Cybotron was a pioneering and influential American electro music group formed in 1980 by Juan Atkins and Richard “3070” Davis in Detroit. Guitarist John “Jon 5” Housley joined soon afterward. Cybotron had a number of singles now considered classics of the electro genre, particularly “Clear” and the group’s debut, “Alleys Of Your Mind”, as well as “Cosmic Cars” and “R 9”.The group was inspired by midwestern funk, especially the music of George Clinton, along with German synthesizer pioneers, Kraftwerk, Japanese electro pioneers, Yellow Magic Orchestra, English electropop, Italo disco and futurist literary influences such as Alvin Toffler’s books Future Shock and The Third Wave. The name “Cybotron”, coined by Atkins, is a portmanteau of cyborg and cyclotron. Atkins was fond of creating such “futuristic sounding” words — the record label names “Metroplex” and “Transmat” being other examples.