Derrick May, also known as Mayday and Rhythim is Rhythim, is an electronic musician from Belleville, Michigan U.S.A. He was an only child[1] born in Detroit on June 4 1963 and began to explore electronic music early in his life. 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.[2]
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Early life [edit]
May met Kevin Saunderson when the two were fourteen. May had decided not to pay Saunderson after losing a bet and, one day at school, Saunderson punched May in the face, knocking him out cold and giving him a concussion.[3] After the altercation, May and Saunderson became best friends. [4]
During high school, Saunderson and Belleville High School classmate Juan Atkins were fans of DJ Charles "The Electrifying Mojo" Johnson.
Career [edit]
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May's career started in 1987 with the release of a record called "Nude Photo" (co-written by Thomas Barnett), which helped kickstart the Detroit techno music scene. A year later he was following it with what was to become one of techno's classic anthems, the seminal track "Strings of Life," which was named by Frankie Knuckles.[5] It "hit Britain in an especially big way during the country's 1987-1988 house explosion."[6] It became May's best known track, which, according to Frankie Knuckles, "just exploded. It was like something you can't imagine, the kind of power and energy people got off that record when it was first heard. Mike Dunn says he has no idea how people can accept a record that doesn't have a bassline."[5] The song was featured in video game Midnight Club: Street Racing[7][8]
The popularity of May's music popularity in Europe reflects a concern Tricia Rose brings up in an interview about Afrofuturism. She talks about the European, and general white, appropriation of African American culture: "There are a number of hip-hop scenes around the world in which you find racially conservative kids wearing Malcolm X gear. The new right in Germany has taken up all kinds of black cultural symbols, and some nonblack American hip-hop kids feel a kinship with black culture but clearly have very racist ideas about what being black means and how it fits into the world schema."[9] In the documentary about the Detroit techno scene, High Tech Soul, May notes that he saw people in Italy wearing Underground Resistance shirts and was surprised at the group's success outside of Detroit. He says, "People were going crazy over Underground Resistance, and it was like they weren't even there."[10]
Recently, May produced the music for the film of the popular fighting video game Tekken.[11]
For two years, in 2003 and 2004, he was given control of Detroit's popular annual electronic music festival, originally conceived by Carl Craig and Derrick May, now operated by Paxahau. He named his event Movement, replacing the Detroit Electronic Music Festival along the city's riverfront.
Derrick May also still maintains a steady performance schedule, playing internationally many weekends. A pioneer of techno, he produces what he calls Hi-Tek Soul or "George Clinton meeting Kraftwerk in an elevator."[5] He has also cited Yellow Magic Orchestra, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Ultravox as influences.[12]
Selected discography [edit]
With X-Ray
- "Let's Go", 1986
As Rhythim is Rhythim or Rythim Is Rythim
- "Nude Photo", 1987
- "Strings Of Life", 1987
- "It Is What It Is", 1988
- "Beyond The Dance", 1989
- "The Beginning", 1990
- "Icon" / "Kao-tic Harmony", 1993
As Mayday
- "Sinister" / "Wiggin", 1988
As Derrick May
- Derrick May: Innovator, 1996
- Derrick May: Mayday Mix, 1997
With System 7
- Mysterious Traveller, 2002
Filmography [edit]
- High Tech Soul, 2006 @IMDB
Catalog No.: PLX-029 Label: Plexifilm Released: 09/20/06 Director: Gary Bredow Length: 64 minutes
- Summary: HIGH TECH SOUL is the first documentary to tackle the deep roots of techno music alongside the cultural history of Detroit, its birthplace. HIGH TECH SOUL focuses on the creators of the genre—Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson—and looks at the relationships and personal struggles behind the music. Artists like Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Eddie Fowlkes and a host of others inconclusively explain why techno, with its abrasive tones and resonating basslines, could not have come from anywhere but Detroit.
External links [edit]
- Derrick May discography at Discogs.
- Derrick May (musician) on Myspace.
- Derrick May profile on Fantazia.
- MIXMAG Interview.
- Derrick May on Resident Advisor.
Media Links [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ [1] Derrick May Biography
- ^ "Derrick May Bio, Music, News & Shows". DJZ.com. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
- ^ High tech soul. Dir. Gary Bredow. Plexifilm, 2006. Film. High tech soul. Dir. Gary Bredow. Plexifilm, 2006. Film. (24:37).
- ^ High tech soul. Dir. Gary Bredow. Plexifilm, 2006. Film. High tech soul. Dir. Gary Bredow. Plexifilm, 2006. Film. (26:39).
- ^ a b c "Interview: Derrick May - The Secret of Techno". Mixmag. 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Bush, John. "Derrick May". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/midnight-club-street-racing-greatest-hits
- ^ http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=23433&tab=credits
- ^ Dery, Mark. "Black to the Future: Interviews with Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate and Tricia Rose." Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture. Durham, NC: Duke UP. p. 214.
- ^ "High Tech Soul". 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ [2] Interview: The List (Issue 594) - Derrick May, January 17, 2008
- ^ "Derrick May on the roots of techno at RBMA Bass Camp Japan 2010". Red Bull Music Academy. YouTube. September 20, 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
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