Juan Atkins, who was known as one of the founders of techno music, began his music career in 1980. (Facebook/DJ Roots pic)NEW YORK: Juan Atkins, a Detroit producer and pioneer of the techno music genre, has died at 64, his agency said on Sunday.

Atkins was found unresponsive in his hotel room ahead of a planned performance in Mexico City and later pronounced dead at hospital, his agency Greensmith Artists told Resident Advisor music magazine.

"So many years. So many stages. So many moments we'll never forget. And somehow, we always thought there would be more," Greensmith Artists said in an Instagram post, accompanied by a video of one of Atkins' past performances in a London nightclub.

Atkins began his music career in 1980, when he formed Cybotron with Richard Davis.