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Model 500 (Juan Atkins)

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Model 500 (Juan Atkins) · Juan Atkins was born in 1962 in Detroit, Michigan. His father organised concerts and Atkins played guitar and bass guitar in funk bands with friends as a child. After his parents' divorce he moved to Belleville, Michigan. At high school he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, who together later came to be called the Belleville Three. At fifteen he bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS-10.

Music and breakthrough

In 1980 he founded the group Cybotron with Richard Davis, which released the album Enter in 1983. The track Clear from 1982 is regarded by AllMusic as the best starting point for techno. In 1985 the duo split up. That year Atkins founded the label Metroplex and began making solo records under the name Model 500, such as No UFO's. Later Deep Space (1995), Mind and Body (1999) and Digital Solutions (2015) followed under that name. Together with Moritz von Oswald he forms the duo Borderland.

Influence

His music fuses the cosmic side of Parliament and Funkadelic with the tight computer pop of Kraftwerk and with the visions of the future of the sociologist Alvin Toffler. He drew inspiration from dystopian science fiction and always showed a clear sense of melody in doing so. He grew up with the radio shows of The Electrifying Mojo. Mixmag calls him the original pioneer of Detroit techno, and AllMusic calls him the godfather of techno.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to No UFO's and notice the cool synthesizer sounds and the tight rhythm of the drum machine. Can you hear that the melody has a character of its own, almost human, even though everything is electronic?
Categories: ArtistsDetroit techno