Carl Craig was at the forefront of Detroit techno’s second wave of producers behind the original Belleville Three, forging a formidable reputation with a string of classics on his Retroactive and Planet E labels while becoming one of the world’s most startlingly creative and revered remixers. Although Craig never thrust himself into the spotlight, the respect he commands is second to none. Nobody comes closer to sculpting space symponies, effortlessly sliding in the right sound or melody at exactly the right time. And there’s no let up or drop in the quality as recent remixes for Faze Action or Junior Boys [both here] show. The earliest track here is 1990’s ‘Oscillator’, before the two CDs go on to cover aliases including Paperclip People, Psyche, BFC, 69, Tres Demented and Innerzone Orchestra [whose ‘Bug In The Bass Bin’ massively influenced the UK drum ‘n’ bass movement in 1992]. Craig’s music has always gone much deeper than the dancefloor, incorporating classic elements of jazz, funk, soul and electro with a cool logic which can be devastatingly emotional or simply tear the roof clean off the sucker. Tracks like ‘Sandstorms’ simply defy earthly electronic music rules with the effect they whip up. The collection isn’t only lodged in the past [although many versions are previously unheard]. Recent remixes like his cathartic detonations of Xpress 2’s ‘Kill 100′ and Junior Boys’ ‘Like A Child’ show how Craig is one of the few artists constantly taking this music somewhere new while never losing sight of the soul. Magnificent, untouchable, essential.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
