Carl Craig

"I've always been about taking risks," says Carl Craig, a Detroit techno forefather and the head of the label Planet E, "and staying independent, an independent Black-run company, because that doesn't happen very long." Carl Craig is one of Detroit techno's forefathers, and hearing him speak is like sitting down...

Missed out on this summer’s Movement Electronic Music festival? We have you covered. On today's Stateside Podcast, we’re bringing you into the underbelly of Detroit’s Movement Electronic Music Festival. Plus we’ll hear from one of the techno originals, Carl Craig. ———— GUEST:. Carl Craig,...

This story is part of Mornings in Michigan, our series about morning rituals from across our state. If you were in downtown Detroit over Memorial Day weekend, odds are you heard the pulsating sounds of Movement Electronic Music festival at Hart Plaza. Though the festival normally ends by midnight every day, there’s a late night — or shall I say early morning — dance music scene that makes Movement a 24-hour affair.

Planet E Communications reaches its massive, three-decade milestone and Carl Craig crafted a compilation to showcase its catalog. The deep dance music history found in Detroit is one that is only rivaled by that of Chicago and New York. While house and disco reigned supreme in those two cities, something special was brewing in Michigan as it fostered a home for what would inevitably come to be called techno. One artist who helped pioneer this movement in the late ’80s and early ’90s was Carl Craig, and with his imprint Planet E Communications, he’s only further shown off the immense musical talent coming out of Detroit.

The name Carl Craig needs little introduction in Detroit. The music legend is one of the major names in Detroit techno, and this year, he celebrates the 30th anniversary of his record label, Planet E Communications. In the past year plus, he’s expanded his influence and work into many different areas, from an immersive sound and light installation in New York to a synthesizer ensemble at Carnegie Hall.

Carl Craig had to delay the 30th anniversary celebration of his Planet E Communications a year, due to the global pandemic. But that doesn’t make the occasion any less sweet, or surprising, for the Detroit electronic music icon, who established the company back in 1991. “Y’know, 30 years is...

Carl Craig’s Planet E Communications remains one of most seminal strongholds for the exploration of modern music. Designed as an independent vehicle for the showcase of Detroit musical excellence and beyond, the label continues to defy expectations through its seamless bridging of genres, era, and sonics. Today, Planet E celebrates its 30 year anniversary with the release of the ‘Planet E 30, a wide reaching journey into a catalog defined by the constant reimagination of what the future holds. The compilation will be exclusive to Bandcamp this weekend, and released on other streaming platforms early next week.