The classics that techno was Modelled on

The mid-1980s was a crucial time in Detroit techno history: a rapidly fluctuating scene on the horizon with the likes of +8, Underground Resistance and Octave One all waiting around the corner and due to rapidly shift the sound of techno and electronic music in the early 90s. Countless acts would emerge from the city’s scene, but ultimately they all stem from one singularity: The Belleville Three.

Largely credited with inventing Detroit techno, these three inseparable friends worked nebulously, not a solid act per se, but an idea, retroactively seeming like a religion. All three – Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson – would continue to blaze a trail in the town that put the world on wheels and go on to influence Aphex Twin, SOPHIE, Richie Hawtin and just about any producer who knows their stuff. One of these power players is born-and-raised city native Juan Atkins, the big daddy of them all.

After forming the short-lived double act Cybotron with Richard Davis in 1980, a one-album label deal ended in the act being largely forgotten – despite being one of the first to truly dip their toes in the techno water. Atkins split away to found his record label, Metroplex, and his now-legendary moniker Model 500, a project that changed the city forever.

Enter Classics, Atkins’ first official LP as Model 500, which aimed to catalogue the best of Atkins’ work from 1985-1990. The first wave was preparing to hand the torch over to the second generation of Detroit pioneers, so the 1993 release was a way of keeping Atkins’ legacy alive as the age of the internet was dawning. It was instantly hailed as a classic and now, 30 decades after the fact, it’s hailed as a techno bible to rival even that of its German predecessors.

‘No Ufo’s – Remix’, the driving opening track, would be cited by many as a favourite with its alien korgs, chopped-up vocal sample and head-pounding liquidy synths acting as a retro-futuristic baseline. Atkins’ unique take on basslines in his cuts comes from his childhood of bass-playing in funk bands with the neighbourhood kids. 

‘Night Drive (Time, Space, Transmat)’ is the most forward-looking track in the bunch, containing hints of the softer, more acidic sensibilities that the scene successors would favour (as well as the sound exploration that would influence Aphex Twin for music of his career). Another synth-soup with a bubbly lead synth against the robotic “Time, Space, Transmat” vocal that almost certainly uses the same presets that Benny Benassi and The Biz would use for ‘Satisfaction’. The scratchy concoction gives way to more groovy cuts like the melodic, droning ‘Electric Entourage’ and its tongue-in-cheek “Chicki chika!” sample from Yello’s iconic track ‘Oh Yeah’ that has been condemned to meme-status for eternity. A personal favourite is ‘Electronic – Remix’, a smooth foot-shuffler that conjures great nights wearing phat pants with smoky lasers in some rundown hole-in-the-wall. ‘Classics’ is one of a few electronic albums that will remain eternally fresh to our ears, and hopefully, the anniversary re-issue reintroduces Juan Atkins to an entirely new generation, just as this compilation did in 1993.

CK Faulkner

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