Juan Atkins

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Juan Atkins
A man with electronic musical instruments performing at an annual electronic dance music event.
Atkins performing as Model 500 at DEMF in 2007
Background information
Also known as
  • Model 500
  • Infiniti
Born (1962-09-12) September 12, 1962 (age 61)[1]
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
GenresDetroit techno[2]
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • DJ
Years active1980–present
Labels

Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962),[1] also known as Model 500 and Infiniti,[3] is an American record producer and DJ[4] from Detroit, Michigan.[5] Mixmag has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno."[2] He has been a member of The Belleville Three,[6] Cybotron,[7] and Borderland.[8]

Early life[edit]

Juan Atkins was born in Detroit, Michigan.[1] His father is a concert promoter.[9] At an early age, he played guitar and bass guitar in funk/garage bands with his friends.[9] After his parents split, he moved to Belleville, Michigan.[9] In junior high school, he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson.[10] The three would later be known as The Belleville Three.[10] At the age of 15, he bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10.[5]

Career[edit]

Juan Atkins formed Cybotron with Richard Davis in 1980.[11] The duo's debut studio album, Enter, was released in 1983.[12] Atkins and Davis split ways in 1985.[13]

In 1985, Atkins founded the record label Metroplex.[12] In that year, he started making solo records under the alias Model 500.[9] As Model 500, he released Deep Space in 1995,[14] Mind and Body in 1999,[14] and Digital Solutions in 2015.[14]

He is also one half of the duo Borderland along with Moritz von Oswald.[15] The duo released Borderland in 2013[16] and Transport in 2016.[16]

In 2015, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Metroplex, Juan Atkins collaborated with VAVA Eyewear.[17][18]

Style and influences[edit]

Juan Atkins has stated that George Clinton's bands Parliament and Funkadelic were important to his musical awakening.[5] He grew up listening to The Electrifying Mojo's radio shows.[5] He also acknowledged Kraftwerk as one of the influences on his music.[19] Mixmag has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno."[2] Stylistically, he drew upon dystopian science fiction narratives to construct his sonic landscapes.[20]

Discography[edit]

See also: Cybotron (American band) discography

Studio albums[edit]

  • 3MB Featuring Magic Juan Atkins (1992) (with Thomas Fehlmann and Moritz von Oswald, as 3MB Featuring Magic Juan Atkins)
  • Deep Space (1995) (as Model 500)
  • Skynet (1998) (as Infiniti)
  • Mind and Body (1999) (as Model 500)
  • The Berlin Sessions (2005)
  • Borderland (2013) (with Moritz von Oswald, as Borderland)
  • Digital Solutions (2015) (as Model 500)
  • Transport (2016) (with Moritz von Oswald, as Borderland)
  • Mind Merge LP (2017) (with Orlando Voorn, as Frequency vs Atkins)

Compilation albums[edit]

  • Classics (1993) (as Model 500)
  • The Infiniti Collection (1996) (as Infiniti)
  • 20 Years 1985 - 2005 (2005)

EPs[edit]

  • The True Techno EP (1992) (as Model 500)
  • The Future Sound EP (1993)

Singles[edit]

  • "No UFO's" (1985) (as Model 500)
  • "Night Drive" (1985) (as Model 500)
  • "Testing 1-2" (1986) (as Model 500)
  • "Play It Cool" (1986) (as Model 500)
  • "Technicolor" (1986) (with Doug Craig, as Channel One)
  • "It's Channel One" (1987) (with Doug Craig, as Channel One)
  • "Sound of Stereo" (1987) (as Model 500)
  • "Make Some Noise" (1987) (as Model 500)
  • "Beat Track" (1987)
  • "Interference" (1988) (as Model 500)
  • "The Chase" (1989) (as Model 500)
  • "Ocean to Ocean" (1990) (as Model 500)
  • "Jazz Is the Teacher" (1993) (with Thomas Fehlmann and Moritz von Oswald, as M500 & 3MB)
  • "I See the Light" (1993) (as Model 500)
  • "Sonic Sunset" (1994) (as Model 500)
  • "The Flow" (1995) (as Model 500)
  • "Starlight" (1995) (as Model 500)
  • "I Wanna Be There" (1996) (as Model 500)
  • "Be Brave" (1998) (as Model 500)
  • "Update" (2002) (as Model 600)
  • "Outer Space" (2004) (as Model 500)
  • "OFI" / "Huesca" (2010) (as Model 500)
  • "Control" (2012) (as Model 500)
  • "Riod" (2016) (with Moritz von Oswald, as Borderland)

Filmography[edit]

Feature films[edit]

  • High Tech Soul (2006)[21]

Short films[edit]

  • Black to Techno (2019)[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Juan Atkins, Juan Maclean - A Nurvous + Rinsed Event". Resident Advisor. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Reece, Callum (November 9, 2015). "Juan Atkins in The Lab LDN". Mixmag. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Coney, Brian (December 3, 2018). "Juan Atkins reveals first-ever Cybotron live show". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Hoffmann, Heikko (November 28, 2005). "From the Autobahn to I-94". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Eede, Christian (April 9, 2019). "Techno pioneer Juan Atkins is rewiring his electro legacy". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Rafter, Andrew (May 18, 2017). "Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Derrick May set for world tour as The Belleville Three". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Ryce, Andrew (November 29, 2018). "Juan Atkins to perform first-ever Cybotron live show on new tour, starting in London". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Codrea-Rado, Anna (February 26, 2016). "Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald Celebrate 25 Years of Tresor with New Borderland Album". Vice. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d Ferguson, Ben (May 23, 2017). "Interview: Juan Atkins". Red Bull Music Academy. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Runk, David (February 10, 2003). "Techno gets its due at museum in Motown". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  11. ^ DeVito, Lee (January 15, 2020). "Cybotron, the original Detroit techno act, is returning with a new album and tour". Metro Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Mixon, Imani (May 23, 2018). "Detroit is Techno City, and techno is Black". Metro Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Tompkins, Dave (October 30, 2013). "The Things They Buried: On Cybotron's Embattled Techno Sci-Fi Masterpiece, 'Enter'". Spin. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c Leinhart, Kat (November 19, 2014). "Juan Atkins Announces New LP as Model 500". XLR8R. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Weiss, Jesse (April 21, 2016). "25 Years On, Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald Are Still Exploring the Borderland of Techno". Vice. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Wilson, Scott (February 25, 2016). "Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald return as Borderland with Transport LP". Fact. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  17. ^ "VAVA METROPLEX". VISIOPHONE. September 28, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Vava Eyewear | Metal Magazine". metalmagazine.eu. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  19. ^ Atkins, Juan (November 11, 2012). "Juan Atkins on Kraftwerk". Electronic Beats. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "This New Documentary Unearths Valuable Techno History—With Some Glaring Omissions · Feature ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  21. ^ O'Neil, Tim (December 3, 2006). "Various Artists: High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music [DVD]". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  22. ^ Coney, Brian (August 13, 2019). "The history of Detroit techno is explored in new documentary, Black to Techno". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.

External links[edit]

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