Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962),
Early life
Juan Atkins was born in
Detroit,
Michigan.
His father was a concert promoter.
At an early age, he played guitar and bass guitar in funk/garage bands with his friends.
After his parents split, he moved to Belleville, Michigan.
In junior high school, he met Derrick May and
Kevin Saunderson.
The three would later be known as the Belleville Three.
At the age of 15, he bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10.
Career
Juan Atkins formed Cybotron with Richard Davis in 1980.
The duo's debut studio album,
Enter, was released in 1983.
Atkins and Davis split ways in 1985.
In 1985, Atkins founded the record label Metroplex.
He is also one half of the duo Borderland along with Moritz von Oswald.
In 2015, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Metroplex, Juan Atkins collaborated with VAVA Eyewear.
Artistry
John Bush of
AllMusic explains that Atkins "explored his vision of a futuristic music that welded the more cosmic side of Parliament funk with the rigid computer synth pop embodied by Kraftwerk and the techno-futurist possibilities described by sociologist
Alvin Toffler." Aesthetically, Atkins drew upon dystopian
science fiction narratives to construct his sonic landscapes. Later in his career, he began incorporating elements of contemporary
dance music, while retaining what critics consider to be his signature sense of
melody.
He has stated that George Clinton's bands Parliament and
Funkadelic were important to his "musical awakening."
He grew up listening to The Electrifying Mojo's radio shows.
He also acknowledged
Kraftwerk as one of the influences on his music.
Legacy
John Bush of
AllMusic conferred the title of "godfather of techno" on Atkins, and said his discography is "perhaps the most influential body of work in the field of techno." He stated: "Though it's often difficult (and misleading) to pick the precise genesis for any style of music, the easiest choice for techno is an Atkins release, the 1982 electro track 'Clear,' recorded by Atkins and Rick Davis as Cybotron."
has described him as "the original pioneer of
Detroit techno."
Discography
Studio albums
-
3MB Featuring Magic Juan Atkins (1992)
-
Deep Space (1995)
-
Skynet (1998)
-
Mind and Body (1999)
-
The Berlin Sessions (2005)
-
Borderland (2013)
-
Digital Solutions (2015)
-
Transport (2016)
-
Mind Merge LP (2017)
Compilation albums
-
Classics (1993)
-
The Infiniti Collection (1996)
-
Wax Trax! MasterMix Volume 1 (1998)
-
20 Years 1985 - 2005 (2005)
EPs
-
The True Techno EP (1992)
-
The Future Sound EP (1993)
Singles
-
"No UFO's" (1985)
-
"Night Drive" (1985)
-
"Testing 1-2" (1986)
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"Play It Cool" (1986)
-
"Technicolor" (1986)
-
"It's Channel One" (1987)
-
"Sound of Stereo" (1987)
-
"Make Some Noise" (1987)
-
"Beat Track" (1987)
-
"Interference" (1988)
-
"The Chase" (1989)
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"Ocean to Ocean" (1990)
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"Jazz Is the Teacher" (1993)
-
"I See the Light" (1993)
-
"Sonic Sunset" (1994)
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"The Flow" (1995)
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"Starlight" (1995)
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"I Wanna Be There" (1996)
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"Be Brave" (1998)
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"Update" (2002)
-
"Outer Space" (2004)
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"OFI" / "Huesca" (2010)
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"Control" (2012)
-
"Riod" (2016)
Filmography
Feature films
Short films
External links
