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The official soundtrack to Jean-Cosme Delaloye's documentary about the life and career of Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig, 'Desire: The Carl Craig Story' is set for release June 2025 on 2x12” vinyl.

The collection, coming via his prolific and seminal Planet E Communications, features music from across Craig’s vast catalog, including several tracks that have never previously seen full digital release. Its selections span his many aliases and projects, offering a rare glimpse into the full scope of his groundbreaking career.

Among the rare and remastered tracks featured is No More Words - originally released in 1991, newly reissued on vinyl. A foundational track in the Detroit techno canon, No More Words captures the emotive synths and tight grooves of Craig’s sound that would soon resonate across dance floors worldwide. Its reissue marks a moment of reflection on the genre’s roots and evolution.

Another remastered track from Craig’s extensive archive is The Truth, a deep cut from Craig’s discography under his Designer Music alias, now widely available for the first time a quarter-century after its original release. The film’s end credits are scored by the contemplative Meditation 4, an ambient production previously only available on Craig's 2013 Masterpiece compilation CD for Ministry of Sound.

Iconic remixes such as his Grammy-nominated rework of Junior Boys’ Like A Child is included alongside lesser-known but equally epic remixes such as his sublime 2012 mix of Slam’s Azure, which is employed for the film’s title credits and had previously only seen a limited release. Also featured across the soundtrack’s multiple formats are iconic Carl Craig productions under his 69, Psyche/BFC and Innerzone Orchestra aliases, and collaborations with Moritz von Oswald and Francesco Tristano.

The soundtrack serves as a companion to the new documentary directed by Jean-Cosme Delaloye and produced by Sovereign Films, which follows Carl’s journey from Detroit’s middle-class roots to global stardom, set against the city’s decline and recovery. The film explores his work at the intersection of music, art, and culture, from his collaborations with Bottega Veneta to his Party/After-Party installation, acquired by the Detroit Institute of Arts and exhibited at MOCA Los Angeles.

Featuring interviews with Gilles Peterson, Roni Size, Laurent Garnier, DJ Minx, Kenny Larkin, Moritz von Oswald, and James Lavelle, Desire highlights Carl’s championing of Detroit’s Black creative excellence and the often-overlooked African-American roots of electronic music. — (via Label)

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The Motor City maestro receives his flowers with Jean-Cosme Delahoye’s documentary covering an illustrious 35 year oeuvre (and counting), and who better to wrangle the soundtrack than the Filter King himself? Includes a first digital supply of ’91 ace ‘No More Words’ and a trippy stepper as Designer Music, plus proper perennials as 69 & Psyche/BFC and as part of Urban Tribe.

‘Desire: The Carl Craig Story’ arrives on Carl Craig’s legendary label Planet E Communications as the official accompaniment to a film covering his journey from debonair to genre-shaping producer racking up airmiles as an in-demand DJ. His story is foregrounded against Detroit’s storied arc of decline to recovery, and explores an intersection of music, art and culture spanning hyperlocally-rooted but world-taking anthems to his scores for runways and art installations. 

The 17-part set offers the broadest overview yet of a deeply influential catalogue and artist whose work can be heard to define Detroit house and techno at its most opulent, romantic, and likewise as a bedrock for strains of UK D&B, broken beats and beyond, as with his mutable ‘90s staple ‘Bug in a Bassbin’. Serving strong purpose as entry portal or staunch reminder of Craig’s brilliance, it fathoms God tier early gear in ‘Desire’ as 69 (also included in its Versus Beatless Version, which doesn’t remotely compare), thru to the sublime club tension of his Junior Boys rework, whose bleeps hook and vocal still bring crowds to their knees.

Craig’s ability to deliver the most rarified frissons is fully evinced by the fluttering arps and choral pads of ‘At Les’ on a beat-less tip, and comes into its own on the chef’s kiss marriage of jazz-taught keyboard tekkerz with crispiest drum programming on ‘Galaxy’, whilst his collaborative prowess is depicted on offbeat 313 funk of ‘Program 12’ with likes of KDJ and Shake as Urban Tribe, and his version of ‘Attenuator’ from a duo project with Moritz Von Oswald, and his remix of Slam’s ‘Azure’ - the film’s title music - hails a long standing link with Glasgow, whose most famous club night is an homage to his 69 project. — (via Boomkat)

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Label: Planet E 
Format: 2 x Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Compilation
Released: 2025
Genre: Electronic, Soundtrack
Style: House, Techno

File under: Electronic
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