Carl Craig - 69 interview

Music

Ahead of his 69 live airing @ I Love Techno next month we caught up with Carl in a particularly chatty mood.

Hi Carl,

Getting pretty hyped about seeing you perform 69 at I Love Techno. Those records have been with me for so long and can’t wait to hear how they translate into a live setting. I’m going to try and not mention the D word ending in roit the whole way through this interview. I don’t know why, I’ve just seen so many questions about it of late so thought I’d try and stay off the subject, even tho it fascinates me still! I remember clearly the first time I heard that melody come floating in around 6 1/2 minutes of Ladies & Gentlemen at The Heavenly Jukebox and practically beating down the door of the main booth in Turnmills to find out what it was. When I finally found out what it was about 6 months later – I couldn’t get in the booth that night, for want of trying! – I didn’t recognise until that break and the melody. Did you ever do any edits of Ladies & Gentlemen that made more use of that section? If not, can you?
I haven’t, ladies and gentlemen is what it is. to do a new edit of it, yeah it could be possible, but i don’t know if i would do an edit of it…

Why did you decide to take 69 out on the road? I appreciate it’s Planet E’s 20th anniversary but why not before? 🙂
It just makes more sense for it to be a 20 anniversary gift than it was a tenth or fifth, 69 is a special poject and something very close to my heart. It was also the first release on Planet-E.

I’ve not managed to catch your 69 performances yet but looking forward to I Love Techno. Can we go a bit more in depth about the performance being “infused with masks, darkness, and retina-popping visuals to stimulate all senses,”
yeah that’s exactly what it is.

I witnessed your incredible We Love… performance with Francesco Tristiano a few Sundays back. How is the 69 experience going to compare to that?
The 69 experience is just me and visuals. it is something that still has a lot of human element to it, but just me up there…

69 was the first moniker you released under on your Planet E. I’ve always wonderd what 69 signifies and why is it pronounced Six Nine?
Because it’s my year of birth and so you wouldn’t mix it up with Star 69 or any of that kind of stuff.

You must get asked lots of the same question over and over again… let’s not discuss the legacy of your music and DT (I can’t say D ending in troit in here) – what would you actually like to discuss but never get asked?
Nothing.

Can we expect a live 69 album to come off the back of this tour? Please say yes! 🙂
I hope so…

Why do you think the music from the Motor City has always been considered more cerebral than that of the Windy one?
I have no idea.

What is Techno and do you love it?
Techno is soul music and yeah I do love it.

Carl Craig performs his Six Nine output at the rather good looking I Love Techno this year.