Juan Atkins, Who Coined Techno, Dies in Mexico City

Juan Atkins, the Detroit musician who coined the term techno and helped define the electronic genre, has died at age 64. Greensmith Artists, his management agency, confirmed the news to Resident Advisor. Atkins was discovered unresponsive in a hotel room in Mexico City. He had been scheduled to perform there. Hospital staff pronounced him dead after he was transported from the scene.

Born in Detroit in 1962, Atkins moved with his family to Belleville, a rural suburb in Michigan. He met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson at junior high school. The three formed the Belleville Three, a group that sat at the forefront of early electronic music. Atkins later formed the duo Cybotron with Richard Davis while still in high school. They used affordable hardware, including the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the Korg MS-10 synthesizer, to create mechanistic electronic tracks.

Atkins credited a high school class called Future Studies for his artistic direction. He said in a 2014 interview that the course covered the transition from industrial to technological society. He applied those principles to his music-making. Cybotron released tracks such as Cosmic Cars and Clear. The duo split in 1985 after Davis shifted his focus toward rock music. Atkins later described Davis as belonging to the album-oriented rock scene.

Atkins continued his work under the alias Model 500. He produced foundational dance tracks including No UFO’s and The Chase. In 1985, he founded the record label Metroplex to release his own material. The label also issued work by artists such as Anthony Shakir and DJ Bone. Atkins stated in 2024 that his lyrics were intended to make listeners think beyond dancing and romance. He aimed to make social statements through his music.

By the early 1990s, the techno scene Atkins helped inspire had expanded. He later pursued the uptempo project Infiniti. In the 2000s, he formed the duo Borderland with Moritz Von Oswald. They released two albums in 2013 and 2016. Atkins reformed Cybotron in 2023. The group released new music and performed live. His influence extended across genres, with dozens of artists sampling his work. Missy Elliott used his track Clear as the foundation for Lose Control, which reached number 3 on the US Billboard chart in 2005.

Kevin Saunderson paid tribute to Atkins on Sunday. He called him a true visionary who opened the door for many musicians, including himself.