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Carl Craig - Artists | Kozzmozz

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Carl Craig


References: Planet E, Detroit

Carl Craig

Craig released his first track in 1989. One of his earliest mentors and first collaborator was Derrick May, whose imprint Craig also released some of his early music on. In 1991, wanting pure artistic freedom, Craig set up his own label Planet-E and released ‘4 Jazz Funk Classics’, under the moniker 69, as the label’s first release. From here his wild exploration of sound intensified…

A Gemini true to form, with a mind that never sits still, Craig has released a diverse range of experimental and groundbreaking music under a plethora of aliases including 69, BFC, C2, Innerzone Orchestra, No Boundaries, Psyche, Paperclip People, Tres Demented, Urban Tribe and many more. He has also produced albums for the legendary Detroit Jazz collective Tribe as well as orchestrator / pianist Francesco Tristano and French producer Agoria.

Live he has collaborated with Les siècles orchestra at Cité de la Musique in Paris. A meeting of techno and classical music, the concert was described as “historical” and repeated in Milan and Germany. He regularly performs live as experimental outfit Trio with Moritz Von Oswald and Francesco Tristano, sometimes as Narod Niki alongside Villalobos, Luciano, Richie Hawtin, Zip and others, and regularly does part live and part DJ with Luciano.

Additionally he’s taken to occasionally bringing keyboardists like Mike Banks (UR), Amp Fiddler and Tristano into the DJ booth with him for special one-off gigs. He also improvised live to an Andy Warhol film at the Unsound Festival in New York. In 2011, Craig went live as 69 for the first time ever, fusing masks, darkness and the music of 69, Craig created 69’s own entity and previewed the show to a few select festivals and clubs, in 2012 he took the show global, with his personal highlight performance at Bains Numeriques, near Paris.

His remixes discography boasts some of the most desirable names in music – LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Junior Boys (nominated for a Grammy Award), Theo Parrish, Tori Amos, Can, Goldfrapp, Friendly Fires, Tom Trago, Slam, Caribou, Tiga, Unkle, Life & Death, tINI, Yello and more.

As well as an outlet for his own productions, his Planet-E imprint has given a home to a wide range of Detroit-based artists including Francesco Mora Catlett, Naomi Daniel, Flexitone, Jason Hogans, Kenny Larkin, Monty Luke, Moodyman, Mike Agent X, Oliver who Factory, Ezana Harris, Recloose, Reference, Kevin Saunderson, Big Tone, Tribe, Urban Tribe, and Chaz Vincent.

In 2012 he released solo works ‘Last Decade’, a six-track conceptual mini album under his alias Carls Davis. Staying strong to his Detroit roots, where he still lives today, Craig helped launch the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF) in 2000 and remains a strong force at the festival today. He has also created and launched his non-profit 501-C3 Carl Craig Foundation: “The concept is to find ways to re-educate kids about what’s interesting musically that you can’t get on the radio… To develop a new music scene that follows the legacy of Detroit music being diverse and interesting, to spot out the most talented young musicians coming out of high school and lend small financial grants to encourage music education at a higher level.”

In 2012 Craig was voted in the top DJs that rule the Earth in Rolling Stone and appeared on the cover of the world’s biggest electronic music magazine, Mixmag.