Juan Atkins | MOTION
Born in Detroit in 1962 (the son of a concert promoter), Atkins began playing bass as a teenager and moved on to keyboards and synthesizers after being turned on to their use in Parliament records. Two local DJs, Ken Collier and the Electrifyin' Mojo, first introduced Atkins to a wide range of other synthesizer-driven bands -- Kraftwerk, Telex, Gary Numan, Prince, the B-52's -- in the late '70s. Atkins then turned on two friends he had met (initially through his younger brother) while attending Belleville Junior High School, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. He also bought his first synthesizer, a Korg MS10, and began recording with cassette decks and a mixer for overdubs.
