Juan Atkins’s management company confirmed the death of the Detroit producer and DJ at 64. His work with Cybotron and the Belleville Three helped establish techno, joining funk to electronic instruments and futuristic themes. He had been scheduled to perform in Mexico City on 31 October; his career also included the 1983 track Clear and collaborations in Borderland.
Juan Atkins, the American producer and DJ associated with the emergence of Detroit techno, has died at 64. Green Smith Artists, his management company, confirmed his death. He had been due to play Yu Yu Club, a music venue in Mexico City, on 31 October. Atkins worked in Cybotron and Borderland and was one of the Belleville Three, the name given to his association with fellow electronic musicians Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson.[1], [2]
By 18, Atkins had formed Cybotron with Richard Davis. Their recordings combined funk with electronic instrumentation and futuristic subjects. Early singles included Cosmic Raindance, Cosmic Cars and The Line. Clear arrived in 1983, sold 50,000 copies and was subsequently sampled by artists including Missy Elliott. The duo’s albums included Enter in 1983, Empathy in 1993 and Cyber Ghetto in 1995. The partnership was an early setting for the musical approach that made Atkins a central figure in techno.[1]
Atkins grew up in Detroit with a father who promoted concerts. He played guitar and bass in funk and garage bands before buying his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10, at 15. He met May and Saunderson in junior high school. In a 2005 Pitchfork interview, he recalled both rivalry and friendship between Detroit and Chicago DJs. He described visiting musicians in Chicago and receiving them in Detroit, while distinguishing his city’s futuristic sound from Chicago records’ links to Philadelphia disco.[1]
