Genious Mind: Carl Craig (Photo by Timothy Saccenti)

Em matéria de ousadia e criatividade,  Carl Craig é gênio do futurismo musical-aestético. Gigante sem paralelos, é capaz de lançar obras-primas como ‘At Les’ (1993), ‘A Wonderful Life’ (1995), ‘Mind Of A Machine’ (1995), ou ainda produzir remixes incríveis para obras de outros artistas, dando-lhes seu toque único e pessoal.

A impressão que dá ao ouvir suas músicas é de estar dentro de uma nave espacial em pleno vôo pela metópole futurista em noite de chuva ácida. Nos remete a perspectivas futuristas, arrojadas, ousadas, mas ao mesmo tempo emocionais, profundas e pulsantes.

Carl Craig , também conhecido por Paperclip People e B.F.C. (Betty Ford Clinic), também já fez parte de projetos ‘fora-de-série’: Urban Tribe, Innerzone Orchestra e The Detroit Experiment, cuja fusão entre elementos de Techno, Soul e Jazz (sobretudo no caso dos dois últimos) gerou tesouros atemporais como ‘Covert Action’ (1990), ‘Bug In The Bass Bin’ (1992), ‘Think Twice’ (2003) respectivamente.  

Além de extraordinariamente criativo, Carl Craig soube como ninguém recorrer à arte de samplear e recorrer à rica história que o formou. A sua eclética perspectiva abrangeu diversos segmentos, e aqui citaremos alguns: 

. Arranjos sensuais da Disco, como o caso de fragmentos de First Choice – ‘Love Thang’ (1979) em ‘The Climax’, assim como as linhas de baixo de ‘Floor‘ vêm de ‘Bombers – Everybody Get Dancin’ (1979); 

. Em  ‘Think Twice’, há arranjos idênticos aos do clássico de Jazz-Funk homônimo de Donald Byrd de 1975 (caso em que é difícil ter certeza se foram mesmo sampleados ou regravados), e em ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ como 69, há pequenos arranjos do clássico de Soul ‘Little Child Runnin Wild’ do Curtis Mayfield;

. Do outro lado do Atlântico, Carl Craig foi buscar no original ‘Peut Être… Pas’ do Liaisons Dangereuses (1981) o ritmo usado no drop de ‘B.F.C. – Galaxy’;

. Em ’69 – Rushed’, pegou emprestado o piano principal de ‘My Mine – Hypnotic Tango’ (1983), hino de Italo Disco;

. Foi na mesma Europa que o Americano de Detroit se inspirou ao samplear o clássico de Synth-Pop ‘Visage – Frequency 7’ (1979) em sua ‘Frequency Finale’;

. Como Paperclip People, fez uso das linhas de sintetizador de ‘Yello – Bostich’ (1980) em ‘Paperclip Man’, e de trechos de ‘Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’ da Crystal Waters em ‘Gypsy Man’;

. Por fim, usou em ‘Shop – Niwit’ um trecho mínimo do remix de seu amigo Derrick May para ‘Sueño Latino – Sueño Latino’ (1992).

Em entrevista para a gravadora responsável por lançar ‘Sessions’, Carl Craig falou da sua vida e contou curiosidades interessantes que permearam a sua carreira artística. Respire fundo e não deixe de comprar a coletânea, que tem entre suas faixas e remixes a sua incrível versão para ‘Revelee’ de Delia Gonzalez e Gavin Russom. (O tracklist e o link para comprar a coletânea estão no final da matéria)

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ENGLISH

       ‘Sessions’, Carl Craig’s Amazing New Release on !K7

Carl Craig’s Interview Celebrates ‘Sessions’ Official Release on !K7 Studio

In terms of creativity and boldness,  Carl Craig is a genious of futuristic-aesthetic music. A giant behind masterpieces such as ‘At Les’ (1993), ‘A Wonderful Life’ (1995), ‘Mind Of A Machine’ (1995) among countless other treasures, as well as amazing remixes for other producers that have his personal & unique touch.

While listening to his music, you get sometimes the impression of being on a spaceship flying a future metropolis during a midnight acid rain, on the middle of bold, wild, deep and emotional arrangements with pulsating rhythms.

Also known as Paperclip People & B.F.C. (Betty Ford Clinic), Carl Craig engaged himself on ahead-of-our-time groups such as Urban Tribe, Innerzone Orchestra and The Detroit Experiment, all of them responsible for avant-garde fusion Techno, Soul & Jazz elements. Through them, timeless classics like ‘Covert Action’ (1990), ‘Bug In The Bass Bin’ (considered a special chapter on the Breakbeats history from 1992) and ‘Think Twice’ (2003) were released.  

Not only he has been extraordinarily creative as a producer, but also a sharp-minded Soul in the art of sampling and revisiting the past. Among the major samples and old school inspirations, we found out that his eclectic mind goes from the hottest Disco (‘The Climax’ has a sample from First Choice‘s ‘Love Thang’ (1979) and the basslines from ‘The Floor’ comes from Bombers – Everybody Get Dancin’ (1979);
to Jazz & Jazz-Funk (The Detroit Experiment’s “Think Twice” has samples from Donald Byrd‘s homonym tune – part of his ‘Steppin’ Into Tomorrow’ LP, (1975); Soul (‘Ladies And Gentlemen’ contains a nearly continuous arrangement from ‘Little Child Runnin Wild’ by Curtis Mayfield); Industrial which has always been one of Carl Craig’s faves genres as well (B.F.C. – ‘Galaxy’ has that synthesized bass groove from ‘Liaisons Dangereuses – ‘Peut Être… Pas’ (1981);
Italo-Disco (for the connaisseurs, 69’s Rushed may sound familiar since the main synth line has been taken from ‘My Mine – Hypnotic Tango’ (1983); Synth Pop (on 69’s ‘Frequency Finale’ you can notice the accelerated arrangements of ‘Visage – Frequency 7′ (1979) on the drop), and on ‘Paperclip People – Paperclip Man’ you hear the main synth of ‘Yello – Bostich’ (1980);
House also influenced Carl (Paperclip People’s ‘Gypsy Man (He’s A Hobo)’ main synth comes from Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)’ from the same year of 1991;
and even his mates productions were used: Shop – Niwit has tiny synths from Derrick May‘s remix for ‘Sueño Latino – Sueño Latino’ (1992); 

The list of samples and influences brought by Carl Craig is unbeliveable. On an interview for the label !K7, he spoke about his life and also very interesting curiosities concerning his artistic career. Take a deep breath, have a nice interview and do not miss the chance to buy ‘Sessions’ and its amazing music, including his version for ‘Revelee’ from Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom.

 

TracklistSession 0101 Directions – Busted Trees (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)
02 Junior Boys – Like a Child (Carl Craig Remix)
03 Rhythm & Sound – Poor People Must Work (Carl Craig Remix)
04 Chez Damier – Help Myself (Reconstructed By Carl Craig)
05 Paperclip People – Throw (Unreleased Version)
06 Beanfield – Tides (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)
07 Paperclip People – Clear and Present
08 Theo Parrish – Falling Up (Carl Craig Remix)
09 Cesaria Evora – Angola (Carl Craig’s Mix)
10 Francesco Tristano – The Melody (Carl Craig Remix)
11 Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom – Revelee (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)Session 0201 69 – Rushed (Original Version)
02 69 – Psychobeat (Previously Unreleased)
03 Xpress2 – Kill 100 (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)
04 Tres Demented – Demented (Or Just Crazy) (Original Version)
05 Faze Action – In the Trees (Unreleased Carl Craig Remix)
06 Tres Demented – Brainfreeze (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)
07 Carl Craig – Futurelovetheme (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)
08 Carl Craig – Sandstorms (Original Version)
09 Innerzone Orchestra – Bug in the Bass Bin (Carl Craig ‘Sessions’ Remix)Carl Craig’s ‘Sessions’ official release on !K7 took place February 25, 2008.