Dancefloor experimentalist and top Detroit techno
producer Carl Craig has few equals in terms of the artistry,
influence, and diversity of his recordings. Few others have
recorded so much quality music in such a variety of styles
than Craig, who jammed distorted beat-box samples into lo-fi
electro riggings, crafted epic house tracks like his remix
of Tori Amos' "God," and recorded the most sublime
Detroit techno since godfathers Juan Atkins and Derrick May
were at their peak. After an apprenticeship during the late
'80s with Derrick May, Craig began releasing his own recordings
in 1989, first on May's Transmat imprint and later on his
own label, Planet E Communications.
During the following decade, Craig spread his work between
solo aliases -- Paperclip People, Innerzone Orchestra, 69
-- and his own name. With each new project and each change
of musical direction though, he distinguished himself as one
of the few artists to consistently hit the mark with productions
whose subtleties in the living room more than matched their
infectious energy on the dancefloor. When he was growing up
and attending Detroit's Cooley High, Craig was turned on to
a diverse musical diet ranging from Prince to Led Zeppelin
to the Smiths. He often practiced on his guitar, but later
became interested in club music as well through his cousin,
who worked lighting for various parties around the Detroit
area.
The first wave of Detroit techno had already set sail by
the mid-'80s, and Craig began listening to tracks courtesy
of Derrick May's radio show on WJLB. He began experimenting
with recording techniques using dual-deck cassette players,
and later convinced his parents to buy him a synthesizer and
sequencer. Craig also studied electronic music, including
the work of Morton Subotnick, Wendy Carlos and Pauline Oliveros.
While taking an electronics course, he met a mutual friend
of May and passed on a tape including some of his home productions.
May loved what he heard and brought him into the studio to
re-record one track, "Neurotic Behavior." Completely
beatless in its original mix (since Craig didn't own a drum
machine), the track was just as sublime and visionary as Juan
Atkins' blueprint for cosmic techno-funk yet called on emotions
previously found only on Derrick May's material.
The British fascination with Detroit techno was just beginning
to take hold by 1989, and Carl Craig was invited to witness
the phenomenon first-hand by touring with May's Rhythim Is
Rhythim project (which supported Kevin Saunderson's Inner
City on several English dates). The trip became an extended
working holiday, as Craig helped out on production for a re-recording
of May's classic "Strings of Life" and the new Rhythim
Is Rhythim single, "The Beginning." He also found
time to record several tracks of his own at R&S Studios
in Belgium. On his return to the U.S., Craig released several
R&S tracks on the Crackdown EP, recorded as Psyche for
May's Transmat Records.
Craig then founded Retroactive Records with Damon Booker,
and despite working days at a copy shop, continued recording
in his parents' basement. Carl Craig released six singles
for Retroactive during 1990.91 (as BFC, Paperclip People and
Carl Craig) but the label was dissolved in 1991 due to disputes
with Booker.
That same year, Craig formed the solo concern Planet E Communications
for the release of his new EP 4 Jazz Funk Classics (recorded
as 69). Deliberately lo-fi and gritty with the implementation
of funky beat-box samples, tracks like "If Mojo Was AM"
presented a new leap forward after the compulsive sheen of
Retroactive singles like "Galaxy" and "From
Beyond." Besides the distortion of 4 Jazz Funk Classics,
his other Planet E work during 1991 contained off-the-cuff
nods to such disparate moods as hip-hop and hardcore techno.
The following year's "Bug in the Bassbin" unveiled
another Carl Craig alias, Innerzone Orchestra, and added elements
of jazz to his beatbox frenzy. In the process, Craig became
an uncommon influence on the early progression of the British
drum'n'bass movement -- DJs and producers often pitched up
"Bug in the Bassbin" from 33 to 45-rpm for a do-it-yourself
jungle breakbeat. The release of Paperclip People's "Throw"
added disco and funk to Craig's growing list of active inspirations;
his natural progression into remixes during 1994 provided
the dance world with versions of Maurizio, Inner City and
La Funk Mob tracks plus a stunning reworking of the Tori Amos
song "God," that lasted almost ten minutes. Thanks
in large part to the Tori Amos remix, Craig soon signed his
first contract with major-label exposure, to the Blanco y
Negro division of Europe's Mute Records.
His first full-length, 1995's Landcruising, opened up the
Carl Craig sound and gave it an epic feel closer in spirit
to his earlier recordings, while the thematic tug of a journey
around metro Detroit mirrored Juan Atkins' Model 500 tracks
like "Night Drive." Landcruising opened up the market
for Craig's material and several months later, R&S Records
released 69's Sound of Music, a compilation of two EPs released
the previous year for the Belgian label.
In 1996, the high-profile British house label Ministry of
Sound released a new Paperclip People single called "The
Floor," composed of hard, clipped techno beats but an
elastic bassline and prevalent disco sample that earned it
much airplay in house venues. Though he was already one of
the most noted names in the world of techno, Craig's reputation
began growing in the more general category of mainstream/global
dance, and he soon became less tied to the mantle of Detroit
techno than many of his contemporaries. Craig helmed one in
the series of DJ Kicks albums released by Studio !K7 and spent
several months based in London.
He returned to Detroit later in 1996 to focus on Planet E,
which released a Paperclip People album titled The Secret
Tapes of Dr. Eich (mostly collecting previous singles) and
a Psyche/BFC retrospective titled Elements 1989-1990. The
new year brought the second proper Carl Craig LP, More Songs
About Food & Revolutionary Art. He spent much of 1998
touring the world as Innerzone Orchestra with a jazzy trio.
The project also released an LP, Programmed, expanding Craig's
full-length output to seven -- though only three had appeared
under his own name.
Two collections appeared during 1999-2000, including the
Planet E mix album House Party 013 and the remix compilation
Designer Music. The mix collection, Onsumothasheeat, was issued
in early 2001. Carl Craig Dancefloor experimentalist and top
Detroit techno producer Carl Craig has few equals in terms
of the artistry, influence, and diversity of his recordings.
Few others have recorded so much quality music in such a variety
of styles than Craig, who jammed distorted beat-box samples
into lo-fi electro riggings, crafted epic house tracks like
his remix of Tori Amos' "God," and recorded the
most sublime Detroit techno since godfathers Juan Atkins and
Derrick May were at their peak. After an apprenticeship during
the late '80s with Derrick May, Craig began releasing his
own recordings in 1989, first on May's Transmat imprint and
later on his own label, Planet E Communications. During the
following decade, Craig spread his work between solo aliases
-- Paperclip People, Innerzone Orchestra, 69 -- and his own
name.
With each new project and each change of musical direction
though, he distinguished himself as one of the few artists
to consistently hit the mark with productions whose subtleties
in the living room more than matched their infectious energy
on the dancefloor. When he was growing up and attending Detroit's
Cooley High, Craig was turned on to a diverse musical diet
ranging from Prince to Led Zeppelin to the Smiths. He often
practiced on his guitar, but later became interested in club
music as well through his cousin, who worked lighting for
various parties around the Detroit area. The first wave of
Detroit techno had already set sail by the mid-'80s, and Craig
began listening to tracks courtesy of Derrick May's radio
show on WJLB. He began experimenting with recording techniques
using dual-deck cassette players, and later convinced his
parents to buy him a synthesizer and sequencer. Craig also
studied electronic music, including the work of Morton Subotnick,
Wendy Carlos and Pauline Oliveros.
While taking an electronics course, he met a mutual friend
of May and passed on a tape including some of his home productions.
May loved what he heard and brought him into the studio to
re-record one track, "Neurotic Behavior." Completely
beatless in its original mix (since Craig didn't own a drum
machine), the track was just as sublime and visionary as Juan
Atkins' blueprint for cosmic techno-funk yet called on emotions
previously found only on Derrick May's material.
The British fascination with Detroit techno was just beginning
to take hold by 1989, and Carl Craig was invited to witness
the phenomenon first-hand by touring with May's Rhythim Is
Rhythim project (which supported Kevin Saunderson's Inner
City on several English dates). The trip became an extended
working holiday, as Craig helped out on production for a re-recording
of May's classic "Strings of Life" and the new Rhythim
Is Rhythim single, "The Beginning." He also found
time to record several tracks of his own at R&S Studios
in Belgium. On his return to the U.S., Craig released several
R&S tracks on the Crackdown EP, recorded as Psyche for
May's Transmat Records. Craig then founded Retroactive Records
with Damon Booker, and despite working days at a copy shop,
continued recording in his parents' basement.
Carl Craig released six singles for Retroactive during 1990.91
(as BFC, Paperclip People and Carl Craig) but the label was
dissolved in 1991 due to disputes with Booker. That same year,
Craig formed the solo concern Planet E Communications for
the release of his new EP 4 Jazz Funk Classics (recorded as
69). Deliberately lo-fi and gritty with the implementation
of funky beat-box samples, tracks like "If Mojo Was AM"
presented a new leap forward after the compulsive sheen of
Retroactive singles like "Galaxy" and "From
Beyond." Besides the distortion of 4 Jazz Funk Classics,
his other Planet E work during 1991 contained off-the-cuff
nods to such disparate moods as hip-hop and hardcore techno.
The following year's "Bug in the Bassbin" unveiled
another Carl Craig alias, Innerzone Orchestra, and added elements
of jazz to his beatbox frenzy. In the process, Craig became
an uncommon influence on the early progression of the British
drum'n'bass movement -- DJs and producers often pitched up
"Bug in the Bassbin" from 33 to 45-rpm for a do-it-yourself
jungle breakbeat. The release of Paperclip People's "Throw"
added disco and funk to Craig's growing list of active inspirations;
his natural progression into remixes during 1994 provided
the dance world with versions of Maurizio, Inner City and
La Funk Mob tracks plus a stunning reworking of the Tori Amos
song "God," that lasted almost ten minutes. Thanks
in large part to the Tori Amos remix, Craig soon signed his
first contract with major-label exposure, to the Blanco y
Negro division of Europe's Mute Records.
His first full-length, 1995's Landcruising, opened up the
Carl Craig sound and gave it an epic feel closer in spirit
to his earlier recordings, while the thematic tug of a journey
around metro Detroit mirrored Juan Atkins' Model 500 tracks
like "Night Drive." Landcruising opened up the market
for Craig's material and several months later, R&S Records
released 69's Sound of Music, a compilation of two EPs released
the previous year for the Belgian label. In 1996, the high-profile
British house label Ministry of Sound released a new Paperclip
People single called "The Floor," composed of hard,
clipped techno beats but an elastic bassline and prevalent
disco sample that earned it much airplay in house venues.
Though he was already one of the most noted names in the world
of techno, Craig's reputation began growing in the more general
category of mainstream/global dance, and he soon became less
tied to the mantle of Detroit techno than many of his contemporaries.
Craig helmed one in the series of DJ Kicks albums released
by Studio !K7 and spent several months based in London. He
returned to Detroit later in 1996 to focus on Planet E, which
released a Paperclip People album titled The Secret Tapes
of Dr. Eich (mostly collecting previous singles) and a Psyche/BFC
retrospective titled Elements 1989-1990.
The new year brought the second proper Carl Craig LP, More
Songs About Food & Revolutionary Art. He spent much of
1998 touring the world as Innerzone Orchestra with a jazzy
trio. The project also released an LP, Programmed, expanding
Craig's full-length output to seven -- though only three had
appeared under his own name. Two collections appeared during
1999-2000, including the Planet E mix album House Party 013
and the remix compilation Designer Music. The mix collection,
Onsumothasheeat, was issued in early 2001.
Artist's Web Links
| Minimal Techno &
Tech House Compilations :: Carl
Craig
