Juan Atkins (born
December 9, 1962) is an
American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of
techno music,
[1] 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.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[5] 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.
