Juan Atkins, the Detroit musician and DJ who helped build techno's foundations, has died aged 64. His management confirmed the news on 1 November after Atkins was found unresponsive in a hotel room in Mexico City, where he had been due to play YuYu Cine Club on 31 October.
According to reports cited by DJ Mag and Mixmag, Atkins was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead. No cause of death has been given in Mixmag's report.
Atkins was a founding member of Cybotron and of The Belleville Three with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. Born in 1962, he went on to become one of the central figures in the city's electronic music history, working under names including Model 500 and helping shape the sound that became known as Detroit techno.
His records and Metroplex label were part of several key early Detroit techno releases. Cybotron's 1983 album Enter included tracks such as Clear and Alleys Of Your Mind. After the project split, Atkins released No UFOs as Model 500 in 1985 and launched Metroplex, the label that also put out early Detroit records including Saunderson's Triangle Of Love. His 1988 track Techno Music also helped give the genre its name through the compilation Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit.
Saunderson paid tribute on Instagram, describing Atkins as the originator of techno and recalling that Atkins helped him finish Triangle Of Love. DJ Mag also noted that Atkins continued to perform and produce in later years. In 2019, he said he wanted Cybotron to present new ideas rather than restart from the past.
