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Carl Craig started out as Derrick May's chief
assistant in Detroit and London, then moved on to found his own label,
Planet E, and influence the direction of techno with a number of recordings
under all sorts of monikers.
As Psyche, Craig released his first single,
Elements (Transmat, 1989),
and the seminal Crackdown (Transmat, 1989), later collected with other
early tracks on Elements 1989-1990 (Planet E, 1996).
Neurotic Behavior shows his musical debt to May,
Chicken Noodle Soup sounds like future 69 singles,
Please Stand By predates Bug in the Bassbin.
As 69, he released the
EPs Four Jazz Funk Classics (1991) and Sound on Sound (R&S, 1996),
that contain experimental abrasive techno tracks such as
Ladies And Gentlemen,
If Mojo Was AM, Jam the Box, My Machines and Microlove.
Paperclip People was his plainly dancefloor project, that yielded the hits
Throw, The Climax and The Floor, later
collected on The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich (Open, 1996)
His most ambitious project, Innerzone Orchestra, was originally only a nickname
to release the highly influential jazzy single
Bug In The Bassbin (Mo Wax, 1992), but was revived in 2000 for the
album Programmed (Planet E, 1999).
This time Craig is truly conducting an orchestra, that includes
seasoned programmers such as Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) and veteran jazz players
such as Paul Randolph on bass, Craig Taborn on piano and jazz drummer
Francisco Mora. Despite the collaborators,
the cubist fusion of Eruption and Basic Math is quintessential
Craig art. The album includes old-time favorites
Galaxy, At Les, Manufactured Memories and
Bug In The Bassbin.
Carl Craig finally recorded under his own name the album
Landcruising (Planet E, 1995), later remastered and reissued as The Album Formerly Known
As, and the effect was to distance himself
from the dancefloor. The clattering
Mind Of A Machine and Einbahn are basically tributes to
his two biggest influences: Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream.
The romantic and almost ambient A Wonderful Life and
One Day Soon are equally indebted to another strong influence: Ennio
Morricone's soundtracks. And for
Landcruising and Science Fiction Craig turns to his third main
influence: 1970s orchestral disco music.
Such a fundamentally retro` album is crowned by
Home Entertainment, a futuristic concerto for electrical objects.
The fusion of past and future that has always been Craig's ideology achieves
here its grandest statement.
The follow-up,
More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art (Planet E, 1997),
indulges in this stately romantic techno
(or "techno soul", as he likes to call it).
From the intense Es.30" to the
delicate Dreamland, from the robotic Butterfly to the
hymn-like At Les.
Movie soundtracks are still a major influence
(the haunting ambience of Red Lights and
Goodbye World), but the album is obviously trying to unify jazz and
techno.
The same kind of fusion is at the core of the vocal tracks (Attitude).
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da
marco_vergani@inwind.it)
Carl Craig debuttò come assistente di Derrick May a Detroit e a Londra, e fondò in seguito la sua etichetta personale, la Planet E, con la quale influenzò la direzione della musica techno attraverso un considerevole numero di registrazioni sotto diversi pseudonimi.
A nome Psyche, Craig pubblicò il suo primo singolo, Elements (Transmat, 1989), e il seminale Crackdown (Transmat, 1989) successivamente raccolti, insieme con altre vecchie traccie, su Elements 1989-1990 (Planet E, 1996). Neurotic Behavior mostra il suo debito musicale nei confronti di May, Chicken Noodle Soup è un’anticipazione dei futuri singoli che usciranno a nome 69, Please Stand By anticipa Bug in the Bassbin.
Con lo pseudonimo 69, pubblicò gli EP Four Jazz Funk Classics (1991) e Sound on Sound (R&S, 1996), che contengono tracce sperimentali techno come If Mojo Was AM, Jam the Box, My Machines e Microlovr.
Paperclip People fu il suo progetto totalmente dedicato al dancefloor, con gli hits Throw, The Climax e The Floor, successivamente raccolti su The Secret Tapes of Dr. Eich (Open, 1996).
Il suo progetto più ambizioso, Innerzone Orchestra, fu originariamente soltanto un nickname con il quale pubblicò l’influente singolo Bug In The Bassbin (Mo Wax, 1995), rispolverato in seguito nel 2000 per l’album Programmed (Planet E, 1999). Questa volta Craig dirige una vera e propria orchestra composta da un lato da esperti programmatori come Richie Hawtin (Plastikman) e dall’altro da musicisti jazz quali Paul Randolph al basso, Craig Taborn al piano e il batterista Francisco Mora. Nonostante le collaborazioni, la fusion cubista di Eruption e Basic Math è la quintessenza della sua arte. L’album compende successi come Galaxy, At Les, Manufactured Memories e Bug In The Bassbin.
Carl Craig infine registrò con il proprio nome l’album Landcruising (Planet E, 1995), con il quale prese le distanze dai dancefloors. Le tintinnanti Mind Of A Machine e Einbahn non sono altro che un tributo a due delle sue più grandi influenze: Kraftwerk e Tangerine Dream. Le romantiche e quasi ambient A Wonderful Life e One Day Soon devono molto ad un’altra significativa influenza: le colonne sonore di Ennio Morricone. E con Landcruising e Science Fiction, Craig ruota attorno alla sua terza principale influenza: la disco music orchestrale degli anni 70. Un album così retrò è coronato da Home Entertainment, un concerto futuristico per oggetti elettronici. La fusione tra passato e futuro, che è sempre stata l’ideologia di Craig, raggiunge qui la sua massima consacrazione.
Il successivo More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art (Planet E, 1997), indulgia in questa in questa maestosa techno romantica (o "techno soul", come egli stesso ama definirla ). Dall’intensa Es.30" alla delicata Dreamland, dalla robotica Butterfly alla religiosa At Les le colonne sonore continuano a rappresentare una grossa influenza (l’ossessionante atmosfera di Red Lights e Goodbye World), anche se l’album tenta indubbiamente di unificare jazz e techno. Lo stesso tipo di fusion è al centro della tracce vocali (Attitude).
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