pettibone’s jewels. But as soon as he picked up the bass and played in more bands than Norway has trees, the joy of the turntable took a back seat. Until the early nineties arrived that is. Prins still didn’t have his reliable gang of co-conspirators, but he picked up a weekly residence, where he championed sounds as far fetched as Miles Davis or The Doors together with the craze that was started by Phuture’s “Acid Tracks”. Dance music was happening again and DJs like the aforementioned Strangefruit did their thing to inspire our hero who is currently more excited about new music than ever before. “I like to mix up the styles. The old with the new, the minimal cuts with the Balearic beauties and my own classics on top of it in order not to get bored”, says the master himself and if he would not be too shy for it, we would call him an edutainer (courtesy of KRS-One).

As you can see Prins Thomas has all the right ingredients one could look for in a DJ: great skills, humbleness, productions and remixes other people would kill for and most of all, the ability to play records in a way that makes them not only sound good and expedient, but also makes punters dance. And have we mentioned his beard, yet? There you go: the best DJ in the world!

Q&A with Prins Thomas

You never made it this far as a DJ or producer. Your alternative in life?
Maybe a cook? Or even a professional baby maker.

What is your favourite word in the Norwegian language?
“Lusekofte”, which is a very warm traditional sweater. “Svolk” is also a cool word, meaning to give somebody a good beating.

The worst meal you ever cooked?
In fact, I am quite good in the kitchen, but I get picky over stuff like overcooked ingredients or not preparing the food with real love.
I think the worst meal I’ve ever had was when I was broke and had moved to my own place. I only had two carrots, some pepper and salt which I tried making soup of….

Is there a DJ whose record collection you envy?
Not really, it’s hard enough to keep track of my own and I still find new gems there.

You are being reincarnated. Which DJ would you want to be?
Any dj who’d be happy to only play for 2 hours, then I would get more time to sleep and less stuff to carry with me each time I play.

Can you recommend a way to smuggle overweight luggage onto a plane – without paying for it?
Except for trying to make your hand luggage look light there’s always the possibility of flirting with the check-in staff. The best tip is actually to collect the miles so you can get more kilos in your checked in baggage, and of course not bring your whole record collection with you every time you play.

What is the best club you never been to?
Precious Hall in Sapporo and I also heard Robert Johnson is supposed to be very good.

The three basslines you wish you wrote yourself?
Any Bohannon, Sly and Robbie or James Brown (Bootsy) thing – simple, but effective.

A song you want to wake up or go to bed with?
Sigur Ros “Takk” is the only album that works for me when going to bed.
Dionne Warwick singing the songs of Burt Bacharach is perfect for waking up to on a Sunday morning.

The ugliest airport you have ever been to?
Rome. They tend to always break or loose my luggage.

Three tips to survive a hangover?
Before going to bed:
1.Postafen (Norwegian travel sickness tablets)
2.Water
3.Not crashing in bed drunk

When waking up:
1.Headache tablets
2.A dark beer and a Virgin Mary (bloody without the booze)
3.Eggs and bacon

The remix you are the most proud of?
The remix of Lindstrom’s “Music” is one of the first I did and also pretty complex.
I can still listen to it and hear things I had no idea how I managed to squeeze out of the machine. The Juan MacLean, “Answering Machine” and Roxy Music (unreleased) were quite enjoyable, too, as they somehow very naturally ended up sounding very different to the originals.

The remix you wish, you never did?
I don’t regret a thing, ha, ha…but there’s a few I think people didn’t catch as it might have been not what they expected. In general, I guess I’ve done too many remixes to really say I “love” them all but then I remind myself of how many Tom Moulton did…

Your philosophy in life?
Enjoy it for the short time it lasts!

Justin initially pricked the ears of the electronic music community in 2003 with his first record ‘The Sad Piano’ on Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly label. Everyone in the electronic music food chain got involved, from the A list DJs like Derrick Carter and Pete Tong that were playing the track, to the international music press that were raving about it. It even translated to the German underground, with Poker Flat licensing it for Steve Bug’s ‘Bugnology’ compilation. Like someone that goes bowling for the first time and gets five strikes and a turkey, Justin couldn’t really have hoped for a better entrance.

Feeding off the energy of the San Francisco underground and mentored by fellow super producer Claude VonStroke, Justin was intrinsically involved with the development of dirtybird records, appearing on its first four releases. Justin was soon ready to take flight, releasing a string of solo EPs which flaunted a very unique sound and garnered still more respect among fellow DJS and heavyweight’s of the scene.

In 2010, such respect prompted an invitation for Justin to DJ mix Pete Tong’s infamous “Essential Mix” series and also landed his felicitous placement on the front cover of DJ Magazine.  Justin continued to roll out two further killer EPs on dirtybird, which were collaborations with his protégée Ardalan. “Mr Spock” earned recognition from major digital news outlet NPR as “surrounding sounds with tactful little details: the hissing white noise; that chubby, wet bass kick. This is music that doesn’t need to be heard on the dance floor, though it does work awfully well there”. What followed was “Lezgo”, which knocked down the genre walls and pretty much remained a firm fixture in every DJ’s box throughout 2011.

As well as his formidable arsenal of original productions, Justin is now equally known for his collaborations with his brother Christian as The Martin Brothers, producing such hip-hop influenced hits as ‘Duckface’, ‘Stoopit’, ‘Dum’. Justin has also made his mark remixing such bona fide classics as Radiohead’s ‘Nude’, Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Mushrooms’, TG’s ‘Revox’ and remixes for labels such as Fools Gold and Greco Roman, firmly establishing himself as the man to make big tracks even bigger.

2011 found Justin in the perfect position to work on his boldest project to date, his debut artist album and he couldn’t be more enthusiastically happy with the results. “Ghettos & Gardens” long player will be released on dirtybird late spring 2012, with a string of stunning singles to support the release.

Demand for Justin’s skills behind the decks has skyrocketed with his bookings schedule constantly crammed to capacity. With dates everywhere from Panorama Bar (Berlin), Fabric (London), Space (Ibiza) and a full album tour for summer and fall 2o12, its no wonder Justin’s diary is reading like the dreams of a professional raver. Stateside he continues to be a regular fixture at the dirtybird events in San Francisco and beyond.

Music journalists typically describe Justin’s sound as ‘melodic and tough’ with his music encapsulating both melody and emotional depth yet always with enough undeniable ass shaking properties to translate to the floor.

“I’m always trying to find music for my DJ sets that rattles sound systems, but still has enough melody and interesting texture to expand your mind even if you’re sitting at home on a snowy or rainy day.”

He remains as enthusiastic as ever to be involved in the scene. When recently questioned by Resident Advisor on what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a DJ or dance music producer he just replied: “Wishing I was a DJ or music producer.”

By all accounts it’s hard to tell him to wipe that smile off his face.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/justinmartinsmusica

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Claude VonStroke, musician, DJ and head of one of the world’s most popular independent dance labels is set to step out of the underground and lend his skills as a music producer.

Raised in Detroit and now based in San Francisco, Barclay Crenshaw created the quirky alias “Claude VonStroke” in 2005 and went on to become one of the most well respected label owners and DJs in dance music. His first release, ‘Deep Throat’ was a hit putting his imprint on the decks of DJs around the globe. A manifesto of sorts, it was the rare dance floor bomb that sounded as much fun to make as it was to dance to. But the real breakthrough came with double-header ‘The Whistler/Who’s Afraid of Detroit?.’ The 12” cemented Claude’s reputation as a producer to be reckoned with, crossing borders, genres and musical ears. The Whistler was embraced by the bass crowd, and at the same time sitting just as easily on the more 4/4 floors. Similarly, Who’s Afraid of Detroit? (a social comment about the unfounded fears of suburbanites visiting downtown Detroit) is now known as one of the classic dance tracks of the decade.

In 2009, he recorded a mix for Fabric’s venerated compilation series and released second album “Bird Brain”, which encompassed many diverse aspects of dance music and beyond. It included a collaboration with the legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins as well as the smashing “Beat That Bird” and euphoric ‘Vocal Chords’ both which went to number #1 & #2 on Beatport respectively.

His core label, dirtybird, continues to surprise and innovate in the underground dance scene. The label features an enigmatic combination of house, funk, dirty-bass and electronica. Since the creation of dirtybird, Claude has continued to be the dedicated A&R man, signing over 100 EPs and demonstrating his incredible ear for what works on the dance-floor. In 2007, he set up a second label, “mothership” with a slightly different focus (more euro-flavored techno and house). Apart from moving into different musical corners, a substantial percentage of the label’s revenue is contributed to a children’s music school in Detroit.

Appealing to an even wider music community Barclay has another alias, The Grizzl, best known for producing the stunning remix of Franz Ferdinand’s “No You Girls” as well as having a slew of juke, dubstep and hip-hop oriented releases on his fledgling Krush Groov label which was started this year.

Herein lies Barclay’s enduring appeal as he straddles so many different genres with such ease. In this day and age of music cross-pollination, he sits at the forefront of all that is good, proper and most importantly moving people’s feet and ass. He’s just as at home remixing Kenny Larkin for Planet E as he is remixing DFA/indie dance stalwarts The Rapture.  His relentless touring of every major city, festival and basement after-party around the world has only enriched this unique perspective on popular music.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/claudevonstroke