Juan Atkins, the Detroit pioneer who gave techno its name, dies aged 64
Juan Atkins, one of the founders of Detroit techno and a major influence on dance music around the world, has died aged 64. His agency, Greensmith Artists, told Resident Advisor that he was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Mexico City before a performance and was pronounced dead in hospital.
Born in Detroit in 1962, Atkins moved with his family to the rural suburb of Belleville, where he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. Together they became known as the Belleville Three, the trio at the forefront of electronic music in the city. Atkins was the first to use the word "techno" for this hard, machine-driven style, years before it became one of the pillars of dance culture.
While still in high school, using affordable gear such as the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the Korg MS-10 synthesiser, he formed Cybotron with Richard Davis. Inspired by both Kraftwerk and Jimi Hendrix, tracks such as Cosmic Cars and Clear became dancefloor staples; Clear alone has since been sampled by dozens of artists. After the duo split in 1985, he went solo as Model 500, releasing classics such as No UFO's and The Chase, and founded his own label, Metroplex.
In the 1990s he refined his sound with the project Infiniti, and later formed the duo Borderland with Moritz von Oswald, releasing albums in 2013 and 2016. In 2023 he revived Cybotron, recording new music and playing live again. "I make social statements. My lyrics are supposed to make you think about something other than shaking your booty on the dancefloor," he told The Guardian in 2024.