{"id":664273,"date":"2026-11-02T05:40:09","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/664273\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T05:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T05:40:09","slug":"juan-atkins-co-creator-of-the-techno-music-genre-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/664273\/","title":{"rendered":"Juan Atkins, co-creator of the techno music genre, has died"},"content":{"rendered":"

Juan Atkins, who helped create the techno music genre with school friends in suburban Detroit in the 1980s, has died, his booking agency said Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was 64.<\/p>\n

Collaborator Kevin Saunderson also shared the news on his Facebook page<\/a>, saying, \u201cJuan was the originator of Techno, a true visionary who opened the door for so many of us, myself included.\u201d <\/p>\n

Atkins, who played techno records as a noted club and festival DJ, was scheduled to perform Saturday at the club Yu Yu in Mexico City, but the appearance was canceled, the club said on Instagram before news of his death broke.<\/p>\n

In 1981, Atkins formed a duo, Cybotron, with Richard Davis, a friend he met at a Detroit-area community college, and in 1983 they released \u201cClear,\u201d a robotic, futuristic dance track that resonated in clubland and in breakdancers\u2019 boomboxes, according to the duo\u2019s Discogs biography<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TechnoJuan Atkins in Detroit in 1990. Peter J Walsh \/ Universal Images Group via Getty<\/p>\n

The foundations of techno \u2014 Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaataa, breakdancing hip-hop known as electro and the post-disco sound of house music \u2014 were present as Atkins and friends from Belleville High School, about 35 miles west of downtown Detroit, tinkered with electronic music and listened to the weird, wild sounds of radio DJ The Electrifying Mojo.<\/p>\n

Atkins, Saunderson and Derrick May were nicknamed the Belleville Three. May told the Detroit Metro Times<\/a> last year that the trio, along with Atkins\u2019 brother, Aaron, would skip school and listen to jazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so impressed and enamored with Juan and Aaron that I just followed them, man \u2014 I just became Juan\u2019s disciple,\u201d May told the Metro Times.<\/p>\n

Saunderson had the biggest early success when his act, Inner City, released \u201cBig Fun\u201d and \u201cGood Life,\u201d which became club hits in the U.S. and the U.K. in 1988.<\/p>\n

Atkins became the genre\u2019s wiseman. <\/p>\n

Techno\u2019s origin story as a rebel sound rooted in visions of a dystopian, digital future was born of Atkins\u2019 fascination with author Alvin Toffler\u2019s \u201cThe Third Wave,\u201d according to author Dan Sicko\u2019s \u201cTechno Rebels.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Cybotron\u2019s 1984 release, \u201cTechno City,\u201d is a bittersweet ode to a Detroit that was collapsing in places as the U.S. economy recovered from recession. <\/p>\n

Inner City\u2019s subsequent success helped make the Belleville Three stars in Europe, just as the Berlin Wall fell. Berlin would take over as techno\u2019s capital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Belleville Three found fans and gigs in Europe but bemoaned dance music fans who believe techno was created there. (\u201cTechno is Black,\u201d the Metro Times<\/a> declared last year.)<\/p>\n

Missy Elliott put Detroit techno on pop music\u2019s map by sampling Cybotron\u2019s \u201cClear\u201d for 2005\u2019s \u201cLose Control.\u201d And in 2023, Atkins revived Cybotron with the help of Berlin producer Laurens von Oswald by releasing new music on the Tresor label. <\/p>\n

Techno\u2019s Detroit roots found reinforcement from the city\u2019s Movement Festival (\u201cExperience the birthplace of Techno,\u201d it said), and the NBA\u2019s Pistons\u2019 release of clothing that pays homage to the Belleville Three.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetroit is home,\u201d the trio said in a joint statement<\/a> about the clothing release in January. \u201cEverything we\u2019ve ever made started with this city, its people, its clubs, and its energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the trio\u2019s wake came techno\u2019s telltale, \u201cboom-tss\u201d sound, as performed by Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, the Underground Resistance crew, DJ Hell and Carl Cox.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s with a heavy heart to hear about the passing of Juan Atkins,\u201d Cox said Sunday on Facebook<\/a>, adding that Cybotron\u2019s \u201cClear\u201d \u201cnever left my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

German techno star Sven V\u00e4th called the news of Atkins\u2019 death \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis vision inspired generations and helped build a musical bridge between Detroit and Berlin,\u201d he said on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cJuan was truly ahead of his time.\u201d<\/p>\n

V\u00e4th concluded, \u201cYour music, your vision and your spirit will live on.\u201d<\/p>\n