It’s a loss that’s beyond words. Juan Atkins, who coined the term “techno” and is often called “ the originator,” has died at 64. My deepest condolences to friends, family, and so many people I know who worked with and were inspired by this singular human being.

Cybotron, 1980. Model 500. Infiniti. Borderland, with Moritz von Oswald. The projects alone from Juan Atkins make up headings in the history of techno. (Speaking of people whose memory to keep, I am just rereading Dan Sicko’s Techno Rebels .) This is a history we need to get right, to respect what Juan Atkins achieved: some of the seminal fusion of funk and soul with the electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and the like, and “techno” as a term.

But we’re also losing pioneers, and we need to constantly be aware of life’s fragility, that we’re not just machines — love the machines as we do.

The agency Greensmith Artists has right up to the obituary for yesterday the record of how active Juan Atkins has remained up until the last, including this shoot for…