Of course, the names Laurent Garnier and Carl Craig need little introduction at this point. Words like “seminal,” “versatile,” “leaders,” and “dare-devils,” “gifted,” and “fathers” are often associated with each when it comes to techno.

The former got his start in the Mancunian glory days of La Hacienda. Since then, he’s had his own record label, F-Communications, running for 12 years strong with friend and co-founder Eric Morand. As an artist, producer, re-mixer, DJ and label-owner, he’s put out a host of classics. So, like every other master of his musical game should, Laurent Garnier finally put out his Retrospective.

Loaded with club hits like “Crispy Bacon,” previously unreleased tracks like “Flashback” and more diverse productions, like Unreasonable Behaviour’s “Man With The Red Face” recorded live with Norwegian Jazz pianist Bugge Weseltoft, the 2xCD “best of” is a must-have for seasoned and green fans alike:



Laurent Garnier Retrospective 94-06
Mute Records

The Tracklist (out on Mute):

*unreleased tracks
**unreleased on cd

CD 1
1. 6 months earlier**
2. Flashback (video mix)
3. Greed (avril radio mix)
4. 10.000 Leagues by Alex Attias (wake lab mix)
5. Theme From Larry’s Dub
6. Crispy Bacon
7. Man With the Red Face live w/ Bugge Wesseltoft*
8. La Minute de Japonais
9. Demented by Carl Craig (Laurent Garnier edit)
10. Jeux D’Enfants
11. Sambou**

CD 2
1. Acid Eiffel live w/ Bugge Wesseltoft*
2. Coloured City
3. Communications From The Lab (Germ remix)
4. Butterfly by DJ Marky (Laurent Garnier remix)*
5. At Night
6. Barbiturik Blues
7. Downfall
8. Basic By Elegia (wake up lab remix)**
9. Astral Dreams
10. For Max
11. Raw Cut
12. Le Voyage de Simone

And, as his shout out to other techno monarch Carl Craig (with “Demented”) would suggest, Garnier is due to release a mix alongside Craig’s next month on BBE/Rapster Records with The Kings of Techno: Compiled & Mixed by Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig.

Part of a “The Kings Of” series that has included Gilles Peterson & Jazzanova and Joey Negro & Dimitri From Paris, the Techno component features two mixes: History of Detroit (by Garnier) and Influences and Developments (by Craig).

History of Detroit looks to The Motor City’s musical history, including everything from The Temptations (“Plastic Man”), to Jeff Mills (“Utopia”), to Ann Arbor’s own Tadd Mullinix (Dabrye feat. Jay Dee, “Game Over”), making for a mix that comfortably clips futuristic hip-hop as smoothly as it does Motown and techno booty (with D.I.E.).

Influences and Developments, on the other hand, is a fun-loving, high-energy pastiche of early electronic influences from industrial to Italo Disco to IDM, featuring Nitzer Ebb’s “Join in the Chant,” Alexander Robotnick’s “Dance Boy Dance” and Black Dog’s Virtual. In short, both are genius mixes made by masters of their trade that display the intrinsic links of inspiration influence between Detroit and Europe.



The Kings of Techno: Compiled & Mixed by Laurent Garnier & Carl Craig.
BBE/Rapster Records


NOTE: The following track “lists” are simply the songs that will be included on each mix. The mixes themselves have yet to be finished:

Influences and Developments, by Carl Craig
Visage, Frequency 7
Kano, It’s a War
Yello, No More Words
Alexander Robotnick, Dance Boy Dance
The Art of Noise, Beat Box (Diversion 1)
Nitzer Ebb, Join In The Chant
Capricorn, I Need Love (Instrumental)
Black Dog, Virtual
Balil, Nort Route
Choice, Acid Eiffel

History of Detroit, by Laurent Garnier
The Stooges, No Fun
Aretha Franklin, Rock Steady
The Temptations, Plastic Man
Funkadelic, Bettinos Bounce
Carl Craig, No More Words
Jeff Mills, Utopia
BFC, Galaxy
Arpanet, NTT DoCoMo
D.I.E., Get Up
Dabrye feat. Jay Dee, Game Over