Carl Craig on Detroit Techno, the Art of the Alias, and the Future of Electronic Music | Living for the City Full Interview
Living for the CityShow Notes
Carl Craig is one of Detroit techno's most important architects, the producer behind Bug in the Bassbin, Landcruising, More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art, and a body of work released under so many aliases — Paperclip People, 69, Innerzone Orchestra — that the full scope of his influence is almost impossible to map. This is his full conversation with host Hanif Abdurraqib.
In this interview, Carl traces his origin story from playing Axel F on his cousin's Sequential Circuits synthesizer to carrying 12-inches to a family reunion in Georgia where Egypt Egypt cleared the room. He talks about Electrifying Mojo, Alan Oldham's Fast Forward, and the radio that raised him, and why the homogenization of radio in the '90s was a loss the culture still hasn't recovered from. He breaks down the art of the alias, why making music under different identities freed him from genre constraints, and how Sun Ra and George Clinton got there first.
Carl also reflects on why Detroit's architecture and its ruins both fed his sonic world-building, why he came back after living in London and Spain, and what it would take for electronic music — and hip hop — to find their way back underground.
This one is about defiance, imagination, and the career you build when you refuse to play it safe.
CHAPTERS 00:00 - A Career Built on Defiance 00:22 - First Synth, First Record, First Crowd 05:34 - Detroit Radio, Electrifying Mojo, and the Adventure of FM 09:18 - Watching the First Wave Leave for Europe 12:01 - Musical Influences: Trevor Horn, Art of Noise, the UK 14:44 - More Songs About Food and the Synths Behind It 19:44 - The Art of the Alias: Sun Ra, George Clinton, and Paperclip People 25:02 - Detroit's Architecture and the Music It Inspired 27:47 - Why He Came Back: Big Fish, Small Pond, and Honest City 30:56 - The Future of Electronic Music and What Hip Hop Needs to Remember 37:16 - Detroit Public Schools and the Legacy of What Was Possible
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TAGS / KEYWORDS Carl Craig, Carl Craig interview, Detroit techno, Paperclip People, 69 Carl Craig, Innerzone Orchestra, Bug in the Bassbin, Landcruising, More Songs About Food, Detroit music history, Electrifying Mojo, Detroit radio, Belleville Three, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, J Dilla, Afrofuturism techno, Detroit electronic music, alias in music, Living for the City podcast, Hanif Abdurraqib, Detroit music culture, Side Stage Network, Live Nation podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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