MODEL 500

In the early eighties, in a remote part of Detroit the stars and stripes of the American dream had overlooked, a new machine-driven dance music was created. Fired by the metronomic screech of Kraftwerk and the mindwarping space grooves of Funkadelic, a group of black musicians designed a new sound. Born of the harsh urban environs in an industrial terrain, their experimental records redrew the map of cities everywhere. JUAN ATKINS gave this music a name, and consequently redefined creative expression by interpreting motion and machines. Born and raised in Detroit, He grew up mainly on the northwest side, where he attended high school in the suburban area of Belleville until 1980. Here he met Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, his future techno compatriots. He first came to prominence in the early eighties with Cybotron, a techno-electro outfit he formed with Rick Davis. The duo achieved some success, but they eventually split up because of conflicting musical viewpoints. Atkins then started working solo as MODEL 500, releasing on his own Metroplex label polished, minimalist hi-tech dance music gems such as No UFO's, The Chase, Night Drive and Interference (most of these were later compiled and re-issued as the first release in R & S Records' Classics series). Juan's reputation really started to spread in the second half of the eighties, when the new Detroit dance movement reached the shores of Europe. He was frequently invited to remix tracks for other artists (as diverse as Inner City, Dr. Robert & Kym Mazelle, Coldcut, Yazz, Fine Young Cannibals, Seal, Tom Tom Club, The Beloved and Style Council), but his own artistic output wasn't exactly prolific in those days. On top of that, most of his records were hard to find, lacking proper distribution and promotion. It wasn't until the beginning of the nineties, when Model 500 came to R & S Records, that releases like the Classics compilation and the brilliant mini-album Sonic Sunset received the attention they deserved. With a new full-length album (entitled Deep Space) scheduled for release in May 1995, it's likely that a whole new generation of dance enthusiasts will get to know better one of the prime movers of the genre they love so dearly. Juan Atkins is a musician who thinks carefully about sound and composition. As a result, his releases always sound highly crafted: it's music made to last. His skills as a DJ he acquired by listening to mix shows on the radio when he was still a teenager. Later he went on to making music himself, inspired by the emergence of synthesizer technology. "That introduced me to the whole scene, the whole thing", says Juan. "You don't really know a synthesizer unless you own one, I guess. I learned about oscillators and waveforms, and things of that nature." His vision has not wavered since, his target remains, his perception fixed. As for the place where it all began: "Detroit is still a post-industrial city, and still somewhat boring. I think that leads to a lot of creativity, because there's no clubs to go to, there's not a lot of things to do, so folks just sit home and make music." Techno has moved beyond the aurascapes of the inner cities, has left its birthplace and colonised an entire generation across the world. And it's still evolving: "The music is becoming more focused on the person behind the machine as opposed to the machine in the sound", he affirms. "The emphasis is definitely on creativity now. People know this technology: everybody has a JD-800, everybody has a Roland 909 or an 808. It's what they do with the equipment that counts. I think the people who stand out are the truly talented, thinking people." You can be sure Juan Atkins is one of them.

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