It was one of those shows where you say to yourself, I’m putting this phone away because this is amazing and I need to experience it. The Sydney State Theatre was buzzing ahead of the show and as part of Red Bull Music Academy weekend, it presented something very special: Carl Craig Synthesizer Ensemble. It was a compositional show of mastery based on Carl Craig’s Versus album.
The Synthesizer Ensemble is made up of Carl Craig leading with pianist Kelvin Sholar and what he called synthologists (on the synthesizers): Jon Dixon, Greg Burk, Christoph Adams and Jarrod Chase. It was a journey of music, life in detroit and samples that had some dancing but most in awe, focusing and listening attentively. It was one of those nights where you get goosebumps and you’re moved by the music. When last did you experience that?
The worst part of the night was that it had to come to an end as it flew by so quickly but the best part was that there was an encore. Everyone sat firmly in, almost in anticipation of something more while the crowd cheered awaiting and finally Carl Craig came back with his Ensemble to play a few more tracks.
If you ever get a chance to see this, go see it because it’s something that is worth experiencing. If you want a taste, sit back, relax and have a listen to his Versus album.