Carnegie Hall

Carl Craig is an elder statesman in the world of electronic music production and performance, and a legend of the genre (even with his many aliases). Founder of seminal record label Planet E Communications, Craig is described as a creative visionary, an electronic music icon, an esteemed Grammy-nominated composer, a world-class DJ, and an ambassador for his native Detroit. The common thread that runs through Craig’s broad musical canon and creative projects is a resounding fascination with futurism.

Craig’s interest in collaboration was realized with Versus, in which he merged techno and classical music with pianist Francesco Tristano, French orchestra Les Siècles, conductor François-Xavier Roth, and producer Moritz von Oswald. Inspired by well-received performances in European concerts halls, Craig started the process of developing the project into an album, which features eight of his techno masterpieces recomposed into classical works. He has since performed selected pieces from Versus with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and at Royal Albert Hall alongside the Chineke! Orchestra. The Carl Craig Synthesizer Ensemble is an iteration of his Versus show. With the ensemble, Craig imbues a flexible and collaborative human touch into the more synth-driven, pulsing traits of techno.