Carl Craig

Last updated
Carl Craig
Carl Craig decibel 2010 (cropped).jpg
Craig DJing in 2010
Background information
Also known as
  • Psyche
  • BFC
  • 69
  • Paperclip People
  • Innerzone Orchestra
Born (1969-05-22) May 22, 1969 (age 54)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Producer
  • DJ
Years active1989–present
Labels
Website carlcraig.net

Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. [4] He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980s and early 1990s. [5] [6] [7] He has recorded under his given name in addition to a variety of aliases, including Psyche, BFC, and Innerzone Orchestra. [8]

Contents

Craig's early releases were collected on the 1996 compilation Elements 1989-1990 . He has released several studio albums, beginning with Landcruising (1995). Craig has also remixed a variety of artists including Manuel Göttsching, Maurizio, Theo Parrish, Tori Amos, and Depeche Mode. [3] He was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording for his remix of the Junior Boys track "Like a Child." [9] He has released collaborative recordings with Moritz von Oswald (2008's Recomposed) and Green Velvet (2015's Unity).

Early life

Carl Craig was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 22, 1969. [6] His mother was a teacher's assistant and his father was a post office worker. [7] He attended Cooley High School, where he developed an interest in music. [6] He learned to play guitar and later became interested in club music through his cousin Doug Craig, who worked lighting for Detroit area parties. [6] After hearing Derrick May's radio show on WJLB, Craig began experimenting with recording on a dual-deck cassette player. [6] Craig met someone who knew May and passed along a tape of some of his home studio productions. [6]

Career

Since 1989, Craig has released many recordings under a large number of aliases, including Psyche, BFC, 69, Paperclip People, and Innerzone Orchestra. [6] Many of these early Psyche and BFC releases were collected on the 1996 compilation Elements 1989–1990 . [10] Craig founded his own record label called Planet E Communications in 1991. [7] Since then, it has released records by other artists such as Kevin Saunderson, Moodymann, and Kenny Larkin. [11]

His first studio album, Landcruising, was released on Blanco y Negro Records in 1995. [6] In 1996, he released The Secret Tapes of Doctor Eich under the Paperclip People moniker. [12] In 1997, he released More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art. [12] It was placed at number 29 on Pitchfork 's "50 Best IDM Albums of All Time" list. [13] In 1999, he released Programmed under the Innerzone Orchestra moniker. [12]

Craig served as co-creator and artistic director for the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in 2000 and 2001. [14] His subsequent dismissal by festival organizers caused substantial controversy within the Detroit techno community, igniting a high-profile campaign in his favor. [15] In 2001, he filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against festival producer Pop Culture Media. [16]

He released a reworked version of Landcruising, titled The Album Formerly Known As..., in 2005. [17] In 2008, he released a collaborative album with Moritz Von Oswald, titled Recomposed, on Deutsche Grammophon. [17] He returned as artistic director for the 2010 Detroit Electronic Music Festival. [18] In 2015, he released a collaborative album with Green Velvet, titled Unity, on Relief Records. [19] In 2017, he released Versus on InFiné. [20]

Craig created a sound installation, titled Party/After-Party, which opened at the Dia Beacon art museum in March 2020. [21] The culmination of a five-year-long engagement with Dia Beacon, [22] it was his first foray into the art world. [21] In 2023 the installation was brought to The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles and the exhibition was accompanied by Party/After-Party Sessions, a series of three live concerts that were including DJs and electronic musicians DJ Holographic, Felix Da Housecat, King Britt, Moodymann, Kenny Larkin. [23]

Style and legacy

Mixmag called Carl Craig "a leading figure in Detroit techno's second generation," [5] while Exclaim! called him a "central figure" in the genre's second wave. [6] Pitchfork described him as "techno pioneer." [7] He has approached techno using inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, including soul, jazz, new wave, industrial, and krautrock, while his works have spanned ambient techno, breakbeat, house, classical, and modular synthesizer-based stylings. [3] In a 2015 interview, he cited The Electrifying Mojo, Prince, Kraftwerk, Juan Atkins, and Jeff Mills as the major influences on his music. [24]

Craig's 1992 track "Bug in the Bassbin", released under the Innerzone Orchestra moniker, was picked up by DJs such as 4hero, Goldie, and J Majik. [25] In the United Kingdom, DJs started playing the track at 45 rpm instead of the intended 33 rpm. [26] According to Now , the track "ended up providing inspiration and in many ways writing the blueprint for what drum 'n' bass was to become in England." [26]

According to Vinyl Me, Please, Craig "managed to not only push the boundaries of Detroit techno, he also introduced an urgency and melodic richness to the sometimes navel-gazing world of IDM" with releases such as More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art (1997). [27]

Discography

Albums

Compilations

DJ Mixes

EPs

Singles

Awards and nominations

AwardYear of ceremonyNominee / workCategoryResultRef(s)
Grammy Awards 2008 Junior Boys "Like a Child (Carl Craig Remix)" Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical Nominated [9] [28]

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References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, Mick (May 30, 2019). "Detroit Love: An Interview with Electronic Music Pioneer Carl Craig". PopMatters . Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  2. ↑ Matos, Michaelangelo (April 20, 2018). "Detroit techno legend Carl Craig discusses his remixing rebirth and DJ roots". City Pages . Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bush, John. "Carl Craig - Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ Toland, Justin (February 8, 2011). "Carl Craig: once upon a time in Detroit (page 2 of 3)". Fact . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Hinton, Patrick (September 29, 2017). "The 10 best 90s techno albums". Mixmag . Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Nasrallah, Dimitri (March 2008). "Carl Craig - Intergalactic Beats". Exclaim! . Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Fitzmaurice, Larry (December 4, 2013). "Carl Craig". Pitchfork . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  8. ↑ Lhooq, Michelle (July 28, 2016). "Carl Craig Took Me on a Tour of Detroit's Most Sacred Techno Landmarks". Vice . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Carl Craig and Justice nominated for Grammys". Resident Advisor . December 10, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Planet E to reissue Carl Craig's juvenilia collection Elements 1989-1990". Fact . November 19, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ Orenstein, Carre (December 16, 2014). "Detroit Love lab LA takeover with Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen". Mixmag . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Cyclone (August 15, 2017). "5 albums that showcase Carl Craig's versatility". Red Bull . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  13. ↑ Patrin, Nate (January 24, 2017). "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time (page 3 of 5)". Pitchfork . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ Orenstein, Carre (May 19, 2016). "How well do you know the history of Movement Detroit?". Mixmag . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  15. ↑ "In gratitude". Metro Times . June 6, 2001. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  16. ↑ Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric (May 14, 2001). "Carl Craig Fires Back At Festival Organizers Who Fired Him". VH1 . Archived from the original on March 23, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
  17. 1 2 Miles, Milo (July 20, 2017). "Carl Craig's String Theory: The Detroit House Pioneer Gets Orchestral". The Village Voice . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  18. ↑ Taylor, Ken (May 22, 2009). "Movement: Carl Craig is Back". XLR8R . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  19. ↑ Ryce, Andrew (March 25, 2015). "Carl Craig and Green Velvet release surprise collaborative LP". Resident Advisor . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Versus by Carl Craig". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  21. 1 2 Goldfine, Jael (March 12, 2020). "Partying in the Basement of Dia Beacon With Carl Craig". Paper . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  22. ↑ Brown, Harley (August 10, 2020). "Why Carl Craig at Dia:Beacon is a Groundbreaking Moment for American Art Institutions". Electronic Beats . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Carl Craig: Party/After-Party". moca.org. 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  24. ↑ "Watch Carl Craig discuss Detroit, Prince and his biggest influences". Fact . February 19, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  25. ↑ Parker, Tristan (November 2, 2009). "Carl Craig and Innerzone Orchestra". Clash . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  26. 1 2 Boles, Benjamin (January 23, 2003). "Carl Craig". Now . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  27. ↑ McKenna, Niall. "A Carl Craig Primer". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. ↑ Breihan, Tom (January 11, 2008). "Carl Craig's Hard-Earned Mastery". The Village Voice . Retrieved August 22, 2019.
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