One of the finest dance floor composers and leading Detroit-based techno producer Carl Craig is virtually unrivaled in terms of the artistry, impact and variety of his work.
Incorporating styles such as soul, jazz, new wave and industrial into his work, his work also boasts an ambient sound.
Moreover, the musician's work influenced drum and bass (1992 album "Bug in the Bassbin" under the name Innerzone Orchestra).
Carl Craig is also responsible for original techno singles such as 1994's "Throw" and 1995's "The climax". Both are recorded under the pseudonym Paperclip People.
In addition to hundreds of remixes for various artists, the musician released the rather successful albums “Landcruising” in 1995 and “More songs about food & Revolutionary art” in 1997.
With the turn of the 21st century, the musician moved into classical music with 2008's "ReComposed" (in collaboration with Maurice von Oswald) and 2017's "Versus".
In addition to writing his own music, which is all of a high quality, Craig also runs the Planet E Communications label.
This label is helping to promote the careers of some talented artists not only from Detroit but also from other cities around the world.
early years
The future successful musician studied at the Cooley High School in Detroit. During his school years, the guy listened to a variety of music - from Prince to Led Zeppelin and The Smiths.
He often practiced guitar but later became interested in club music.
The young man was introduced to the genre through his cousin, who covered various parties in Detroit and the suburbs.
The first wave of Detroit techno had already faded by the mid-80s, and Craig began listening to his favorite tracks thanks to Derick May's radio show on MJLB.
He began experimenting with recording techniques using cassette players and then convinced his parents to give him a synthesizer and sequencer.
Craig has also studied electronic music, including the work of Morton Subotnick, Wendy Carlos, and Pauline Oliveros.
While taking an electronic music course, he met May and put some of his homemade drafts on a record.
May liked what he heard, and he brought Craig to his studio to re-record one track - "Neurotic Behavior".
Utterly matchless in its original mix (because Craig didn't have a drum machine), the track was forward-thinking and forward-thinking.
It was compared to a Juan Atkins project with a touch of space techno funk, but May opened up the track in a new way and made it really popular.
Rhythim is Rhythim
The British craze for Detroit techno was just beginning to spread by 1989.
Craig saw this for himself when he went on tour with May's Rhythim is Rhythim project. The tour supported Kevin Saunderson's "Inner city" at several shows.
The trip became a lengthy work tour when Craig began helping produce a re-recording of May's classic "Strings of Life" and the new Rhythim is Rhythim single "The Beggining".
He also found time to record some of his own tracks at R&S Studios in Belgium.
Upon his return to the US, Craig released several singles with R&S on his LP "Crackdown", signed by the name Psyche on May Transmat Records.
Craig then formed Retroactive Records with Damon Booker. And despite the gray workdays in the copy center, the musician continued recording new songs in the basement of his parents' house.
"Bug in the Bassbin" и 4 Jazz Funk Classics”
Craig released six singles for Retroactive Records in 1990-1991 (under the pseudonyms BFC, Paperclip People and Carl Craig), but the label was closed in 1991 due to disputes with Booker.
That same year, Craig founded Planet E Communications to release his new EP "4 Jazz Funk Classics" (recorded under the name 69).
Consciously and effortlessly, with the use of funky samples and beatboxing, tracks like "If Mojo Was AM" represented a new leap forward after the haunting old and retrospective style of the "Galaxy" and "From Beyond" singles.
In addition to changing the sound on 4 Jazz Funk Classics, his other work on Planet E during 1991 contained unusual references to disparate styles such as hip hop and hardcore techno.
The following year, Bug in the Bassbin introduced another Carl Craig pseudonym, the Innerzone Orchestra.
Jazz elements mixed with beatbox were added to the work.
During this process, Craig became an extraordinary influence in the early development of the British drum and bass movement - DJs and producers often used "Bug in the Bassbin" to remix, or to play some of the tracks in their performances.
Album Throw
The release of Craig's album "Throw" under the pseudonym Paperclip People changed the usual sound again. In this work, you can also hear disco and funk - two rather interesting ideas of the musician.
Craig's natural progression to remixes in 1994 gave the world quite a few dance versions of various hits from Maurizio, Inner City, La Funk Mob.
At the same time, an amazing reworking of Tori Amos' "God" was also released, which was almost ten minutes long.
Largely thanks to the Amos remix, Craig soon signed his first contract with one of the biggest labels in the Blanco division of Warner's European wing.
His first full-length album, 1995's Landcruising, reinvented Carl Craig's sound and gave it a feel that was close in spirit to his earlier recordings. While the album itself opened up the entire music market for the musician.
Working with Ministry of Sound
In 1996, the big British label Ministry of Sound released a new single from Paperclip People called "The Floor".
The song mainly consists of hard short techno beats and a clear bassline. Such a symbiosis represents a common disco pattern, which brought the single great popularity.
Although Craig already had one of the most popular names in the world of electronic music, his reputation quickly began to grow in the field of simple dance and mainstream music.
Soon the musician became less attached to his Detroit techno.
“The secret Tapes of Dr. Eich”
Craig directed the recording of one of the DJ Kicks series of albums recorded and released by Studio! K7. The musician spent several months in London.
Later, in 1996, he returned to Detroit to focus on his Planet E label. Eich".
Basically, the album consisted of previously released singles.
New Year brought listeners a full-fledged work of Carl Craig - LP "Carl Craig, more songs about food & Revolutionary Art".
For most of 1998, the musician toured around the world under the pseudonym Innerzone Orchestra with a jazz trio.
The project also released the "Programmed" LP, bringing Craig's number of full-length albums to seven.
However, only three of them appeared under his real name.
“The album formerly known as…”
During 1999-2000 two more compilations appeared, including the remix album "Planet E House Party 013" and "Designer Music".
In the early 2000s, Craig was consistently active, releasing a series of albums and compilations including "Onsumothasheeat", "The abstract funk theory", "The workout" and "Fabric 25".
The musician revised his album “Landcruising” in 2005 and called his new release “The album formerly known as…”.
In early 2008, Craig compiled and mixed a two-disc album of his remixes called "Sessions". The album was released on K7.
Also in 2008 came the album “ReComposed”, a remix project created with an old friend Moritz von Oswald.
Sound experiments
The activity on Planet E increased, and Craig was busy DJing and producing.
"Modular Pursuits", Craig's experimental LP was released in 2010. But it is signed, like many other works of the musician, with a pseudonym - No Boundaries.
Craig with the orchestra
Craig collaborated with Green Velvet on the full-length album Unity. The record was released digitally by Relief Records in 2015.
In 2017, the French label InFiné released "Versus", a collaboration with pianist Francesco Tristano and the Parisian orchestra Les Siècles (conducted by François-Xavier Roth).
In 2019, the musician’s latest album, Detroit Love Vol.2, was released so far.
