Carl Craig

• Genre: Detroit/U.S. Techno

About

In the world of Detroit techno, there are originators and cornerstones. Though Carl Craig was born too late to be the former, he's unequivocally become the latter. A major part of the scene's Second Wave, C2 has elevated Motor City machine music, expanding the language of the dancefloor to incorporate everything from post-punk to jazz. Craig began making his own tracks in the late 1980s after working at the studio of techno innovator Derrick May. Working under a variety of pseudonyms (Psyche and Paperclip People, among them) while recording for and guiding his label Planet E, Craig has flowed effortlessly from ambient drones to proto-broken beat future jazz and beyond. Early classics reimagined drum 'n' bass (1992's "Bug in a Bass Bin") and reinvented minimal house music (1994's "Throw"). Collaborations with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Francesco Tristano enabled his entry into modern jazz and classical circles. And his relentless remixing career has made hits for artists as disparate as Tori Amos, Cesaria Evora and Junior Boys (which garnered him a Grammy nomination in '07). Two decades into his career, Craig is a Detroit techno legend whose vitality remains undiminished.

- Piotr Orlov