Carl Craig

Carl Craig

Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969 in Detroit ) is an influential American techno producer and musician who has been releasing various types of electronic music under numerous pseudonyms since the late 1980s.

biography

After high school, Craig came into contact with the sound of the Bellville Three ( Juan Atkins , Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson ). Inspired by Derrick May's radio show on WJLB, he composed his own tracks on a synthesizer without beats, as his own drum machines were too expensive for him. Through a friend he gave May a tape with his track “ Neurotic Behavior ”. The operator of the well-known Detroit technology label Transmat re- recorded the piece and invited Craig on a European tour. In 1989 Craig made his debut on Transmat under his alter ego "Psyche" with the " Crackdown EP ". In 1990 he founded the Retroactive label with Damon Booker, where he published under his name (“No More Words”), as BFC (“The Theory”) and as Paperclip People (“Oscillator”). Retroactive was discontinued in 1991 due to disputes.

His own label Planet E Communications was founded in 1991, where he released another milestone in Detroit techno under the name "69" with "4 Jazz Funk Classics" . With Craig Taborn and Francisco Mora Catlett he founded the group Innerzone Orchestra, whose hit "Bug In The Bassbin" , which was also released on Mo 'Wax , made a decisive contribution to the emerging breakbeat wave of the early 1990s. The remix of "God" arranged for Tori Amos earned him a contract with Warner Brothers . 1994 appeared under the alias Paperclip People with "Remake" a reworking of Manuel Göttsching's classic " E2-E4 ". In the same year, the single "Throw" was also released as Paperclip People, which developed into a hit and was subsequently reissued and remixed several times. In the same year Craig released three singles and in 1995 the album "The Sound Of Music" on the Belgian label R&S Records .

Since Craig was not happy on the major label , he separated again in 1997, although he produced an album in 1995 with "Landcruising". But since Craig wanted to keep the rights to his works himself, the album "More Songs About Food & Revolutionary Art", which was released on his label Planet E, was considered the actual debut of the Detroiter.

“ What I'm trying to do is similar to what Miles Davis did in the late 60s and early 70s, when everything seemed timeless. At the same time, modern aspects of modern technology were integrated and processed. I never intend to make a pop record. “Said the artist.

In 2000 he became the director of the Detroit Music Festival ( DEMF ). He gathered all the electronic musicians and future jazz musicians in town. For the first time, techno and electronic music was celebrated where it was born and conceived. The first DEMF with over a million guests was a brilliant success for the musician. In the third year of existence, Derrick May took over the Movement , as it is now called. Craig's dismissal was controversial and controversial in the Detroit scene. In 2005 the album "The album formerly known as ..." was released, a new edition of the "Landcrusing" album, which Craig re-released at the urging of many people (including his father), remixing the old material and making it more compact. In the same year, Craig produced one of the club hits of the year with his remix of the Theo Parrish track "Falling Up". In 2006 Craig returned with a remix of a track by Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom .

In 2008, Craig published the third part of the ReComposed series in collaboration with Moritz von Oswald on the traditional label Deutsche Grammophon , in which contemporary artists reinterpret works of classical music. For their album, Craig and von Oswald chose Maurice Ravel's orchestral piece Boléro and Mussorgski's piano cycle Pictures at an Exhibition . Craig, who has been a much sought-after remixer since the beginning of his career, provided reworks for tracks by S'Express ( Theme from S'Express ), Rob D ( Clubbed To Death ), Maurizio ( Domina ), Gus Gus ( Polyesterday ), Yello ( La Habanera ), The Orb ( Oxbow Lakes ), Dajaé ( Day by day ), Kenny Larkin ( Third State ) Brian Transeau ( The moment of truth ), Inner City ( Do ya ) and countless other artists. The remix of the Dave Angel track Airborne attracted particular attention , in which Craig removed all beats from the track in a remix entitled Carl Craig's Drums Suck Mix and worked out the melody over almost 12 minutes. Despite the lack of any beats, the track became one of the underground hits of 1995.

Publications (selection)

As Carl Craig

• 1991: No More Words EP
• 1995: Landcruising (album)
• 1995: Science Fiction
• 1996: DJ-Kicks EP
• 1997: More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art (album)
• 2001: The Climax
• 2002: A Wonderful Life / As Time Goes By
• 2004: Just Another Day
• 2005: Darkness / Angel
• 2005: Sparkle / Home Entertainment
• 2005: The Album Formerly Known As ... (Album)
• 2008: Clear and Present - The C2 Sessions
• 2008: ReComposed (album, with Moritz von Oswald )
• 2017: Versus (album, with the Les Siècles orchestra )

As 69

• 1991: 4 Jazz Funk Classics
• 1993: Sound on Sound
• 1994: Jam the Box
• 1994: Lite Music
• 1994: Sound on Sound
• 1995: The Sound of Music (album)
• 2006: Pungtang

As Paperclip People

• 1991: Oscillator
• 1994: remake
• 1994: Throw
• 1995: The Climax
• 1996: Floor
• 1996: Steam
• 1996: The Floor
• 1996: The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich (album)
• 1998: 4 My Peepz
• 2001: Clear and Present / Tweakityourself
• 2004: Basic Reshape

As an inner zone orchestra

• 1992: Untitled
• 1996: Bug in the Bassbin
• 1999: Programmed (album)
• 2000: People Make the World Go Round 1
• 2000: People Make the World Go Round 2

As a psyche

• 1989: Crack Down
• 1992: Relics
• 1993: ART3
• 1996: Elements 1989-1990 (album)
• 2004: Elements / Neurotic Behavior

Other pseudonyms

• BFC
• C2C4
• Designer Music
• FRS
• Immortal Music
• Parametric
• Piece
• Shop
• Tres Demented
• Urban culture

Trivia

Carl Crack , techno producer who died in 2001 and a member of Atari Teenage Riot , named himself after Craig.

Web links

• Carl Craig's website
• Carl Craig at laut.de
• Carl Craig at Discogs (English)
• Interview from 2003