Juan Atkins, the American DJ and producer widely regarded as one of the founders of Detroit techno, has died at 64 in Mexico City. His representatives at Greensmith Artists said he was pronounced dead on Sunday, November 1.
Atkins was found unconscious in a hotel room before a scheduled performance at YuYu Cine Club. He died after being taken to a hospital. No cause of death has been announced.
Born in Detroit in 1962, Atkins grew up in nearby Belleville, where he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. The three became known as the Belleville Three. In 1980, Atkins formed the duo Cybotron with Richard Davis. Influenced by Kraftwerk and Parliament-Funkadelic, they released “Alleys of Your Mind” in 1981 and “Clear” in 1983, a track that helped define Detroit’s sound. The group split in 1985 after Davis turned his attention more toward rock.
Atkins also released music as Model 500, including “No UFOs” in 1985, and founded the Metroplex label that year. The label later helped introduce artists including Anthony Shakir and DJ Bone. Toward the end of the 1990s, he launched Infiniti, a project with a faster sound. In the 2000s, he formed Borderland with Moritz von Oswald; the duo released albums in 2013 and 2016. Atkins revived Cybotron in 2023 with new music and performances.
The genre’s name is linked to Atkins’ track “Techno Music,” included in the 1988 British compilation “Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit,” which brought the city’s music to European audiences. His influence also reached beyond techno: “Clear” was sampled by dozens of artists, including Missy Elliott for her song “Lose Control,” which placed third on a Billboard chart in the United States in 2005.
Sources: Folha Ilustrada.