Juan Atkins, Detroit pioneer who coined term 'techno,' dies at 64

Adam Graham, The Detroit NewsSun, November 1, 2026 at 5:51 PM UTC

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Juan Atkins, the pioneering Detroit techno producer who was so essential and elemental to the sound and revolution of electronic music that he is credited with coining the term "techno," has died, his talent agency announced on Sunday. He was 64.

Atkins was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Mexico City on Oct. 31 before a scheduled performance at the Yu Yu Cine Club, according to reports. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, Resident Advisor reports.

Atkins was a member of The Belleville Three, along with his junior high school classmates Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, who are credited with inventing the techno genre. He was also known for his work with Cybotron, Borderland, and more.

Atkins' 1985 track "No UFO's," released on his own Metroplex Records, was named by Rolling Stone as one of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All-Time" (it was listed at No. 94), and Cybotron's 1983 song "Clear" was so influential that it later became the musical bed for Missy Elliott's 2005 single "Lose Control."

Atkins performed many years at Detroit's Movement festival, the annual Hart Plaza celebration of techno music, as well as its forebear, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, which launched in 2000.

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"He literally and figuratively inspired the entire elecontronic music revolution," Jason Huvaere, the head of Movement's production team, Paxahau, said on Sunday, Nov. 1. "In the words of the late Juan Atkins, nobody started calling it techno until he started calling it techno."

The Detroit Pistons honored Atkins, along with May and Saunderson, earlier this year with a merchandise collaboration.

Atkins was born in Detroit in 1962 and raised in Belleville.

agraham@detroitnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Juan Atkins, Detroit pioneer who coined term 'techno,' dies at 64

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