Scene
Juan Atkins, one of the godfathers of techno, has passed away at the age of 64. Over the course of more than 40 years, the Detroit native didn’t just champion the techno sound that has grown into a global phenomenon, he literally invented the title of the genre.
Atkins died on October 31, 2026 after being found unresponsive in his hotel room in Mexico City, where he had been scheduled to perform at YuYu Cine Club. His agency, Greensmith Artists, confirmed that he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. A cause of death has not been officially announced.
Born in Detroit on September 12, 1962, Atkins later moved to Belleville, Michigan, where he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. The three became known collectively as the Belleville Three, a grouping whose experiments with synthesizers, drum machines, funk and European electronic music became foundational to the development of Detroit techno during the 1980s. The trio honed an aesthetic distinct from neighboring Chicago’s emerging style of house music, stripping out vintage soul for chillier, futuristic productions. While house was music was based on samples, designed to call a dance floor together, techno was meant to be challenging, alien and fundamentally new.
Following Atkins’ inventions — as noted on his track “Techno Music” — a new class of acts like Jeff Mills, Drexciya, Robert Hood and Underground Resistance would go on to formalize techno as rooted in a Black, Midwestern subculture with a distinct instrumental virtuosity. While the genre has had a cross-border dialog with Germany since its inception, Atkins was confident that he and his scene got there first. “I know I’m the first one to apply the word ‘techno’ to electronic music. I can’t claim to be the inventor or originator of electronic music, but I can definitely say that I got that.” Atkins said in an interview for The Guardian.
Atkins continued to tour and play prominent festivals like Detroit’s Movement and Amsterdam’s Dekmantel, often with his daughter, the musician Milan Ariel Atkins.
