D. Thompson

Derrick Thompson entered into the musical fray aged eight, while taking drum lessons at school. Amazed at the notion of being able to make music by beating on things without harassment from a teacher was something that kept him pursuing music. Aged 13, Thompson acquired his first bass guitar. He spent countless hours mastering the instrument. His early influences were Stanley Clarke and Louis Johnson.

Two years later, Thompson jumped to the Stratocaster guitar. Shortly thereafter, he found himself playing on stage in rock bands. At the same time, the buzz on electronic music had started in Detroit. Thompson liked the idea of being able to be his own one man band. He invested in synthesizers, samplers, and recording studio hardware, and also purchased a set of turntables and a mixer. He then began DJing at parties, weddings and soon, clubs.

By this time, Thompson's musical direction was clear. He went solo and established his own record label in 1990, Soiree Records, mainly focussing on deep house. In the following years, Thompson expanded his horizons by releasing several records on European labels such as Plink Plonk, Basic Beat, Mr. C's End Recordings, Kontraband, Slip 'N' Slide, and many others. In 1997 he launched Xplor Music, a Detroit-techno oriented label.