Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography

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.

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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 has influenced drum and bass (1992 album "Bug in the Bassbin" under the name Innerzone Orchestra).

Carl Craig is also responsible for such seminal techno singles as 1994's "Throw" and 1995's "The Climax", both recorded under the alias Paperclip People.

In addition to hundreds of remixes for various artists, the musician released the fairly successful albums "Landcruising" in 1995 and "More songs about food & Revolutionary art" in 1997.

Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography
Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography

With the beginning of the 21st century, the musician switched to classical music with the works "ReComposed" in 2008 (in collaboration with Maurice von Oswald) and "Versus" in 2017.

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 Detroit's Cooley High School. During his school years, the boy 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 brought Craig into his studio to re-record one track, "Neurotic Behaviour."

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.

Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography
Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography

Craig saw this first-hand when he went on tour with May's Rhythim is Rhithim, which supported Kevin Saunderson's Inner City on several dates.

The trip became an extended working tour, with Craig helping to produce a re-recording of May's classic 'Strings of Life' and a 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 returning to the US, Craig released several singles with R&S on his LP "Crackdown", signed to the Psyche name 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.

Aside from the shift in sound on 4 Jazz Funk Classics, his other work on Planet E during 1991 included unusual references to styles as disparate as hip-hop and hardcore techno.

The following year, the album "Bug in the Bassbin" introduced another of Carl Craig's aliases, Innerzone Orchestra.

Jazz elements mixed with beatbox were added to the work.

During this process, Craig became incredibly influential in the early development of the British drum and bass movement, with DJs and producers often using "Bug in the Bassbin" for remixes or to play certain tracks on during their gigs.

Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography
Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography

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, a stunning reworking of Tori Amos' "God" was also released, which lasted almost ten minutes.

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 major British label Ministry of Sound released a new single by 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 label Planet E. At his own studio, he recorded a new album from Paperclip People called "The secret Tapes of Dr. Eich".

Basically, the album consisted of previously released singles.

The New Year brought listeners a full-length work by Carl Craig - the 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 LP "Programmed", increasing the number of Craig's full-length albums to seven.

However, only three of them appeared under his real name.

Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography
Carl Craig (Carl Craig): Artist Biography

"The album formerly known as..."

During 1999-2000, two more compilations appeared, including the remix album "Planet E House Party 013" and "Designer Music".

Craig remained consistently active throughout the early 2000s, releasing a series of albums and compilations including Onsumothasheeat, The Abstract Funk Theory, The Workout, and Fabric 25.

The musician revisited his 2005 album "Landcruising" and titled his new release "The album formerly known as...".

In early 2008, Craig compiled and mixed a two-disc album of his remixes entitled "Sessions". The album was released on K7.

In the same year 2008, the album “ReComposed” was released, 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.

Craig's experimental LP, Modular Pursuits, was released in 2010. But like many of the musician's other works, it was signed with a pseudonym - No Boundaries.

Craig with the orchestra

Craig collaborated with Green Velvet on the full-length album "Unity", which was released digitally on Relief Records in 2015.

In 2017, the French label InFiné released “Versus”, a collaboration with pianist Francesco Tristano and the Parisian orchestra Les Siècles (conductor François-Xavier Roth).

In 2019, the musician’s latest album, “Detroit Love Vol.2,” was released.

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