Juan Atkins
The philosophical architect of Detroit techno, born in 1962 to a father who was a concert promoter bringing acts like Norman Connors, Michael Henderson, and Barry White to Detroit. Started making recordings in his Belleville house in 1979 using two cassette decks, a Korg MS-10 synthesizer, and a four-channel mixer. Formed Cybotron with Rick Davis in 1980, releasing "Alleys of Your Mind" in 1981 (15,000 copies sold) and the proto-techno landmark "Clear" in 1982. After Cybotron split in 1985, launched Metroplex Records and created the Model 500 project, releasing tracks that fused Parliament-Funkadelic's cosmic funk with Kraftwerk's mechanical precision. Mixmag called him "the original pioneer of Detroit techno," while AllMusic conferred the title "godfather of techno." Recently relaunched Cybotron and presents "Respect The Sound" masterclasses at Berklee and MIT, exploring connections between music, sound theory, frequency, and vibrations. Collaborated with Moritz von Oswald on the Borderland project.