‘We need to stop fighting and concentrate on making good music!’

Derrick May is certainly no stranger to fighting. Growing up on the lean, mean streets of Detroit, a succession of groundbreaking records in the 80’s led to him becoming one of the originators of the genre we now know as ‘techno’. The track ‘Strings of Life’ is, to some, one of dance music’s most treasured possessions. But like with any genre, techno developed, and the original meaning of this style of music changed. This led to a massive backlash from the original Detroit techno community. But Derrick’s resolve for the sound he loved and the ethos behind it only became stronger.

‘Techno had to change – it’s evolution. To be mad about change is ridiculous. To be mad about the quality of change is a waste of time because you can’t control evolution, you can’t control the wheel, the wheel is moving. All you can do is attempt to maintain a certain quality that stands out above everything else.’

If you know your history, you’ll know that techno was created by the Belville Three, namely Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. Juan actually cites Alvin Toffler’s book ‘The Techno Revolution’ as being the inspiration for the name he used for the genre. But as Europe got hold of the sound it became harder, more formulated. This is when it lost the element of soul and futurism that was so key to its conception.

‘It doesn’t mean much anymore, it’s quite misrepresented,’ he continues. ‘As much as Mike Banks, Carl Craig and a couple of other guys fight for the dignity and for the right of Detroit techno, it isn’t what it was anymore. It’s not a lost cause; it just more or less has to be certified at this point because we fought as much as we can. Of course, we’ve helped Detroit techno stay in the consciousness of the public minds - we want to keep it, so it’s not dead. But when you look at techno as a brand it has been destroyed. There are a lot of very bad tracks, very bad representation and a lot of very bad opportunities by companies making compilation albums. Techno has been through a lot.’

Belgium was the first to latch on to the techno sound, with labels like R+S opening the international door for artists like Aphex Twin and Joey Beltram. The UK followed, as did Holland, which ultimately led to the creation of gabber and 200+BPM dance music. It’s been an insane journey that has ultimately turned the original sound of techno on its head. With the UK one of the main culprits in this change, it will come as a surprise to many that Derrick still gets excited about playing in good old Blighty, especially at his London residency and Hi-Tek Soul at the Ministry Of Sound.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN CORE MAGAZINE @ www.core-mag.net

Words Natasha Palmer/Mark EG