Juan Atkins
Encyclopedia
Juan Atkins is an American
musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno
music, specifically Detroit techno
along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson
. The three, sometimes called the Belleville Three, attended high school together in Belleville, Michigan
, near Detroit.
, United States
as the son of a concert promoter, Juan Atkins learned how to play bass, drums, and "a little lead guitar" at an early age. Atkins, along with school friends Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, tuned in regularly to WGPR
to hear DJ Charles "The Electrifying Mojo
" Johnson's genre-defying radio show.
At age sixteen, Atkins heard electronic music for the first time, which would prove to be a life-changing experience. In late-1990s interviews, he recalls the sound of synthesizers as being like "UFOs landing." He soon had his first synthesizer and abandoned playing funk bass.
The 1982 single "Cosmic Cars" also did well. Cybotron recorded their debut album, Enter, and were soon signed to Fantasy Records. One track, "Clear," struck out in the direction that Atkins would pursue with what would later be called his "techno" music. Instead of merely reworking elements of, "Clear" fused them with club music.
Atkins considered Cybotron's most successful single, "Techno City" (1984), to be a unique, synthesized funk composition. After later hearing Afrika Bambaataa
's "Planet Rock
" (1982), which he considered to be a superior example of the electro funk style he was aiming for, he resolved to continue experimenting, and encouraged Saunderson and May to do the same.
In 1985, Atkins left the group due to artistic differences with bandmate Rik Davis. Davis wanted the group to pursue a musical direction closer to rock
, while Atkins wanted to continue in the electro-style vein of "Clear
".
label. His friends Eddie Fowlkes
, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson all recorded singles on the label.
Atkins' first single as Model 500, "No UFOs," was a hit in Detroit and Chicago. He followed it with a series of landmark techno tracks, earning him the nickname "the godfather of techno." Within a few years, Atkins' work was re-released in Europe.
" Johnson as a musical influence. Mojo, a local legend in radio, played an eclectic mix of music including Parliament
, and Prince. Atkins and May got their start recording from the radio and remixing for the radio, specifically, Mojo's show; after this apprenticeship, they began producing original music.
magazine Zebra in 1999. "It would be only natural that more of these elements would show up."
Catalog No.: PLX-029
Label: Plexifilm
Released: 09/19/06
Director: Gary Bredow
Length: 64 minutes
Summary: HIGH TECH SOUL is the first documentary to tackle the deep roots of techno music alongside the cultural history of Detroit, its birthplace. HIGH TECH SOUL focuses on the creators of the genre—Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson—and looks at the relationships and personal struggles behind the music. Artists like Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Eddie Fowlkes and a host of others explain why techno, with its abrasive tones and resonating basslines, could not have come from anywhere but Detroit.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
music, specifically Detroit techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson
Kevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
. The three, sometimes called the Belleville Three, attended high school together in Belleville, Michigan
Belleville, Michigan
Belleville is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,991 at the 2010 census. It is the sister city of Machynlleth, Wales. Belleville is southeast of Ann Arbor and southwest of Detroit.-Geography:...
, near Detroit.
Early life
Born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the son of a concert promoter, Juan Atkins learned how to play bass, drums, and "a little lead guitar" at an early age. Atkins, along with school friends Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, tuned in regularly to WGPR
WGPR
WGPR is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan brodacasting a Mainstream Urban format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons and operated under local marketing agreement by Radio One, the station operates on 107.5 MHz....
to hear DJ Charles "The Electrifying Mojo
The Electrifying Mojo
The Electrifying Mojo is an American radio personality. He was a disc jockey based in Detroit, Michigan whose on-air journey of musical and social development shaped a generation of music-lovers in Detroit and throughout southeastern Michigan and Canada and was of importance to the development of...
" Johnson's genre-defying radio show.
At age sixteen, Atkins heard electronic music for the first time, which would prove to be a life-changing experience. In late-1990s interviews, he recalls the sound of synthesizers as being like "UFOs landing." He soon had his first synthesizer and abandoned playing funk bass.
Deep Space Soundworks
He bought his first analogue synthesizer, a Korg MS10, and began recording with cassette decks and a mixer for overdubs. He subsequently taught Derrick May to mix, and the pair started doing DJ sets together as Deep Space. They took their long mixes to Mojo, who began to play them on his show in 1981. Atkins, May, and Saunderson would continue to collaborate as Deep Space Soundworks, even starting a club in downtown Detroit for local DJs to spin and collaborate.The 1982 single "Cosmic Cars" also did well. Cybotron recorded their debut album, Enter, and were soon signed to Fantasy Records. One track, "Clear," struck out in the direction that Atkins would pursue with what would later be called his "techno" music. Instead of merely reworking elements of, "Clear" fused them with club music.
Atkins considered Cybotron's most successful single, "Techno City" (1984), to be a unique, synthesized funk composition. After later hearing Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
's "Planet Rock
Planet Rock (song)
"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. In the background and hooks featured Marvella Murray, Yvette Murray, Melissa Johnson and Sandra Wheeler. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music...
" (1982), which he considered to be a superior example of the electro funk style he was aiming for, he resolved to continue experimenting, and encouraged Saunderson and May to do the same.
In 1985, Atkins left the group due to artistic differences with bandmate Rik Davis. Davis wanted the group to pursue a musical direction closer to rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, while Atkins wanted to continue in the electro-style vein of "Clear
Clear (song)
"Clear" is a 1983 Electro song performed by the American group Cybotron, and composed by Cybotron members Juan Atkins and Richard Davis.- Sampled versions :...
".
Model 500
Atkins began recording as "Model 500" in 1985 and founded the MetroplexMetroplex (record label)
Metroplex is a techno record label in Detroit, founded in 1985 by techno pioneer Juan Atkins. Juan Atkins did most of his work for the label under the pseudonyms Model 500 and Infiniti.-Discography:* M-001 Model 500 - No UFOs/Future...
label. His friends Eddie Fowlkes
Eddie Fowlkes
Eddie "Flashin'" Fowlkes is a techno DJ from Detroit, Michigan, influential to the early Detroit techno scene.Fowlkes began his career as a DJ in high school, and attended business college briefly before turning full-time to a career in music...
, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson all recorded singles on the label.
Atkins' first single as Model 500, "No UFOs," was a hit in Detroit and Chicago. He followed it with a series of landmark techno tracks, earning him the nickname "the godfather of techno." Within a few years, Atkins' work was re-released in Europe.
Infiniti
Over the years, Atkins has also released works under the name Infiniti. He explained the difference in a 2007 interview: "Model 500 is really a continuation of Cybotron. That's one thing that I've always stayed the course with and I've always wanted to not deviate when I do stuff with Model 500. In the past year it's probably what Cybotron would have done had the partners not split. Its more song-oriented with melodies, not just dance track - that's always been my experiences with Model 500. Now if I do stuff under the name Infinity [sic], that would be the more straightforward form of pure techno, the purest techno what is deemed as techno right now in North America and in Europe."Musical style
Atkins' earlier works are generally considered electro. Over the years, his sound matured and grew in complexity, and many of his more recent works are heavily layered rhythmic soundscapes. Today, this techno is considered its own genre.Influences
Atkins and other Techno artists have cited the long-running Detroit radio show of Charles "Electrifyin' MojoThe Electrifying Mojo
The Electrifying Mojo is an American radio personality. He was a disc jockey based in Detroit, Michigan whose on-air journey of musical and social development shaped a generation of music-lovers in Detroit and throughout southeastern Michigan and Canada and was of importance to the development of...
" Johnson as a musical influence. Mojo, a local legend in radio, played an eclectic mix of music including Parliament
Parliament (band)
Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, and Prince. Atkins and May got their start recording from the radio and remixing for the radio, specifically, Mojo's show; after this apprenticeship, they began producing original music.
The Detroit Sound
"Maybe techno coming out of Detroit had more of the black experience involved, and of course what we've grown up with is soul music and R&B stuff, and then there's funk itself," Atkins told MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
magazine Zebra in 1999. "It would be only natural that more of these elements would show up."
Discography
- as Cybotron, with Rick DavisRichard Davis (techno artist)Richard Davis is a composer and producer of techno music from Detroit.A veteran of the Vietnam War, he and Juan Atkins met while students at Washtenaw Community College. Following this, they formed the group known as Cybotron in the early 1980s. Davis also released music of his own under the...
(1981–1983)- "Alleys of Your Mind" (1981), single
- "Cosmic Cars" (1982), single
- "Clear" (1982), single
- Enter (1983)
- "Techno City" (1984), single
- Clear (1990), digitally remastered re-release of Clear
- as Model 500 (1985–present)
- "No UFO's" (1985), single
- "Night Drive"" (1985), single (includes "Time Space Transmat")
- "Jazz is the Teacher" (1993), 12-inch joint production with 3MB
- "Pick Up the Flow" (1993), 12-inch
- Sonic Sunset (1994)
- Deep Space (1995)
- Body and Soul (1999)
- OFI / Huesca (2010)
- as Channel One, with Doug Craig (1986-1987)
- "Technicolor" (1986), single
- "It's Channel One" (1987), single
- as Infiniti (1991–1995)
- Skynet 1998
- "The Infinit Collection" 1996
- as Model 600 (2002)
- Update 2002, single
- as Juan Atkins
- The Berlin Sessions 2005
Filmography
- High Tech Soul, 2006
Catalog No.: PLX-029
Label: Plexifilm
Released: 09/19/06
Director: Gary Bredow
Length: 64 minutes
Summary: HIGH TECH SOUL is the first documentary to tackle the deep roots of techno music alongside the cultural history of Detroit, its birthplace. HIGH TECH SOUL focuses on the creators of the genre—Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson—and looks at the relationships and personal struggles behind the music. Artists like Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Eddie Fowlkes and a host of others explain why techno, with its abrasive tones and resonating basslines, could not have come from anywhere but Detroit.
See also
- Derrick May
- Kevin SaundersonKevin SaundersonKevin Saunderson is an American electronic music producer. At the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit where he attended Belleville High School and befriended two students, Derrick May and Juan Atkins...
- Blake BaxterBlake BaxterBlake Baxter is an American techno musician, associated with the first wave of Detroit techno. Allmusic called him "perhaps the most underrated figure" of the early Detroit techno scene....
- Carl CraigCarl CraigCarl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
- Jeff MillsJeff MillsJeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...
External links
- Juan Atkins / Model 500 / Infiniti / Cybotron discographies at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
. - "The Roots of Techno", Wired Magazine Interview with Juan Atkins.
- [ Biography of Juan Atkins by John Bush].
- High Tech Soul-Documentary: The Creation of Techno Music.
- High Tech Soul Trailer.
- Interview with Juan Atkins by Dan Bean, Bleep43.