Juan Atkins, Godfather of Techno, Dies at 64: Detroit and the Dance World Pay Tribute

Juan Atkins, the Detroit producer widely credited as a co-founder of techno, has died at 64. His agency Greensmith Artists confirmed the death to Resident Advisor on Sunday, November 1. According to the report, Atkins was found unresponsive in a Mexico City hotel room ahead of a scheduled show, taken to a hospital, and later pronounced dead.

His fingerprints are everywhere in modern music. With Richard Davis, he formed Cybotron and scored dancefloor classics like“Clear,”which Missy Elliott later sampled into a hit. As Model 500, and through his Metroplex label, he pushed electronic music into new territory for decades. Alongside Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, he made up the Belleville Three, the trio that turned the Detroit area into the birthplace of a global genre. He reformed Cybotron as recently as 2023.

Tributes are pouring in, with Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield calling him“a true pioneer”who“opened so many doors for the rest of us.”From underground clubs to festival main stages, the sound he imagined as a teenager with a synthesizer now circles the globe. Which Juan Atkins track or Cybotron classic means the most to you? Tell us in the comments.