Departures of note

Juan Atkins was an American record producer, DJ and electronic music pioneer from Detroit, widely hailed as the originator, or godfather, of techno. With high school friends Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, he formed the Belleville Three, the group credited with inventing the genre, blending the cosmic funk of Parliament-Funkadelic with the synthesized sounds of Kraftwerk and futuristic themes drawn from Alvin Toffler's writings.

In 1980 he co-founded the duo Cybotron with Richard Davis, releasing early electro classics such as "Clear" and "Techno City." After the duo split in 1985, he launched his own Metroplex label and began recording under the alias Model 500, whose landmark single "No UFO's" is generally regarded as the first techno production. He continued releasing records under names including Infiniti and collaborated with Moritz von Oswald as the duo Borderland.

Atkins was honored as one of the most influential figures in electronic music, and his writing credit on Cybotron's "Clear" featured on a Missy Elliott record that earned a Grammy nomination. He remained active as a DJ and producer for decades, championing the Detroit sound worldwide and mentoring the next generations of electronic musicians.