Juan Atkins

Juan Atkins, the originator of “Techno Music” was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Juan graduated from Belleville high school in 1980, and went straight to collage where he attended Washtenaw community collage in Ann Arbor Michigan. There he met Rik Davis aka 3070 who was an electronic synthesist guru, invited Juan to his studio to “Jam”. “It was like walking into a spaceship” says Juan.

In 1981, Juan & Rik formed a group they named “ Cybotron”, then agreed to start their own record company called “Deep Space records” and released two singles called “Alleys of your mind” & “Cosmic raindance”. These songs were totally electronically produced tracks which became the birth, beginning & template for a whole new genre of music they called “Techno Music”

The “Electrifying MoJo”, who was then the king of Detroit late night fm stereo DJ personalities, played “Alleys of your mind” in heavy rotation on his nightly radio show which made the record an instant smash hit. This success eventually led to their most successful Cybotron single titled “Clear” released in 1983, which over 20 years later would be sampled by hip hop queen “Missy Elliott” for the song “Lose Control” which hit #1 on billboard magazine’s “Hot 100” chart.

The song Clear was being exported to the UK which they dubbed it “Electro” which triggered the global “Techno Music” phenomenon. However, the term “Techno music” was not really recognized until Belleville high school mates Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson, and close friend Eddie Fowlkes started making techno music tracks that galvanized the techno music movement and elevated “Techno Music” to audiences worldwide. Techno Music then swept the planet and put Juan, Derrick, Kevin, & Eddie in demand for live performances and DJ gigs all over the world, and iconic figures in the world of electronic, dance, and Techno music culture on a global level.