Barclay Crenshaw is producing his upcoming album, Open Channel, in just 80 days, tracking each day with short video blogs similar to a “captain’s log.”
The virtuosic producer, who moonlights as house music superstar Claude Vonstroke, has now dropped the album’s lead single, “Big in the Game.” Fusing filthy bass and hip-hop sounds, the menacing track features UK grime artists Snowy and Manga Saint Hilare as Crenshaw continues to embrace grime after the release of “Blue Mile,” a collaboration with Of The Trees.
“Big In The Game” is innovative and energizing, functioning as a heavy-hitting melting point between UK grime and experimental bass music. Opening up about the genre-bending nature of his upcoming releases, Crenshaw recently penned an op-ed for EDM.com.
“Moving forward, this new Barclay Crenshaw album will probably surprise you,” he wrote. “A lot of people are expecting a bunch of hard bass but that is just a part of the picture. There is bass music but there is also funk and dub and actual songs with singing. There is stuff like me trying to mix genres, like making a deep house minimal dubstep track. There is a track that sounds like Fela Kuti meets Sublime. It’s all kinds of new music.”
Crenshaw recently announced his “Open Channel” tour, which comprises 13 dates and features upcoming performances at Electric Forest and Sol Fest, among other major festivals. Supporting artists include Eprom, Tiedye Ky, LYNY and more.
He also recently visited Detroit to record a warehouse-style DJ set, which he’s now released as a performance video directed by Anthony Earnest Garth, who is known for his work with The White Stripes, Eminem and many more. The performance brings Crenshaw back to his roots for an industrial, raw aesthetic with top-tier mixing and production.
Setting a bold tone for what’s to come in Crenshaw’s upcoming performances, the hourlong set is an innovative audiovisual statement. Watch the full set below.
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