Carl Craig - DJ-Kicks - Amazon.com Music

Carl Craig is primarily a producer; he spent years traveling the world as a top-rated DJ, but he often gave it up in favor of the studio, where his creativity was put to best use. Prior to his last hiatus from DJing, he delivered a contribution to the DJ Kicks series that left him sorely missed. Craig is a selectorpar excellence, digging through the crates to find music which is dance-floor friendly, but challenging and interesting as well. There's a strong emphasis on material from his seminal Planet E label, and these make for the high points of the mix. Gemini's "A Moment of Insanity" and 4th Wave's "Electroluv," as well as "Jak the Basics" from Clark (a.k.a. LFO's Mark Bell), are all inventive and emotional dance-floor masterpieces. His own "DJ Kicks Track," on which he samples and recontextualizes elements of the mix, transcends the heady concept and stands up well on its own.--Matthew Corwine