Music
Juan Atkins
born 1962 · record producer, DJ
Detroit-born “Godfather of Techno,” one of the Belleville Three, whose Cybotron and Model 500 records laid down the Detroit techno sound.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 64- Also known as
- Model 500 · Infiniti · Godfather of Techno
- Detroit years
- 1962–
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Juan Atkins was born in Detroit and moved to Belleville, a small town southwest of the city near several auto plants, after his parents split up. At school there he befriended Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson; the three later became known as the Belleville Three. Inspired by Parliament's funk, Atkins bought a synthesizer, and he was the first of the trio to take up turntables, teaching the others to DJ. With May he played Detroit's high-school party circuit as Deep Space Soundworks. At Washtenaw Community College he met Rick Davis, and as Cybotron they recorded futuristic electro tracks such as “Clear” and “Techno City.” In 1985 he launched his own label, Metroplex, and recorded as Model 500. Atkins used the word “techno” from the Cybotron days, and in the late 1980s he and his partners ran the Music Institute, a downtown club that gave the young scene a home.
Highlights
- Called the “original pioneer of Detroit techno” by Mixmag
- Co-founded Cybotron with Rick Davis in the early 1980s
- Founded the Metroplex label in 1985; records as Model 500
- One of the Belleville Three with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson
- Helped run the Music Institute club downtown, 1988–1989
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1988–1989
The Music Institute
Closed · 1988–1989
Short-lived downtown club started by the Belleville Three and friends, where Atkins, May and Saunderson DJed and the early techno scene came together.