Carl Craig, "Televised Green Smoke"

A couple weeks ago, the BBC Radio 1 website was hyping the latest Essential Mix, a set by Carl Craig. An electronica legend had graced the station with his presence and incredible talent, and Pete Tong gushed about Craig’s influence on the techno community. Having never heard of him before, I gave Craig’s Essential Mix a listen. It was flat out fucking incredible.

Craig is from the Detroit school of techno. Believe it or not, the Motor City — not Berlin, Paris, or London — was the birthplace of techno. Chicago was where house morphed from disco in the early-eighties (and I plan to visit Frankie Knuckles Way when I visit the Windy City in a couple weeks), but techno was pioneered by the Belleville Three: Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May. Craig is considered part of the second generation of Detroit techno, whose members took the sound to Europe. From there, Craig apparently influenced countless electronic DJs.

Since his Essential Mix is no longer available (those mixes are only archived for seven days), YouTube is the next best place to get a sample of his style. The best example I have found so far is “Televised Green Smoke” from his 1997 album, More Songs About Food & Revolutionary Art. Craig is the dude wearing headphones.