Various Artists
Carl Craig Sessions
!K7/ Inertia


With so many dance music compilations out there, it is so refreshing to have a luminary of a genre come out with a release that epitomises what a dance compilation should be. Along with Derrick May, Jeff Mills and Juan Atkins, Carl Craig personifies Detroit techno. He has been responsible for some of the most seminal techno tracks, namely Elements, Chicken Noodle Soup and Neurotic Behaviour, and he is well respected in the dance music fraternity. 'Sessions' bring together some of Craig's recent remixes, as well as some of his earlier works, including many releases under his past pseudonyms: 69, Paperclip People, Innerzone Orchestra, and Tres Demented.

This two CD collection is actually a single recorded mix split into two, and Craig starts it off with his softly spoken, industrial remix of Directions' Busted Trees. His disjointed beat remix of Rhythm & Sound's Poor People Must Work is flanked by the more subtle melodies and soulful vibe of Chez Damier's Help Myself and Paperclip People's unreleased version of Throw. Beanfield, Theo Parrish, Cesaria Evora, and Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom also gets the Carl Craig treatment on this side of the mix, expanding the set's musical spectrum with injections of Latin flavours and melodic pianos.

As the first CD fades out, CD 2 fades in with 69's industrial tech Rushed. Craig's remix of Xpress2's hit Kill 100 is an immediate highlight, with its heavy bass lines and sinister melodies. The tribal Demented (Or Just Crazy) from Tres Demented is almost hallucinogenic, and Craig's classic Futurelovetheme is purely inspiring. The mix concludes with Innerzone Orchestra's Bug In The Bass Bin, a curious selection, with its broken beats seemingly not fitting in with the rest of the mix, but its inclusion is warranted on a nostalgic level.

To put it bluntly, this is a killer album. Craig's ability to evoke emotions from a genre that is minimal and industrial in nature is a testament to his creativeness and innovation. All other DJs take note, this is exactly how a mix should be done.

Leo Varona