This interview with techno music pioneer Derrick May is part of a series created by the Red Bull Music Academy.

Derrick May
Transmat, Detroit, USA

Description:

To be a living legend is not an easy game to play. Derrick May plays that quite well though for 20 years plus. As one third of the infamous Belleville Three (Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson being the other parties) he created a beast named techno that longed for a beauty called soul. Strings Of Life being the quintessential track of that genre, May is responsible for an armada of similar tunes that all mix and mingle with industrial melancholy and romantic futurism. Unparalleled and universally valid… It Is What It Is.