Juan Atkins, Detroit techno pioneer, dies aged 64

Juan Atkins, one of the originators of Detroit techno, has died at the age of 64. His agency, Greensmith Artists, confirmed the death. Atkins was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Mexico City before a scheduled performance there on Saturday, and he was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

Atkins was a DJ and producer whose work shaped electronic music far beyond his home city. Greensmith Artists has not said what caused his death.

Born in Detroit and raised in nearby Belleville, Michigan, Atkins came up alongside schoolmates Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May. The three are often called the Belleville Three and are credited with creating Detroit techno. Their sound blended the house music played in Chicago with the electronic music of groups such as Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Atkins began as a DJ before forming the electronic group Cybotron. He did so with Rik Davis, a classmate from college, in 1980. The two released one album, the influential 1983 LP *Enter*, before splitting in 1985. He then started his own label, Metroplex, and recorded under the name Model 500.

His 1985 single "No UFO's", released as Model 500, is widely seen as the record that carried Detroit techno to Britain. It appeared on the UK compilation *Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit*. In 2025, Rolling Stone included the track on its list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time, writing that Atkins "invented techno, full stop".

Atkins was known for using several aliases for different kinds of work. In a 1997 interview he described how the early machines were built to let producers bring emotion into their music. He said that quality was the beauty of Detroit.

His influence reached clubs and producers across the world. Greensmith Artists has not announced funeral or memorial arrangements.

What is not yet known is the cause of death, and whether a post-mortem examination will be carried out.