At the dawn of the 1980s, Juan Atkins began recording what stands as perhaps the most influential body of work in the field of techno. Exploring his vision of a futuristic music which welded the more cosmic side of Parliament funk rigid computer synth-pop. After he left the progressively album-oriented Cybotron to begin working alone, he released his most seminal material from 1985 to 1989 as Model 500. Atkins recorded much more during the 1990s than he had during the '80s, soaking up new rhythmic elements from contemporary dance music but keeping his unerring, instantly recognisable sense of melody intact throughout. As the electronic scene began looking back to the past to find musical innovators, Atkins was a name much-discussed and anthologized, hailed as the godfather of techno.
