Techno’s “The Innovator”, Derrick May, laid down the foundations for the music in a very short time period, and has never gone back to production since, except for a few rare forays into the studio. This project, with Steve Hillage AKA System 7, was conceived in 1992, but the Mayday mix here was released in 2002. May’s trademark frenetic and flanged 909 beats along with System 7’s cosmic guitar work and monumental pads. An often overlooked track, this captures Derrick May at his best.

Fellow Detroit pioneers, Octave One, are perhaps best remembered for the huge “Blackwater” single and the timeless “I Believe”, but this rare cut from 1991, and released on Carl Craig’s Retroactive label, was recorded under the guise Never On Sunday. Melancholic and uber deep, this is a fine example of the more intricate Detroit sounds from this era.

Speedy J’s “De-Orbit” is one of the ever prevalent tracks from this era. Originally released on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label, and later featured on the legendary “Artificial Intelligence” album on Warp, “De-Orbit” is a downtempo mood piece, with gorgeous meleody and a slow churning breakbeat. Many DJs from this time, however, opted to play this track pitched up to 45rpm, creating an entirely new experience from the record, boarding on proto-jungle/breakbeat. Indeed, on the Back In The Box mix, the track is repitched to nearly 130bpm. Originally out in 1991.