Derrick May

Derrick May is one of three people who can fairly be said to have invented techno, and the only one whose name is permanently attached to a single piece of music: "Strings of Life", the 1987 record that carried Detroit's synthetic soul into British clubs and, from there, the rest of the world. He built the label that released it, Transmat, and spent the next four decades as a DJ who treats a set as a piece of theatre, which is a large part of why his name still sits near the top of festival posters for the genre he helped create.

Early Life and Path Into Music

According to the Detroit Historical Society, May was born in Detroit in 1963 and raised mostly by his mother. Wikipedia and German Wikipedia give his birth date as 6 April 1963. At Belleville High School, in the suburbs west of the city, he met Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, and the three traded mixtapes built from Parliament-Funkadelic, Kraftwerk, Gary Numan and the late-night radio shows of The Electrifying Mojo. The Historical Society notes that May's mother moved to Chicago while he was still in school, and his visits there exposed him to the city's young house scene, an influence that would shape the way he played records. Out of those friendships came the trio's DJ collective, Deep Space Soundworks, and eventually the group the world now calls the Belleville Three, whose story is told in more detail in our look at Detroit techno's origins and the Movement festival.

Transmat and Strings of Life

May's first record, "Let's Go", came out in 1986 on Juan Atkins' Metroplex label, after which he started his own, Transmat, according to the Detroit Historical Society. Transmat's own site dates the label to 1986 and presents its early run as a blueprint for the genre. Most of May's best-known material appeared in the following three years under the name Rhythim Is Rhythim: "Nude Photo", "It Is What It Is", "Kaos" and "Strings of Life", according to Wikipedia's account of his career. That page notes that Frankie Knuckles named "Strings of Life" and that the record landed with particular force in Britain during the 1987 to 1988 house explosion.

The record's reputation rests on a choice that was unusual for dance music at the time: a rhythm track with no bassline carrying a piano and string figure that sounds closer to a film score than to a drum machine workout. May has described his own approach as "Hi-Tek Soul", and Wikipedia records his definition of it as "George Clinton meeting Kraftwerk in an elevator". The same entry cites AllMusic's John Bush on the sound itself, a balance of streamlined percussion with string samples and a warmth picked up from time spent in Chicago, around DJs such as Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles.

The Music Institute

In May 1988 a downtown Detroit after-hours club called the Music Institute opened its doors. According to Red Bull Music Academy's history of the club, the Friday-night residents were May and D-Wynn, who replaced Kevin Saunderson early on, and they played the drum-driven, forward-looking music that the local labels Transmat, KMS and Metroplex were making in their warehouses. The club is often described as the first room anywhere to give the sound a dedicated platform. It also features in our piece on DJ fees and the underground, which notes that May later said the residents played for free for almost a year before fighting for a weekly wage.

Labels and Mentorship

Transmat is as much a talent incubator as a catalogue. The label's site credits it with nurturing a second generation of Detroit producers, naming Stacey Pullen as Silent Phase, Carl Craig as Psyche, Kenny Larkin as Dark Comedy and James Pennington as Suburban Knight. Its sub-label, Fragile, is described there as a second outlet that also fed the global techno boom, and Wikipedia reports that Craig and Pullen themselves distinguished the two labels, Transmat for original creation and Fragile for work built on sampling. The Historical Society adds that May took long breaks from recording and had largely stopped making new music by 1991, while continuing to perform and to guide Transmat's evolution.

Movement and a Public Voice

May directed what is now known as Movement for two years. Wikipedia says he took over the riverfront festival in 2003 and renamed it Movement, replacing the earlier Detroit Electronic Music Festival title, and the Historical Society says he remains closely aligned with the event. The festival's later history, including Kevin Saunderson's stewardship and the Paxahau era, is covered on our Movement Detroit festival page.

In a 2019 Mixmag interview, given ahead of a performance with the City of London Sinfonia at the Southbank Centre, May said he grew up in a middle-class household raised by a single mother and rejected the idea that Detroit's techno pioneers came from poverty. He also credited Jeff Mills with getting to orchestral techno first and criticised festivals and promoter-driven businesses for harming local club culture. It is a useful reminder that the music's founders have always been vocal about the economics of the scene they started.

Allegations and his response

In 2020 Derrick May became the subject of public allegations of sexual misconduct. They were first raised by Michael James, a former collaborator who contributed the piano part to "Strings of Life". Resident Advisor reported on 23 September 2020 that James's Facebook posts had led several women to come forward, and that its own investigation was ongoing. In November 2020 Mixmag republished an investigation by Ellie Flynn for DJ Mag in which four women described incidents spanning about two decades in several countries. In January 2021, Mixmag reported a further Resident Advisor investigation in which seven more people, six women and one man, came forward. According to that report, May declined to comment to RA, and his lawyer called the allegations false.

May denies the allegations. His attorney called James's claims false and libelous and linked them to a royalty dispute over "Strings of Life". In a statement to DJ Mag, May rejected the accusations and described them as the product of a biased industry and press. Paris Electronic Week removed him from its September 2020 programme and FAC51 The Haçienda dropped him from its Easter 2021 London show, both pending clarification.

In October 2020 May filed a defamation lawsuit against James. According to Selector, he dismissed it in February 2021, citing financial hardship and the stress of ongoing litigation, after the court had ordered him to pay $10,000 toward the first round of discovery. The sources we reviewed do not report any criminal charges, and we have not found a court finding on the allegations. May has continued to be booked since. The ticketing platform Xceed lists him on the bill of the "KFF26 Day 1 Official After Party" at Azimut in Turin on 3 July 2026, alongside Red Axes, The Taste and Andrea Perna. The listing does not name Kappa FuturFestival itself, and he does not appear on the main festival lineups we checked, so we cannot confirm the event or his set beyond that listing. We report this as it was published and will update the page if the situation changes.

Discography Notes

Wikipedia lists his albums as Innovator (1996) and Mysterious Traveller (2002), the latter made with System 7, alongside DJ mixes including The Mayday Mix (1997), Derrick May x Air (2010) and Fact Mix 339 (2012). He also appears in several documentaries on the genre, including High Tech Soul (2006). Discogs, which lists him with aliases including Rhythim Is Rhythim, Mayday and Long Ago, remains the most complete catalogue of his releases.

FAQ

Who is Derrick May?

Derrick May is an American producer, DJ and label owner from Detroit, one of the Belleville Three who created techno in the early 1980s. He founded Transmat Records and is best known for "Strings of Life", recorded as Rhythim Is Rhythim.

How old is Derrick May?

Derrick May was born on 6 April 1963, according to Wikipedia, German Wikipedia and Discogs, which makes him 63 (age 63 as of October 2026).

Where is Derrick May from?

He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and went to high school in the nearby suburb of Belleville, where he met Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson.

What genre does Derrick May play?

Derrick May plays techno, specifically the Detroit style he calls Hi-Tek Soul, which combines machine rhythms with strings, soul and funk influences.

What is Derrick May's real name?

Derrick May records and performs under his own name. He has also released music as Rhythim Is Rhythim, Mayday and Long Ago.

What is Derrick May's most famous track?

"Strings of Life", released in 1987 as Rhythim Is Rhythim on his own Transmat label, is his best-known record and is widely regarded as a foundational techno track.

What labels does Derrick May run?

He founded Transmat in 1986 and its sub-label Fragile. Transmat has released music by Carl Craig, Stacey Pullen, Kenny Larkin and James Pennington among others.

What are the allegations against Derrick May?

Since 2020, several women have publicly accused Derrick May of sexual misconduct, as reported by Resident Advisor and DJ Mag. May denies the allegations, and he dropped his own defamation lawsuit against his main accuser in February 2021. See the section above for sources.

Who are the Belleville Three?

The Belleville Three are Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, three friends from Belleville High School outside Detroit who are credited with creating techno in the 1980s.

related on rts.fm

• Are DJ Fees Breaking the Underground? What the Evidence Says→
• Nina Kraviz and Jeff Mills Shared a Bill at Fabric→
• Detroit Turns 20 (Again): Movement Festival's Legacy→