Juan Atkins

December 9, 1962 — Detroit, Michigan, USA

Juan Atkins, an American DJ and record producer often hailed as "the Godfather of Techno," was born September 12, 1962, in Detroit, Michigan. He met friends Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson in junior high school after moving to Belleville, Michigan. The trio would come to be known as The Belleville Three. Atkins joined with Richard Davis in 1980 to form Cybotron. Their debut studio release, the electro album Enter, was released three years later. Atkins later left Cybotron and released music under the monikers Model 500 and Infiniti, among others, and as one half of the duo Borderland. Atkins, along with Saunderson, May and Eddie Fowlkes, is credited with originating the music genre techno.