Carl Craig, a top Detroit producer of techno music, is a dancefloor experimentist who has few rivals in terms the quality, influence and variety of his recordings. Carl Craig has been described as an electronic music pioneer, a Grammy-nominated composer and a DJ who is a strong ambassador for Detroit. Craig’s diverse musical repertoire and creative projects share a common thread: a fascination with futurism. Craig has built a career as an artist, entrepreneur, and civic leader that is unique, guided by his ability to think for the future. “My livelihood is making music I can perform, regardless of whether it’s orchestral production, modular strangeness, or generating club-music. Craig said that he doesn’t limit himself. Craig said, “I define myself by being who and what I am.” “The ultimate self-respect is when you promise to do something and then you do it.” Craig’s first single was released on a Virgin UK compilation in 1989. Two more singles followed on labels owned by Derrick May, his first collaborator. Craig released a number of ambitious tracks for Retroactive, his co-owned imprint. In 1991, he launched Planet E with his groundbreaking EP “4 Jazz Funk Classics”, which he referred to as 69. Planet-E celebrated its 20th birthday in 2011. Craig took Planet-E, along with its artists and collaborators, on a worldwide tour to celebrate the label’s history. Craig also viewed the 69 live show at select festivals around the globe. Craig fused masks, darkness, and the music from 69 to create 69’s unique entity. Planet-E also invited label friends, such as Luciano, Kirk Del Giorgio and Loco Dice, to choose their favorite Planet-E track to remix or re-release. Craig reflects on a year filled with releases and events. He readily admits that he didn’t expect the label would last forever. It was always difficult to stay in the business. In fact, it was a battle to stay in the business.” When one looks back at Craig’s early releases, 1989-1992, one can clearly see how the wide variety of his music laid the foundation for his varied career. He has been a great influence and inspiration to many artists in underground electronic music, as well as cross-over acts such as Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem and Underworld. The spark that led to the development of drum’n’bass was believed to have come from his 1992 Innerzone Orchestra song “Bug in a Bassbin”. Craig’s signature style, “Bug …”” continued to evolve and evolved into a live jazz composition by 1996. Craig was inspired by these experiments to include jazz elements on his 1999 I.O. Craig then produced the album “Programmed” in 1999. In the 2000’s, he explored jazz even further as a producer for the albums “The Detroit Experiment”, and “Rebirth” (2009, Detroit Jazz collective Tribe). This is just one example of Craig’s ever-evolving exploration of sound. Craig’s prolific nature can be seen in his many recordings, including 69, BFC and C2, Innerzone Orchestra. He has been able to explore new avenues through a series of full-length albums, mix CDs and singles, including “Throw” (1994),” “Landcruising”, (1995),” “The Secret Tapes of Dr Eich”, (1996), “The Detroit Experiment” (2002) and “The Secret Tapes of Dr Eich”, “More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art”, (2007), “The Detroit Experiment”, “The Secret Tapes of Dr Eich”, (2008), and “Modular Pursuits of a Filter King: The Legendary Adventures of (2009) and” (2010). Craig’s interest to collaborate continues to grow. Craig’s boldest venture to date is “Versus”, which combines classical and techno music. He has embraced the opportunity to work in a new format with French orchestra Les Siecles and Francois Xavier Roth, as well as Moritz Von Oswald, orchestrator / pianist Francesco Tristano and French conductor Francois Xavier Roth. Craig was inspired by the well-received performances at large concert halls in Paris and Milan, Germany. He began the process of making the album. He performs with Von Oswald, Tristano and as Trio. He has also performed with Narod Niki’s electronic collective jam band, along with Villalobos and Richie Hawtin. He’s also been known to bring keyboardists such as Mike Banks (UR), Amp Fddler, and Tristano into his DJ booth for special gigs. He spins at the top clubs around the world, and these mixed performances add variety to his DJ set. Craig admits that touring has been an important part of the music industry. It will always be a desire to interact with people.” He has also performed live soundtracks to movies in Amsterdam and New York. There he improvised to an Andy Warhol film at Unsound festival. Craig’s music is unpredictable, but that is not what makes it so interesting. Craig is still one of the most sought after remixers around the globe, besides his Planet E records. Craig has created a seemingly endless number of remixes. These include mixes for Gavin Russom, Theo Parrish and Hot Chip.
