Derrick May- The Bush Administration Are the Biggest War Criminals of the 21st Century

"The club crackdown affects me more than the kids, because the kids seem very chilled out and somehow unaware of what is really going on. They're not even conscious they're tuning out, they just seem to be totally absorbed by TV. For me and my immediate friends, though, it's a rough call, because what we see today is fascism; we see Hitler in a double breasted suit."

Detroit techno legend Derrick May has long been known as being one of dance culture's most talented and outspoken characters, and chatting the line from his beloved Motor City today, he's typically passionate about exercising his free speech.

"I never thought I'd live to see an American government, who totally disregard public feelings and opinions, using- on top of everything- fear tactics to stop people saying how they feel," he continues.

"I think the Bush administration are the biggest war criminals of the 21st century."

US elections issues aside, though, May's focus remains electronic music, with his primary interest right now being Detroit's massive Movement Festival (DEMF), the city's annual three day street parade, which he's recently taken control of. There's also the small matter of his return to London next week (February 7) to spin a 3 hour DJ set at Turnmills though he admits he's nowadays more ambivalent about coming back.

"There was a time when I considered London to be my second home in the late 80s and early 90s and at that time it always felt like a special place," he says.

"Then the sensational and the populist became popular again in London and the music took a polite back seat, which meant I stopped seeing it as quite the same place it used to be. When I say populist and popular I'm talking about the age of the superclub, the Mixmag (type) magazines and that whole over-rated drug culture. People lost focus."

"It changed when the money came in and people started knowing they could get their pictures in the magazines. There's nothing wrong with that; I love to get paid for what I do; I love to make a lot of money; I do make a lot of money and I love to be appreciated too, but what happened was, a lot of guys started believing their shit don't stink."


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): Your playing at London's Turnmills next weekend and Split's flyer says they're distancing themselves from the 'moody trainspotter" blokes often associated with modern techno, how do you view these characters-

Derrick May: "I remember the crowd from the very first time I went to Europe and I noticed even back then, that as soon as I started playing, the guys moved up to the front pushing the girls away. I remember thinking that this wasn't a good thing at all. That night really defined my future attitude to DJing, because every time I saw that happening, I started purposely play a record that I knew was going to piss the guys off, something fluffier, more tender, that would be better received by girls."

Skruffff: How do you feel about techno nights usually attracting far more men then women-

Derrick May: "I don't like women to be disconnected from music. I think that if techno has this macho image, it's because women have not been involved as much as they should have been. The female element is vital to the art and the life; women bring an honest opinion to the music; they bring life to this planet and they hold the secret of life. I always prefer to play to a chick who's intrinsically knowledgeable about life, than a shirtless, sweaty guy who'd dance to anything that has a beat."

Skrufff: You've just signed a deal to run Detroit's Movement Festival for the next five years, what's your vision for the event-

Derrick May: "We want to bring as much attention to the city of Detroit as possible, because I think this may be the last chance that we may be able to do it through techno music. I don't know if there's going to be a next generation of young musicians coming through to follow up in our footsteps. Our i Tags

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