Model 500

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

Model 500 is the stage name of Juan Atkins, the producer and DJ from Detroit who is regarded as one of the founders of techno. Atkins was born in 1962 and as a child played guitar and bass in funk bands. In Belleville, near Detroit, he got to know Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson; together they are called the Belleville Three. At fifteen he bought a Korg MS-10 synthesizer.

Music and breakthrough

In 1980 he started the duo Cybotron with Richard Davis, which released the track Clear in 1982 and the album Enter in 1983. In 1985 Atkins founded his own label, Metroplex, and under the name Model 500 released the records No UFO's and Night Drive. That music combined the funk of Parliament-Funkadelic with the electronic pop of Kraftwerk, and revealed a futuristic Detroit, coloured by dark science fiction. Later albums appeared under the name Model 500 such as Deep Space (1995), Mind and Body (1999) and Digital Solutions (2015).

Influence

AllMusic called Atkins the godfather of techno and his records perhaps the most influential work in the genre. What is characteristic is that his music, however mechanical, always keeps a strong melody. With Metroplex and Model 500 he laid a foundation for what later came to be called Detroit techno. Later he also worked with Moritz von Oswald in the duo Borderland.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1995Deep Space
• 1999Mind and Body
• 2004Alleys of Your Mind / Off to Battle
• 2015Digital Solutions

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 8: Electronic Music^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Detroit techno GenreAtkins began Cybotron in 1981 and in 1985, as Model 500, released No UFO's.