Director: Jean-Cosme Delaloye

This documentary about the second-generation Detroit techno artist, producer and label owner is disappointingly, and ironically given his dancefloor-oriented work, inert. Craig was born in a rundown Detroit, to supportive middle-class parents (interviewed here), who were disappointed when he chose not to go into higher education. Nevertheless, they were supportive and helped him with his music ambitions. He reciprocated their trust – when offered a gig in London, Craig refused to accept until the organisers, on his mum’s insistence, supplied him with a return ticket. His subsequent genre-straddling music, which incorporated elements of jazz, house, classical and more, led to huge success and the admiration of his fellow artists, many of whom are interviewed here. The documentary follows Craig as he travels the world visiting various dance and jazz-oriented festivals, and as he prepares for an exhibition at MOCA in Los Angeles. Despite some impressive photography from Fábio Erdos and Gabriel Bonnefoy, particularly that of the post-industrial Detroit environs, the documentary lacks momentum and demonstrates the danger of being too close to the subject - Craig is featured throughout and wrote additional music for the soundtrack. The interviews are big on hagiography and gushing praise, but there is not enough insight on the music itself, the sociocultural context (although there is a bit) and what it is that makes Craig such a seminal musical figure.

David Willoughby

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