Superstar DJ and produer Juan Atkins goes deep on detroit, dance music and the birth of techno
’ name came up. Without him, we all would be nothing — that’s how WestBam described him. I was surprised to learn that the two had never met. It was a coincidence that Atkins, whom I’d met earlier, was in town that night. So we spontaneously invited him over, and 20 minutes later, he joined us for dinner. WestBam treated Atkins with extreme respect.
His wife opened the door with a smile: Atkins is getting ready, she tells me; they had a late night yesterday. I ask if I should have a short walk around. Her answer: “No, that’s too dangerous. There are many shootings here. Yesterday they killed a man just across the street. Come in!“ A few minutes later, Atkins showed up, wearing gray joggers, and asked me to join him in his small office. He sat down at his desk, straight-backed, like the boss.
I got much more musical inspiration from my grandma because she owned a Hammond B3 organ. When we went to live with her, she played on it. Mainly the boogie-woogie. And I used to play around with this organ.The guitar came way after the organ, but I was never really disciplined to play like I should have or could have, you know.A Sly and the Family Stone song, because I was playing bass, too. And that was a classic bass line, boom, ba boom boom boom … also Eddie Kendricks’ “Keep on Truckin’.
As you know, I used to be a bass guitarist as well. For me it was the combination of rhythm and the deep sound. The physical experience. The sound and vibrations that you feel with your whole body. Why the bass for you? Yeah, definitely, it was straight from Toffler. The label Metroplex is short for metro complex. And a metro complex is the merging of two cities, like the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex. Eventually, Detroit and Chicago will become a metroplex, if it’s not already.When my grandma bought me that synthesizer, I saw I had the ability. As a Black kid living in Belleville , it was like the next person who played any type of instrument lived like 10 or 15 miles away from me.
Derrick and Kevin were not into music at all — they were playing football. They were in my brother’s class, which was two years under me, so they were actually his friends. Somehow me and Derrick became friends, and I would beat him in chess or whatever. So, Kraftwerk reminded you of what you were doing, but they had better equipment, more professional resources. Is it fair to say that it also felt a bit like a confirmation that you were on the right track?
Here’s the thing. Even before Kraftwerk, there were records like “Flash Light,” like “One Nation Under a Groove,” that were mostly electronic. “Flash Light,” by Funkadelic, was closest to my sound. As a matter of fact, if I had to point to a direct influence, I’d have to say “Flash Light.” So, people were hanging around me, and Kevin and Derrick were my friends. You know, we’d go to a party and all the girls wanted to talk to me because I was Cybotron. Derrick and Kevin wanted that too. They were athletes, they played high school football. Eventually, as we were hanging out together, kind of rubbed off on him. Kevin was Derrick’s friend.
No. The DJ’ing and a lot of this stuff happened organically. There was never a blueprint to it; nobody knew what the hell was gonna happen next. We were just some kids doing what was fun. Having technology propel our ambitions or make it easier. You know what I’m saying? It was like it went hand in hand. But it wasn’t like somebody sat down and said, “OK, we’ll use the synthesizer to make this type of drum sound, and then we’re gonna play it at the club.” Nobody was planning.
Well, there was a stop before Berlin. The U.K. was where we started dabbling in international affairs. It jumped off into continental Europe from our trips to London, actually to northern England and the Midlands … Neil Rushton managed me, Derrick, and Kevin at one time. And it was him who made the Virgin Records deal with Richard Branson. They released the first Detroit record, and they called it “techno.
And if you miss the synchronization of a beat, too. Today, there is no risk because you have the technology. It’s done automatically by auto sync. There used to be a saying, “think long, think wrong,” you know? You could probably see this when I’m playing — I feel a synergy with the people that I’m playing for. And it’s more to me than playing certain places or certain songs, or a certain set for political reasons.The synth is the basic parameter or the basic tool for the creation of techno music because it’s electronic. It’s not an acoustic guitar, it’s not a horn. You won’t usually find any acoustic essence in techno music.
I don’t think there’s any outside substance, especially a mind-altering substance that will help make me better.
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