This Is Derrick May Playlist on Spotify

Some records change the direction of a whole genre. This Is Derrick May is Spotify’s essential-tracks playlist for the techno pioneer Derrick May, a compact tour through his legacy.

“Strings of Life” is here, along with “Icon – Montage Mix” under his Rhythim Is Rhythim name. Collaborations add range: “Mentors Heritage – Detroit Love Mix” with Mirko Loko and “In da Minor” with Francesco Tristano. System 7, Mayday, D Wynn and R-Tyme also appear. Together they offer a compact map of where a lot of modern dance music comes from.

Tracks are long and expressive, with several stretching past eight minutes, so this works best as a deep-listening session, an after-hours set or a history lesson that keeps you dancing. The playlist holds 25 tracks over 3 hours 1 minute. With only 25 tracks but a long runtime, each piece gets room to breathe, so it rewards a proper sit-down listen and a good pair of speakers.

Where the machines learned to feel.