Derrick May is an American electronic musician and DJ born in Detroit Michigan on April 6 1963 A key figure in both the Detroit techno and techno genres May has not released a proper studio album His standing as a producer was established by his Transmat labels early yield of classic cuts Strings of Life Kaos and Nude Photo among others all released under the name Rhythim is Rhythim in the late 80s which would influence techno and electronica artists for decades Mays releases practically halted during the 90s however Sony Japan put out a compilation of his tracks in 1995 titled Innovator