Carl Craig & Moritz von Oswald: Offer Recomposed Ravel & Mussorgsky

Detroit techno figurehead Carl Craig and Basic Channel legend Moritz von Oswald will launch the third volume in Deutsche Gramophone’s recomposed series this week. Continuing the tradition of previous installments by Finish Saxophonist, Sound Artist and Contemporary Composer Jimi Tenor and Dub producer Matthias Arfmann, Craig and van Oswald were given access to original recordings from the prestigious vault of the renowned label and asked to offer their personal interpretation of the material. In this particular case, the blueprints for the recomposition process were recordings by Ravel’s “Bolero” and “Rapsodie espagnole” as well as Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” – the latter having, of course, already enjoyed several contemporary updates in the hands of Progressive Rock bands. While the new versions are definitely eclectic and offer a wild ride through the lands of pounding bass drums and phasing pad stabs, their stylistic diversity is grounded by the inner consistency of their templates: Herbert von Karajan personally selected these three classics for his 1987 recording with the Berlin Philharmonics.