Detroit Techno Pioneer Juan Atkins Dies at 64

Juan Atkins, the Detroit producer and DJ whose work helped shape techno, has died at 64, his management agency, Greensmith Artists, confirmed. Atkins died in Mexico City, where he had been scheduled to perform on October 31. The cause of death has not been established in the reported accounts. Management-linked reporting said Atkins was found unresponsive in his hotel room before the performance and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The scheduled appearance at YuYu Cine Club was canceled. One report cited an unconfirmed account that he had suffered a heart attack; no confirmed cause has been disclosed. Atkins’s career helped establish Detroit as a center of electronic music. He formed Cybotron with Richard Davis in the early 1980s, combining synthesizers, drum machines and influences from funk and electronic music. The duo’s 1983 track “Clear” became one of its defining recordings and helped shape the developing Detroit sound. After Cybotron split in 1985, Atkins founded the Metroplex record label and began releasing solo music as Model 500. His track “No UFOs” became an influential early Detroit techno recording. Atkins also recorded under the name...