Dirtybird released its first record in Janaury 2005 but the idea began in 2002 during the production of 'Intellect', a documentary featuring over 40 interviews with legendary producers from Juan Atkins to Swayzak. Director Barclay Crenshaw created the concept of the label in order to supply tracks for the film's soundtrack. In 2003, Barclay's friend
Christian Martin purchased a massive portable sound system and began throwing outdoor parties in San Francisco called 'dirtybird'. The bird logo was derived from a sketch cartoon character Barclay had been drawing since he was 10 years old. In 2005, Dirtybird, the record label began releasing vinyl. Barclay created the DJ alias
Claude VonStroke as a joke but the name stuck forever after the debut record '
Deep Throat' sold through more than 11,000 vinyl copies worldwide. Since that time both the label and the Dirtybird party have enjoyed great success. Some classic records released by Dirtybird include '
Deep Throat', '
Who's Afraid of Detroit?', and '
The Whistler'. Artists on the label are mostly from San Francisco (like
Justin Martin,
Worthy, and
Claude VonStroke) but recently some internationals have been popping up as well, such as
Catz 'n Dogz.