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Carl Craig was a key player in Detroit techno's second wave, following the futuristic lead of originators Derrick May and Juan Atkins, and eventually collaborating with May. He began recording at the turn of the 1990's, using a number of aliases to release innovative ambient, techno, breakbeat and future jazz sounds.
One such alias, Innerzone Orchestra, issued "Bug In The Bass Bin" in 1992, the track largely responsible for moving drum 'n' bass away from the sounds of hardcore and ragga. He later reconvened Innerzone Orchestra as a jazz/techno combo, recruiting jazz composer/keyboardist Craig Taborn, former Sun Ra Arkestra member Francisco Mora Catlett, and Matthew Chicoine to help him record 1999's album "Programmed". Matt Chicoine, under alias Recloose, later signed for Craig's own label Planet E Communications, a peerless dance label employing the same eclectic and futuristic ethos that informs his own music.
With releases under many aliases, including BFC, Psyche, Paperclip People, 69, Designer Music and Innerzone Orchestra; Carl Craig has more musical personalities than the average electronic artist. As much as his different guises can confuse though, his music is always easily recognized because whatever he does, it retains that certain Craig-ness of sound. A deep commitment to soul mixed with jazz, often including but not exclusively so, a detroit techno sound, has always been the watermark of his music.
Even when Craig is destroying dance floors with such songs as the classic track "Throw" (or one of the very many versions of it!) there is always a subtleness and attention to detail that separates his music from that of the typical dance music producer. |
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