Carl Craig is undoubtedly one of the most important names in electronic music. 2011 saw him celebrate two decades of his label, Planet E, with a world tour as well as dusting off his 69 (pronounced “six-nine”) moniker to debut a live show. Ahead of his first U Street Music Hall appearance tomorrow night, Carl took some time to chat with Blisspop about what’s in store for 2012.
Don’t miss Carl Craig at U Street Music Hall tomorrow (Feb 24) with support from Jubilee and Mike Fisher. A limited number of $10 pre-sale tickets are available here.
In 2011 you celebrated the 20th anniversary of Planet E. It seemed quite fitting to debut (and then tour) a 69 live performance, as if everything had come full circle. Looking at your upcoming schedule for 2012, you don’t appear to be done with the project. Was it your original intention to keep performing live under the name? Or was this a situation where you only thought you’d be doing it for the anniversary and then enjoyed it so much that you decided to keep it going?
2011 was a little bit of a test for six nine live. The music that came out under the moniker has never been performed and it was at Movement 2011 that I showcased it for the first time ever. I did a few more six nine shows in Europe (London, Frankfurt, Paris, Ghent) and one in Japan over the summer last year, but have been mainly DJing or playing live with Moritz and Francesco, or Luciano. 2012 is about 69 live and new 69 material – the touring concentrates on this project.
Why keep performing as 69 and not any of your other aliases (including your own name)? Is there something about putting on that particular ‘mask’ that is more befitting of a live show than any of the others?
I shall be playing under my name this year also – will be doing DJ gigs too as some venues/clubs are not conducive to live shows with the theatrics and video element that I like to have included. Six nine is about rawness and raunchiness, about the very basic of emotions, that everybody can relate to in their own individual way, hence the masks and disguises.
Nice. Can you let us in on the live concept? Did you work with anyone in particular when designing it? Obviously you’ve got a lot of hardware up there. Has the setup changed and evolved much since its inception? And how much of the performance is planned versus improvised?
The concept and how I would implement it in real life had been on my mind for about 6 months, ever since Paxahau came to me asking to perform 69 live during Movement 2011. I really did not get to testing or implementing the ideas until one week prior to the festival, but it really came together nicely. Since the first show, I have simplified the rider and set up with the help of my sound engineer in a way where I am able to take it on the road. Over the summer, we were also able to adjust the set up to fit club environments with limited space and budget possibilities. The performance is very much improvised, even though there is a lot of planning that goes into the show itself.
Obviously playing live and DJing offer two very different ways of presenting music. Your schedule is still relatively evenly split between the two. Is there one format that you’ve come to prefer more than the other, or do you find each have their own unique benefits?
I find freedom and enjoyment in splitting the two, flowing from DJ to live, being on stage alone, or interacting with other players. It gives me the opportunity to look forward to the next show, and get away from the same old same old. I manage the restlessness at heart much better this way and am able to translate the inspiration from these different scenarios creatively in the studio.
The past couple of years have seen some very well established DJs shifting to live performances — Richie resurrected Plastikman, Laurent Garnier created L.B.S. and obviously now you’ve got 69. As technology continues to make it easier for anyone to call themselves a DJ, do you see a trend toward live performance as a way for artists to separate themselves from the rest of the crop?
I never looked at it this way. To me a live performance with actual instruments and people or with machines and technology is a way of expression and a natural development of what goes on in the studio for me and presenting it on stage to the audience.
Switching gears a bit, you’re doing some great things with the Carl Craig Foundation. We’ve also seen Mike Huckaby making an impact with Youthville as well as Seth Troxler rallying the electronic music community around his Red Dot Relief efforts. Does coming from a place like Detroit make one more inclined to give back and help others or is this more just a result of your individual personalities?
Of course everybody has their own reasons for doing something for their community. To me, it is all about giving back – Detroit has been and is my home, my inspiration and the place I always look forward to returning after being on the road.