By Halcyon
In the minds of many, the name Carl Craig epitomizes Detroit Techno. Although he was neither the first nor the flashiest of the original Detroit innovators, his 20-plus year production and club career can boast of nearly no wrong turns nor wanderings into inconsistency. If Juan Atkins is credited with the initial push over the top andDerrick May distinguished himself as the best DJ of the famous quartet, from nearly the beginning Craig was present in the background quietly pushing the developments that would lead into the second wave of Detroit music and its spread to the furthest corners of the globe. Although the exact extent of his work behind the scenes will likely never be known, as label aide to both KMS and Transmat he adeptly learned the business end of the trade, and early studio help he received from Derrick May was returned in spades as he joined his older predecessors on their groundbreaking European tours and also for their recording sessions. If early efforts asPsyche, BFC, and 69 revealed a creative mind rapidly progressing and moving through ideas faster than most ever get them, by 1995 his name was synonymous with the best and most bracing Techno the Motor City had to offer that combined deepness, hardness, and a restless futuristic and experimental aesthetic that plowed down everything in its path. [Read More]