Carl Craig Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
Compiling each Carl Craig remix would be a several-disc box set undertaking. The pool from which to draw is wide and deep, from Nexus 21's 1989 track "(Still) Life Keeps Moving" through Junior Boys' Grammy nominated "Like a Child." Hopefully just the first way of addressing this large stockpile of varied tracks, Sessions is a two-disc set mixed by Craig that focuses primarily on his remixes (of tracks by others as well as himself) while interspersing a few original mixes of his productions. Though the set reaches back to 1992 for Chez Damier's synthetic-handclap-happy "Help Myself," there's a clear emphasis on Craig's more recent activities, with well over half of the tracks dating from 2004 or later. While he hadn't quite pulled a disappearing act during the late '90s and very early 2000s -- 2002's The Workout being one of the most improperly slept-on house/techno mixes of the last several years -- he underwent something of a rebirth around 2003, releasing a string of unpredictable and high-quality productions while developing into one of the hottest remixers on the planet. Most of the big re-workings are here in original or "exclusive," meaning slightly different, form: the low-key hiss-and-ping of Junior Boys' "Like a Child," Faze Action's searing/surging "In the Trees," Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom's spiraling "Relevee." In most cases -- Theo Parrish's "Falling Up" being the one major exception -- Craig's versions outstrip the originals not just by making them more palatable to moving bodies but also by teasing out elements and supplementing them with new wrinkles to make headphone listening as stimulating as dancefloor play. Remaining vital in any field for 20 years is an achievement, but doing so while forecasting and riding the rapid developments in dance music is something else entirely. This release goes some distance -- about as far as possible in two and a half hours -- to acknowledge that notion. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'Recomposed by Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald'
Release Date 1/1/2008
Tracks 8
Label Universal
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What The Critics Say
"Ahh yeah, let me see you work, let me see you work...oooooooh...bring it on down, bring it on down -- ungh!" That's not a transcription of lyrics from a track on Carl Craig's mix for the Fabric series. Instead, that's one of the several exultations Craig himself scatters throughout the set, giving it the strange feel of a live mix done in front of action figures or a muted Night Court episode instead of dancing humans. Depending on your mindset, this factor can either degrade or enhance the experience. (All that's missing is a radio spot from a Detroit staple like Watts Club Mozambique or Mr. Alan's.) Appearing three years after The Workout, a phenomenal mix for React, Craig's Fabric 25 is relatively straightforward and steadily active. Anything that leans toward the abstract remains either discreet or atop the deep rhythmic thrust of the mix. As well as Craig's excited whoops, the lack of allegiance to a particular trend or set of likeminded labels only helps to differentiate this set from most others released in 2005. Pulling mostly from house tracks that date from 2004 and 2005, the set begins with an altered version of Ying Yang Twins' "Wait (The Whisper Song)"; a minute in, a very Carl Craig synthesizer wash enters and takes over, giving way to Craig's maniacal laughter. Once the sedate Basic Channel-like pulse of his own "Angel" enters, normalcy -- or something resembling the expected -- ensues, but "Wait"'s inclusion shouldn't be all that surprising when it sounds almost exactly like a track Craig would produce if he made rap records. Since only a couple selections had appeared on other mixes prior to release, the mix maintains a freshness that doesn't rely on obvious picks. Craig's "Darkness" -- a thrilling fusion of his beefy mix of Throbbing Gristle's "Hot on the Heels of Love" with ending theatrics learned from Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Firecracker," along with flashbacks to Landcruising's "Mind of a Machine" -- is the highlight of highlights. Kenny Larkin contributes the swirling avant gospel-house of "Good God," D'Malicious' "Alive" puts a soulboy spin on mid-'90s Germanic techno, and Scott Grooves' "The Journey" carries the delirious breakdown from Martin Circus' "Disco Circus" to Africa. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'The Album Formerly Known As...'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 12
Label Planet E
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What The Critics Say
Met with a muddled chorus of hisses and hurrahs, Carl Craig's 2005 overhaul of 1995's Landcruising is, for a lot of Detroit techno and IDM heads, a divisive issue and a possibly baffling way to look back at a touchstone. No matter how much you've bonded with each twist and turn of the album, ten years have not been kind to each one of them -- a few components dated rapidly while others have continued to sound just like progress. Rest assured, Craig knew exactly what wrongs to right. After comparing each original version to these adjusted updates, it becomes apparent that this is a sharper, bolder, more immediate, and more durable Landcruising. "Science Fiction" leaves the greatest impression, with every single element made more incisive and pliable. Craig also knows where to hold back, as he does with "A Wonderful Life" -- its changes are minor, while the sound is vastly improved. In addition to a couple decent remixes tacked at the end, there's a new track: if Lil' Louis' "French Kiss" is an illicit one-night rendezvous, the appropriately titled "Sparkle" is a bliss-smacked first kiss. Earlier in 2005, Craig released a promising 12" of new material, so it was disappointing that his long-on-hold follow-up to More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art remained on hold for yet another revisitation like this (Planet E's reissue schedule had long been more busy than its new release schedule), but one scan through the results here should wipe out most grievances. Craig's actions have made permanent the classic status of an album that was sounding a little less classic as the years wore on. The true debate raised by this release is whether or not the original has been rendered obsolete. It hasn't, but those who never owned the original needn't seek it out as long as this remains easier to obtain. [Planet E issued this on triple vinyl, while Amsterdam's Rush Hour handled the CD version and used different artwork.] ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Workout is a complete package -- almost. Encased in a striking die-cut wraparound sleeve, Carl Craig's superb and lovingly assembled double-disc mix album for React is an impeccably arranged and executed survey of set favorites, unreleased mixes, and previews of forthcoming projects, including two by Tres Demented and one under his birth name. The lone problem? Both Tres Demented tracks are track one -- and so are all the remaining 32 inclusions. There's no way of automatically going straight to the stunning drop-in of Flash's "Fix," for instance; you'll have to keep hitting the fast-forward button until you reach 12:15. The two discs aren't necessarily of distinct personalities, yet the material shared between them hits upon dance music of many colors and shapes, whether the basis is rigid techno or loose vocal house. Despite the fact that over half of the selections have more than tangential ties to the DJ, neither of the discs play out like a vanity affair, as the picks fit perfectly into the scheme of things. Craig's "Dark Soul Update" of Recloose's "Ain't Changin'," for instance, forms an unlikely but ideal bridge between Gus Gus' "Your Moves Are Mine," and Dave Angel's "Airborne." Likewise, his steamy, spacey remix of Todd Sines and Natacha Labelle's "Come Closer" pulls the flow out of one of Anthony "Shake" Shakir's bristly, robotic productions and feeds into the chilling throb and sweep of Stephen Brown's "Language." There's Adult's electro-pop, Moonstarr's Great White North broken beat, Amp Fiddler's Motor City funk-house, and all the great points in between. Craig connects the dots with nary a speedbump and comes out with one of the best mix albums of 2002. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Invited to construct a mix album from the rather thin back catalog of Shadow Records, Carl Craig almost proves up to the task, finally drafting several imports from his own Planet E label to finish the job. Though Shadow exists mainly to release the domestic versions of full-lengths by a few European producers, Craig sifts through the scattershot discography and deftly outlines his continuing meld of academic techno and earthier jazz. He opens with a great track by Jimpster, one of his closest fellow fusionaires, then looks to the Detroit-connected John Arnold for the drum-heavy "Universal Mind" (originally released on Transmat). One of the better Shadow LPs, Pop Artificielle by Atom Heart's lb project, gets plundered for two tracks: covers of soul giants James Brown ("Superbad") and Prince ("The Future"). Elsewhere, Craig recruits brother Reggie for the jacking track "Second Wind," and Recloose for the atmospheric, Lonnie Liston Smith-inspired "Landscaping." Pulling together a dozen or so disparate tracks into a discernible whole is quite a task; it's a tribute to Carl Craig's ear that this mix comes off at all. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Abstract Funk Theory'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 10
Label Obsessive
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What The Critics Say
Another installment in the U.K.-based Obsessive label's Abstract Funk Theory series places the listener in the able hands of producer and label head Carl Craig. (No further introduction necessary.) Within the span of an hour, Craig serves up an invaluable history lesson consisting of '80s funk, techno, electro, and otherwise. This is not a mix; rather, this offers each track in its full glory. And if it wasn't made in Detroit, it has ties to the city -- or more specifically, the city's radio waves and the high school parties that went down in its northwest corner during the early part of that decade. Those who have only heard reverential stories about radio DJ the Electrifying Mojo and late club DJ Ken Collier's influential, open-minded, mind-opening, and barrier-breaking taste-making will have the spirit of the inspirational figures' sets shooting through their ears with these selections. The biggest testament to the legendary party scene that helped spawn Detroit techno is present in the form of A Number of Names' "Sharevari" (the disc misspells the title as "Shari Vari"), the ultra-decadent Italo disco-inspired tribute to the ultra-chic and ultra-elitist scene. Moving in a roughly chronological fashion, Craig rifles through a stack of other personal favorites, beginning with the ten-minute version of George Clinton's electronic funk landmark "Atomic Dog" and concluding with Rhythim Is Rhythim's "The Dance." A fair majority of the tracks that fall between still sound ahead of their time, though X-Ray's "Let's Go" (a track by Derrick May, Juan Atkins, and Juan's brother, Aaron, which was the first 12" released on May's Transmat label), a bounding screwball of a number with drunken exclamations of "Surf's up, baby!" and whatnot, is definitely an exception to that notion. Three unimpeachable Juan Atkins classics highlight the disc, including Cybotron's "Alleys of Your Mind," which kick-started Detroit's electronic music legacy along with the aforementioned "Sharevari" in 1981. Channel One's "Technicolor" and Model 500's "Night Drive" are the other Atkins-related productions found here. Other slots are reserved for Kevin Saunderson and Santonio Echols' Reese & Santonio ("Forcefield"), Craig's B.F.C. ("Galaxy"), and the B-52's, whose stiff/loose "Mesopotamia" became an underground dance classic thanks to Mojo and the party scene. Whether reminiscing or getting schooled, a good time for all is guaranteed. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
'House Party 013: A Planet E Mix'
Release Date 1/1/1999
Tracks 12
Label Next Era
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What The Critics Say
House Party 013 is a collection of Planet E classics dedicated to the people of the Czech Republic and released on the country's Next Era label (the obvious connections between the two heavily industrial regions -- Eastern Europe and Detroit -- are obvious and unspoken). Just abrasive enough to satisfy fans of harder, Detroit-style techno, but with plenty of dancefloor attitude and house grooves to please clubfans, the collection tracks a few of Craig's Planet E classics ("Galaxy" by BFC, "Floor" and "Steam" by Paperclip People, "Stevie Knows" by Designer Music) plus a bevy of selections from other Planet E artists (Recloose's "Soul Clap 2000," Common Factor's "North Nights," Alton Miller's "Extasol") that prove surprisingly amenable to club consumption when compacted together into a 60-minute mix. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art'
Release Date 3/21/1997
Tracks 16
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What The Critics Say
After conquering the dancefloor during 1995-1996 with his Paperclip People project, Carl Craig turned back to the electronic mood music of Landcruising and created a work of gorgeous, exquisite electronic listening music. It's a difficult record to digest, but more deserving of Jeff Mills' oft-quoted tag concerning techno being something you've never heard before than any techno record of the '90s. Craig largely wrote his own production playbook, seemingly taking the words written on the cover as a challenge: "Revolutionary art is determined...by how much it revolutionises our thinking and imagination; overturning our preconceptions, bias and prejudice and inspiring us to change ourselves and the world." After a short introduction, "Televised Green Smoke" floats in on a haze, working through the classic blueprint of dance music -- the gradual addition of layered, complementary elements -- until it reaches a soft peak. "Red Lights" works a slow-grind breakbeat, cycling through the Paperclip People oscillator with strings in the background and an atmosphere reminiscent of The Godfather. "Dreamland" and "Butterfly" are closer to "traditional" Detroit productions, sharp and focused but rather melancholy; the former is a reach-out to the British-Detroit axis (As One, Black Dog, B12), while the latter evokes the classic late-'80s productions of Craig's friend Derrick May (who co-produced a later track, "Frustration"). The Maurizio dub "Dominas" is nocturnal and unhurried, even despite the insistent beat and a female vocal sample repeating the title one word after another. Another classic, "At Les," balances a few gently cascading chords with a rhythm program that keeps pushing the track forward and faster. More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art thumbs its nose at the growing ranks of intelligent techno blowhards, and arguably bests anything the IDM crowd mustered before or after it. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Unlike the typically live (or at least live-sounding) mix albums in the DJ-Kicks series, Carl Craig did much post-production work on his volume. The result is a collection of complex, reworked techno from Craig's own Planet E label (by Clark, Designer Music, and the 4th Wave) as well as other crucial techno producers such as Claude Young, Kosmic Messenger, Octagon Man, and Gemini. The addition of a special Carl Craig track -- composed entirely with the use of samples from originals included elsewhere on the collection -- is a nice touch to what proves to be an admirable collection. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
