Derrick May
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One of techno music's key founders, Derrick May was born in Detroit in 1963 and began early in his life to explore electronic music. Along with his Belleville, Michigan high school friends Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson -- commonly known as the Belleville Three -- May is credited with developing the futuristic variation on house music that would be dubbed "techno" by Atkins.
May's career started in 1987 with the release of a record called "Nude Photo", which helped kickstart the Detroit techno music scene. A year later he was following it with what was to become one of house music's classic anthems, the seminal "Strings Of Life".
May has also created his own record label Transmat which apart from his own work, has released records by well known Techno and house artists like Carl Craig (as Psyche), Suburban Knight, Octave One, K-Alexi Shelby and Joey Beltram.
May has not released any new music since 1993, but has continued his career as a DJ, continuing to perform regularly in Europe and Asia. In 2003, he was granted control of Detroit's popular annual electronic music festival. He named his event Movement, replacing the Detroit Electronic Music Festival along the city's riverfront.
Discography
- Derrick May: Let's Go, 1986
- Rhythim Is Rhythim[sic]: Nude Photo, 1987
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: Strings Of Life, 1987
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: It Is What It Is, 1988
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: Beyond The Dance , 1989
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: The Beginning, 1990
- Rhythim Is Rhythim: Icon / Kao-tic Harmony, 1993
- Derrick May: Innovator, 1997
- Derrick May: Mayday Mix, 1997
External links
- The official site of Derrick May (http://www.derrickmay.com)
- Official site of Derrick Mays label Transmat (http://www.transmat.com)
- Official site of the Movement festival (http://www.movementfestival.com)da:Derrick May