Detroit techno DJ/producer Carl Craig will play a special one-time gig this Thursday (July 13) at the Knitting Factory in New York, according to his spokesperson. (He canceled a show there earlier this year because of inclement weather.) Although keyboardist Craig Taborn and drummer Francisco Mora, both members of Craig's Innerzone Orchestra, will be joining him at the show, the spokesperson said it would not be a conventional Innerzone performance. A press release for the show quoted Craig as saying it would be "just f---in' crazy." ...

The second installment in the "Rewind: The Classics" series features memorable tracks from the banner techno year of 1992, as compiled and mixed by veteran UK acid-house DJ Colin Faver. Heavy on the Detroit tip, tracks by Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Red Planet (born Rob Hood) and Richie Hawtin rub up against Hardfloor, CJ Bolland and Thomas Heckman on the 21-song mix, which is due July 25 in the U.S. on RTC Records. ...

Beth Hirsch, who wrote lyrics for and sang on the songs "All I Need" and "You Make It Easy" from Air's 1998 album Moon Safari, will release her solo debut, Early Days, Aug. 29 on Studio K7. Featuring nine tracks all written by Hirsch, who is backed by a band that includes double bass and cello, the album's subdued, often somber tone is heightened by her austere, emotive voice. ...

The 12th annual Love Parade attracted more than 1 million people in Berlin for the massive dance-music festival Saturday (July 8), according to an Associated Press report. Performances by such top techno artists as Richie Hawtin, Paul van Dyk and Claude Young highlighted the festivities, which featured 53 floats in the form of flatbed-truck sound systems moving slowly through the German city's Tiergarten park as onlookers formed a giant dance party. According to AP, more than 100 arrests were reported by local police — the majority for theft and drug dealing — an 18-year-old woman died of an apparent drug overdose Sunday and a 20-year-old man was stabbed. The man is expected to survive, police said. A sister Love Parade took place Sunday in Leeds, England, where DJs van Dyk, Darren Emerson and Pete Tong were among the headliners who attracted a crowd of 250,000, according to AP. Vienna played host last Saturday (July 1) to another Love Parade. ...

Finnish abstract minimal techno producer Vladislav Delay has recorded an album of lush, deep house under the alias Luomo that will be released Sept. 19 in the United States on Forcetracks, an imprint of the Frankfurt, Germany, label Force Inc. Titled Vocal City, the album's six tracks, which compile three recent 12-inches, mark a new direction from Delay's two ambient albums from earlier this year, Entain and Multila. ...

The British duo Peace Division — Clive Henry and Justin Drake — released their debut LP, Junkyard Funk, on June 27 on Low Pressings, a UK label distributed in the United States by Intergroove. The duo, who recently remixed Moby's "Natural Blues," provide nine powerful, morphing deep-house grooves that cull layered elements from classic techno. ...

Veteran UK drum & bass producers DJ Rap and Kenny Ken have joined forces for a mix-CD, Brave New World, due July 25. The 13-track collection includes three new collaborations by DJ Rap with the production duo G Squad, and is the first in a series of mix-CDs released by the Detroit label Intuit-Solar. ...

The seventh annual Billboard Dance Summit, scheduled for July 12–14 in New York, kicks off Wednesday night (July 12) at Club New York with a live performance by Atlanta deep-house producer Wamdue Project (born Chris Brann) and a star-studded line-up of DJs, including Frankie Knuckles, David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie. The conference's subsequent days will feature discussion panels on various aspects of the dance-music industry as well as nighttime showcases featuring DJs such as veteran producer Todd Terry and "Don't Give Up" artist Chicane. ...

Berlin electronic-dub producer Pole (born Stefan Betke) and London's Four Tet (a.k.a. Kieran Hebden, guitarist for the post-rock band Fridge) have collaborated on an innovative EP titled Pole v Four Tet. Featuring an original track by each artist — Pole's "Heim" and Four Tet's "Cload" — plus a remix of each by the other, the EP's four songs are a look at the progressive edge of experimental electronic music. ...

Music by the Chemical Brothers and Air now is available to send through Egreetings, the Web-based greeting-card service. The Chemicals' beats can be heard on a "Block Rockin' " birthday card, which uses the duo's hit "Block Rockin' Beats," and a "Hey Boy Hey Girl" general greeting card. Air cards will feature the songs "Sexy Boy," "All I Need" (from their 1998 LP, Moon Safari) and "Playground Love" (from their recent score for The Virgin Suicides). Cards are available at www.egreetings.com by clicking on "music scene."...

British duo Groove Armada have mixed the latest installment in the Back To Mine late-night series, due Sept. 5. (The first, released in February, was by New York house pioneer Danny Tenaglia.) On their soulful 14-song mix, Tom Findlay and Andy Cato included tracks by Barry White, UK rapper/producer Roots Manuva and a Tim "Love" Lee remix of their own "Your Song," from their recent album, Vertigo (Feb. 22). ...

The second full-length by drum & bass experimentalist Photek is tentatively set for a Sept. 26 release, according to his U.S. label, Astralwerks. Titled Solaris, the album ventures into non–drum & bass territory, including four vocal tracks and some deep-house cuts. Photek (born Rupert Parkes) released several singles on his own UK labels before putting out his debut LP, Modus Operandi, in 1997. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report