DJ and producer known for rave hit Strings of Life denies allegations, saying, ‘I have no interest in legitimising these distortions’, as the Guardian reports.
Techno DJ and producer Derrick May has been accused of sexual assault by four women, which he denies.
In testimonies to DJ Mag, the women, speaking under pseudonyms, tell of attacks beginning in the early 2000s. May is accused of groping the women, exposing himself and making sexually harassing phone calls. He is also accused of physical and verbal abuse.
Among the numerous incidents, one woman alleges “persistent bait-and-abuse behaviour”, while another claims May assaulted her when she was working as an intern at a boutique hotel in Amsterdam: “I tried to get past him to get to the exit, but he grabbed me and threw me against the wall. He kept me there and put his knee between my legs, pinning me against the wall,” before groping her.
May has made a statement denying the allegations:
As a black man working in a white-dominated and openly biased industry, am I expected to have learned the painful lesson that there is no such thing as truth, fairness, or due process? When will the long, storied history of weaponising the sexuality of African American men end? Must I collaborate under duress with my own victimisation at the hands of an openly hostile press that amplifies the so-called fears of privileged, anonymous women in an internet-mediated lynching? I have no interest in legitimising these distortions. Women are the conduit of life, and as such, are to be protected, and not exploited. I live by those words.
May became famous in the late 1980s as one of the Belleville Three, a trio of producers from Detroit who pioneered the sound of techno. His track Strings of Life, released under the name Rhythim Is Rhythim, became a major hit in the UK’s rave scene of the time. He has had an international DJ career ever since, and founded the label Transmat.
