Carl Craig - Versus review: techno à la Française

When it comes to collaborations in search of new angles and edges, Jeff Mills is not the only Detroit innovator leaning into the classical world. After some classy previous dalliances, fellow Motor City techno veteran Carl Craig has joined forces with Les Siècles Orchestra, conductor François-Xavier Roth and classical pianist Francesco Tristano to see what happens when you use a different template to temper and tweak club tracks.

What began as a Paris concert in 2008, also featuring Berlin techo scientist Moritz von Oswald onstage, is now an album full of intriguing, rich and magical orchestrations and symphonic sweeps. What's fascinating is how the new works amplify the heart and soul of Craig's earlier sketches by doing more with less. Movements such as Desire, Domina and The Melody are beautifully sculpted and arranged, yet also possess the emotional heft common to the best of both classical and electronica.

A superb meeting of the musical minds. twitter.com/carlcraignet