John Carlin

Bio

John Carlin began his career as a curator, professor and art writer, and started the not for profit Red Hot production company in 1989 with Leigh Blake as a response to the devastation wrought by AIDS on a generation of New York artists and intellectuals. They created Red Hot + Blue: a multimedia project combining music, videos, fashion, art and design in a tribute to the American songwriter Cole Porter. The album sold over 1 million copies worldwide and the TV special was seen in 30 countries around the world. It raised millions of dollars for AIDS charities such as AmFAR and ACT UP. Success spawned a series of albums and videos featuring a range of musical styles including Hip Hop, Dance, Latin, Country, Rock, and Brazilian as well as continuing to pay tribute to great songwriters such as Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Tom Jobim, Fela Kuti, Arthur Russell, the Grateful Dead, and most recently, Sun Ra (both an hour-long collection and remix EP).