Techno pioneer Juan Atkins, co-founder of Detroit techno, dies aged 64 in Mexico City

Death in Mexico City

Greensmith Artists, Atkins' management agency, confirmed that the Detroit producer and DJ died at the age of 64. According to the agency, he was found unresponsive in his hotel room on the night of 31 October, hours before he was due to perform at the Yu Yu club in Mexico City. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death has not been officially announced, although Pitchfork said he reportedly suffered a heart attack. Tickets for the show were refunded to concertgoers, Pitchfork added.

From Belleville to Cybotron

Atkins was born in Detroit in 1962 and grew up in Belleville, Michigan, where he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson at junior high school. The three became known as the Belleville Three, a group that shaped the electronic scene around Detroit in the early 1980s. Pitchfork reports that Atkins bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10, at the age of 15. While still a teenager, he formed Cybotron with Richard Davis, blending funk, electronic instruments and futuristic themes. Their single "Clear", released in 1983, became an underground hit and sold 50,000 copies, according to Pitchfork.

Techno, the name and later work

The Guardian credits Atkins as the first person to use the term "techno" for this hard electronic style, and NOS says he is regarded as the one who coined the name. He released the track "Techno Music" in 1988 on a compilation of Detroit techno tracks, which NOS says introduced European audiences to Detroit techno. Under the alias Model 500, he released "No UFO's" in 1985 and founded the Metroplex label. In the 1990s he worked on the Infiniti project, releasing The Infinity Collection in 1996 and Skynet in 1998. He later formed the duo Borderland with Moritz von Oswald and released two albums with him. In 2023 he returned to the Cybotron name with new music and live shows, and in 2026 he played the Dekmantel festival in Amsterdam.

Themes and influence

Atkins often said his music carried a message beyond the dance floor. Telling the Guardian in 2024 about his lyrics, he said:

“My lyrics are supposed to make you think about something other than shaking your booty on the dancefloor and falling in love.”

In a 2014 interview with the Guardian, he described how a school class on future studies shaped his work. He said:

“I just applied a lot of those principles to my music-making.”

In 2005 he told Pitchfork that he had always called his own music techno, although DJs in Chicago labeled it Detroit house.

Tributes

Kevin Saunderson, his Belleville Three partner, described Atkins in an Instagram post as a visionary who opened doors for many musicians, including himself. Carl Cox recalled how much the track "Clear" had stayed with him, and Sven Väth spoke of the link Atkins created between Detroit and Berlin, according to Mediafax.