Juan Atkins reignites Cybotron for first release in 28 years

Juan Atkins has hit the restart button on his iconic electro project, Cybotron — 28 years after 'Cyber Ghetto', for the two-track EP 'Maintain the Golden Ratio'.

The record is set for release on October 13 via Tresor Records. Accompanying the release, the label announced on Instagram:

"Cybotron has re-emerged in our contemporary cybercultural age when artifactual futures begin a transition into a new era of 'Meta'."

The proto-techno pioneering group was formed in 1980 by Atkins and Rik '3070' Davis, and is famed for genre-defining tracks like 'Alleys of Your Mind', 'Cosmic Cars' and 'Clear', which sampled in Missy Elliot's 'Lose Control'. The band's first album, 'Enter', came out in 1983 and is widely considered one of the first Detroit techno albums.

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After 'Enter', Atkins and Davis broke up in 1985 due to artistic differences. Cybotron lived on through Davis and new member John Housely until 1995, while Juan Atkins continued his music career under various aliases including Model 500.

Cybotron's hiatus lasted until 2018 when the group reformed under Atkins, Lauren von Oswald and Tameko J Williams AKA DJ Maaco. The latest Cybotron augmentation performed the group's first ever gigs, with the trio performing at the Barbican and Dekmantel.

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Atkins, vons Oswald and Williams donned boiler suits and welding masks and were accompanied by laser beams and techno visuals, as shown below in an excerpt of their Dekmantel performance.

Despite reforming and performing, Cybotron hadn't released any new material until Tresor announced the 'Maintain the Golden Ratio' EP late last month.

The project marks the continuation of the love affair between Tresor Records and Juan Atkins that spans over 30 years. The relationship began in 1992 with '3MB feat. Magic Juan Atkins'.

Lauren von Oswald, whose uncle Moritz worked with Atkins on '3MB' and various other projects, has writing and production credits on the new Cybotron record while TJ Hertz, AKA Objekt, is on mixdown duties. The Hessle Audio producer described it as a proud moment:

Listen to the first single, 'Maintain', and pre-order the full EP digitally and on vinyl here

Tibor Heskett is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter