When it comes to electronic music, there’s almost nothing that Detroit’s Carl Craig doesn’t have his hands in. He’s a true renaissance man, with a vast array of diverse projects and enterprises going on at any given time. Yes, he’s a producer, a remixer, a DJ and a label head. But he’s also a festival director, a live performer, and an avant garde musician. But at the very core of it all, he’s a tireless advocate of his native Detroit, and the homegrown techno music culture that the motor city spawned. With every year, his dedication to this music continues to shine, and his international recognition as one of electronic music’s icons expands.

In just this year alone, Craig added a live score to an Andy Warhol film at the inaugural Unsound Festival; performed with Moritz Von Oswald and Francesco Tristano at London’s Red Bull Music Academy; launched D25 with a star-studded bash at the Winter Music Conference; and served as the creative director for the Movement 2010 festival in Detroit. That doesn’t even include any of his countless globetrotting DJ gigs week in and week out. It’s a dizzying schedule, but something that seems to bring out the best in the man known simply as C2.

Carl Craig will be the guest of honor as Sleepy & Boo celebrate their sixth anniversary of Basic NYC at the Sullivan Room on Saturday, April 24th. Each year, their anniversary party is one the highlights of their year, and with C2 making his Sullivan Room debut, this event will be no exception. Known for his breathtaking DJ sets that combine the best of the old and the new, this will be a chance to see one of the true masters performing in an intimate setting.

He took a few minutes off from a typical Carl Craig weekend (peforming alongside Ricardo Villalobos at a mountaintop in Switzerland) to give us a quick update on what’s going in all of his many worlds.

You’ve had a bit of an up and down history regarding your involvement with the Movement festival and its prior incarnations over the years. Now you’re back as the creative director. How did that partnership with Paxahau come together? How did it go this year as far as working together to develop the 2010 edition of the festival?
Paxahau asked me to be the creative director to this year’s edition, and since it was the 10th anniversary, I thought it would make sense to get involved. Working together with Paxahau went great; myself and Chuck Flask have been working together on the line-up for the last year, and since I didn’t want to come in and step on anybody’s toes, this year’s edition will be the reflection of both my vision and the one of the team at Paxahau.

Are there any particular artists or performers that you’re really looking forward to seeing the most this year at the festival?
Francesco Tristano, Nico Marks, Rob Hood live, Kenny Larkin live.

What kind of long term vision do you see for the festival? How do you see it evolving and developing, now that its become more or less of a Detroit institution, and its existence year-to-year isn’t as much of a concern?
I look at Movement as an institution that is sustaining the legacy of electronic music in Detroit.

It’s almost a bit staggering to look at all the different projects you have going on simultaneously. Is staying focused on a particular project a challenge for you? How do you decide where to direct your creative energy and drive at any given time?
I channel the ghost of Christmas past to inspire me towards the new & future.

Where are you at right now as an artist, as far as what you’re most excited about musically? What are some of the releases we’ll be hearing from you coming up?
I am most excited about getting some more solid time in the studio. Planet E is coming out with a New Urban Tribe record, Oliver Ho Factory, the new Kirk Diggorgio is out now. We also are working with DJ Deep and his label, and Stacey Pullen’s new release on his Blackflag label.

Your recent remix of Mirko Loko for Luciano’s Cadenza label really had a big buzz behind it. What was it like working with the Cadenza crew, and can we expect any more collaborations in the future?
Yeah, more collaborations are coming up. It would be fun to work with Luciano.

The last time you were in New York, you were performing live at the Unsound Festival, scoring an Andy Warhol film. This time around you’ll be DJing. Is one type of performance more satisfying to you than the other? Do you approach a DJ set as you might a more avant garde type of performance?
Anything that is new and interesting is exciting to me. The Warhol performance was something I have never done before, it was stimulating. As far as live performances as a DJ, it is very important that the people stimulate me as well as I stimulate them.

Any particular personal history or moments you’ve had in New York over the years that are special to you?
Deep Space was great to do. The Demon Days with Gamall Awad that we had were great.

We know one of the collaborations you’re focusing on these days is your work as Versus with Moritz von Oswald and Francesco Tristano. You all performed together in London in February; what else can we expect from you in the future?
We finished recording the Versus project, which is an extreme collaboration between the three of us. We are planning on some other trio shows in the near future that include outside collaborations similar to the London show we did for the Red Bull Academy.

Another new project is the D25 event series you’re involved with. Talk about how the idea for D25 came together, and what type of events you’ve got coming up over the summer? What were your experience with the launch party down in Miami during WMC?
D25 is an idea that was developed by my team at DPA (Detroit Premier Artists) and it is designed to be a celebration of the history of Detroit electronic music. Our schedule is full of DJ performances and special appearances, and we’ll be playing dates in Spain, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and Asia.

Planet E continues to flourish as a label and release great music for DJs and fans alike. What does it take for you to sign an artist or a new release these days? How has the rise of the digital world affected the way your label operates?
I have to like the music; it is very simple. Unfortunately, the digital age has made it possible for people to abuse its advancement easily. Our business of selling music has unfortunately declined, making it harder for artists to make a great a living independently.

Finally, anything particular you’ve got in store for your visit to the Sullivan Room for Basic NYC’s 6-Year Anniversary on the 24th?
My specialty is to play music that I think is great and timeless, and I shall do my best to present the music in the best possible light for a great and adventurous party.