You may have noticed a lack of specific music reviews on the blog so far. This is because they are generally completely superfluous and can infact malign the actual enjoyment of music. So please understand the following is a recommendation: Night Music – a Steve Reich-inspired, five-track album of “loops and hypnotism” performed by Etienne Jaumet and produced by none other than Carl Craig.
Cascading compositions
It may look like the ultimate safe bet, Carl Craig being one of the very few unshakable pillars in modern electronic music making, but Carl did a lot more than simply mix the album. He based his work on a common musical culture. Long talks with Etienne about Liaisons Dangereuses proved once again that Craig is the most European of all the Detroit producers. He ripped the heart of the record to bring it to its full Electronic and Psychedelic life. Without adding anything but magic, Carl Craig took what Night Music was already was and enhanced it. – Ivan Smagghe
One half of French horror-disco outfit Zombie Zombie has joined iconic techno producer Carl Craig for a collaboration that may at first seem unlikely. However, anyone who has witnessed any of Carl’s galacticly epic sets this summer at We Love… Space in Ibiza may not be so surprised. This collaboration between Etienne Jaumet and Carl Craig indulges in their jointly held passion for synthscapes in a pinnacle of elegant Paris meets Detroit electronica. The opening track “For Falling Asleep” takes 20 minutes to reach its goal – a climax of astral proportion. The joy Jaumet’s exploration in this journey takes, with wistful saxophone and gentle but insistent machine rhythms “directed and imagined” by Carl Craig. This deceptively minimal epic subtly informs the listener of what is to come over the next 4 songs – tightly wound but seemingly infinite in their scope. There is a patient process at work in the construction of each track. Jaumet’s writhing, eerie synths are warped and manipulated between what sounds like bagpipes and Middle Eastern strings and horns. The autobahn-ready metronomy of the pulsing dance groove provided by Carl Craig gives way to melodic noise and anthemic classical sections with ominous significance. There are also peaceful acoustic touches which are soon swallowed up by crashing waves of sound. On the whole, it is a dark but enchanting piece of work.
The Dutch west coast and the city of the Hague in particular is a hotbed for the current techno revival. Intergalactic plays round the clock old, new and true school techno. The programming policy is brilliantly relentless. Intergalactic’s blog has a great feature called, “Portraits of the electro scene”, showing photographs of Dutch DJs and artists at home surrounded by keyboards and shelves of records.
The Guardian: Launch the Flash player and there are two other equally niche channels to chose from – Intergalactic Classix focuses on 80s-style synth dance and cheesy disco (every day at 11am there’s a slot I like called NRG Formaggio), while The Dream Machine is a kind of anything-goes ambient-space-jazz freak-out channel, and quite possibly the only place you’ll ever hear the instrumental saxophone-noodling soundtrack to an Italian movie called Porno Shop On 7th Street followed by an ancient clip of James T Kirk reading his captain’s log accompanied by some bongos.
This summer in Ibiza, exclusive monthly resident to We Love, Jeff Mills took the Discoteca by storm with his own uniquely futuristic take on electronic music. From the founding of Axis Records to playing live with the Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra, Mills breaks new ground in every aspect of his professional life. One of the most revered and respected names in techno took a moment out of his busy schedule to answer these 11 questions…
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Probably John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”. We had to read this in high school. It was the first real book (besides Silver Surfer comics) that I ever read. The book was short, but vivid in its description.
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No, they pressed me to consider working as a electrical engineer or electrician. I wanted to pursue Architecture or Advertising. In Detroit where I grew up, Music was compulsory. Everybody was connected to it in someway, so jumping into that professional wasn’t really a big step.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I auditioned for a DJ group called the Dale Willis Organization. My older brother was part of that organization. They provided the Dance Music for parties and events around Detroit in the 70s/80s. After begging him for months to arrange a audition, I got the chance to display what I had been practicing for and in a real club with grown up people. I was 17 at the time. Dale Willis liked what I did and started working at a club called The Lady in Detroit on Tuesday Nights. I was under age, so I had to stay in the DJ booth the entire night. It was there, Dale and others taught me how to program, read, measure and pace the crowd and a lot other things that I still practice today.
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. I think to be a DJ, one generally has to have a un-bias view of people and on the other side, a realistic way of generalizing. A understanding that the distance between you and your audiences isn’t really that far. Rationalizing is a big part of the profession. As a child, I could get along with everyone and never had any problems expressing myself. I think that at a early age, I understood that people are not perfect. This is only something we can strive for.
AXIS-001
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. The main one is in Chicago. It’s a small room, many keyboards w/ all red MIDI cords, 2 desk lamps, no overhead lighting, no signs or posters, 1 small window with a view of other buildings. In Berlin, it’s all on the floor in the bedroom. Using the boxes the equipment came in, the keyboards and units sit atop. I rarely use the return studio monitors, but prefer headphones.
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. Marketing issues consume about 70% of my time. Between our label, Axis and the clothing shop Gamma Player, structuring ways to relay to people what we’re doing takes a lot of time, preparation and execution. For this, we’ve assembled a team of people that I’ve worked with for over 10 years to handle certain tasks. Because we creating so many projects at the same time, it can be difficult to make sure we’re all on the same channel, but we managed a system of shuffling information quite well considering. The marketing does not drive creativity. It’s the opposite. Every project is different and requires various strategies. From this, we’ve learned a lot over the many years.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. It’s difficult. My actions are moving towards something, but I’m really sure. I feel that it’s important, but I really don’t know why. Luckily, work has never been a struggle. I’ve never had a creative block or anything – it evolves on a time system that I control. I favor the subjects of Science Fiction and the work is just a reflection of how I envision it.
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. My father and brother. Dale Willis, Arthur C. Clarke, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Martin Luther King Jr, Pierre Cardin, Oscar Niemeyer and many, many other. Without knowing their individual names, decades and decades of people at parties have taught me how to communicate musically.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Moderate jail time. How much time should be determined by the true reasons of the burglary. Was the culprit committing a crime for necessity or preference? Was their a family or a addiction to feed?
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. The Rat. We’re longtime enemies.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. This is a tough one. Musically, I’d have to say in Harlem, New York between 1939-1945. The Great Jazz era. Spiritually, during the completion of the last Egyptian Pyramid to see what they were really made for?
To get the ball rolling on what will become a regular feature on the We Love… blog. Man of many monikers, Carl Craig takes time out of his busy schedule to answer 11 pertinent questions posed by our interrogator in chief. If you have the time (and money) check out his newly released box set, The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King. Including Planet E’s first release titled “Four Jazz Funk Classics,” which Carl Craig recorded under the pseudonym 69. This album set the standard for what was to follow in Planet E’s history. In addition, it set the stage for listeners to prepare themselves for the unique and undeniable sound the label would become synonymous with, a sort of “futuristic funk” that remains true to its techno roots, while redefining the genre as a whole.
Q. Is there one book that you have read that has been life-changing for you?
A. Dirty Havana Trilogy. Lots of sex and alcohol!
Q. Did your parents encourage you to work in music?
A. No. They wanted me to work at the post office. Now my dad is very supportive. He works for me.
Q. How did you begin to work professionally in music?
A. I met Derrick May in 1988 with a demo. Actually a bunch of demos over a bunch of time. If I’ve learned one thing, persistence pays!
Q. How do you apply your past experiences to what you do today?
A. N/A
Q. Where is your current studio and what is it like?
A. In Detroit. I have mostly analog keyboards, a mixing desk and lots of vibe. Actually the vibe is more like a science lab!
Q. How much have you had to consider marketing issues since embarking on your career and how has that affected your creativity?
A. I’ve gone through all of the marketing ideas for a small label and since I’m no specialist I just release music and let the people enjoy.
Q. How would you describe your work?
A. Heavy
Q. Who were your teachers?
A. Time and experience.
Q. Your home is burgled but fortunately the culprits are caught and your possessions returned to you. What would you deem a suitable punishment for the burglars?
A. Slavery.
Q. You have to make one species of animal extinct. Excluding insects, which species would you make extinct?
A. Possums. They’re ugly fuckers.
Q. If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
A. I would go to the time of Casanova and would be his rival.
