Friday night at IICON, and the giant digital face of the stage stared out over a packed field. Behind the gear stood Juan Atkins, a founding figure in techno, returning with a new version of Cybotron. For 60 minutes, Glastonbury’s most futuristic arena became a history lesson in electronic music – delivered with force, precision and vision.
A Detroit origin story, reloaded
This wasn’t a nostalgia set. Rebooted in recent years with Berlin-based artist Laurens von Oswald and Detroit electro producer DJ Maaco (of Detroit In Effect), Cybotron now operates as both a legacy and a living project. The sound was tight, the visual direction controlled, and the message clear: techno’s roots still hold and they still matter.
The set followed a carefully constructed arc. It opened with “Tournaments of Mind”, a dark, glitchy unreleased track that booted the system into action. “Earth”, a recent release, followed – stark, processed and grounded in voice and machine. Then came “R-9”, one of Cybotron’s earliest classics, reimagined here amid AI-crafted visuals and sculptural lighting.
Visuals with a purpose
Each track was paired with a distinct visual identity – not just effects but a narrative built in light, structure, and symbolism. The title track “12” was a standout: fast-cut broadcasts from alternate realities, cryptic symbols and AI-generated documentary footage woven into a hypnotic reel.
The visual direction was rooted in minimalism and symmetry – grids, smoke, strobes, radial lighting and strict palettes of red, white and negative space. Projection mapping was used sparingly but effectively, wrapping IICON’s brutalist shell in fragments of Cybotron lore and cosmic mythos.
This was not a spectacle for its own sake. It was a deliberate, disciplined audiovisual work with lighting acting as architecture and blackouts as punctuation. The collaboration between artists and production crew gave the show serious weight and cohesion – rare for a festival setting.
Set highlights
“12” – The show’s thematic core. Visually and structurally ambitious, the title track from the forthcoming album was accompanied by rapid-fire cut-ups of future-past ephemera – an Afrofuturist media storm.
“Clear” – Still a defining track. Stark, rhythmic and immensely physical when delivered at IICON scale. The visuals here featured rotating slogans and layered text that gradually moved from black and white into colour.
“Alleys of Your Mind” – An introspective detour into early Detroit sound. Paired with trippy inner-mind visuals, pure RGB lighting and glitchy rave symbolism.
“Cosmic Cars” – Full of bounce and swagger, layered with surreal mashups of retro driving footage and videogame absurdity.
“El Salvador” – Driven by redacted CIA documents and flashes of brutalist geometry, the visuals matched the track’s underlying message about hidden histories and systemic control.
Production and impact
IICON’s setup was a huge part of the experience. The bass was heavy but clear and the sound system flawless. Visually, the show made full use of the stage’s capabilities – from deep red washes to eerie 3D mapping effects. It was less spectacle, more atmosphere. The crowd was into it: focused, locked in, fully present.
Towards the end there was a sense of release — a final build of pressure followed by movement. Even security were nodding along.
Final thoughts
Cybotron didn’t just look back – it moved forward. The set was sharp, structured and intentional. It reminded people why Detroit matters and how the ideas behind techno still carry weight. Atkins, von Oswald and DJ Maaco delivered something rare: a show with depth, great sound and a clear point of view.
On a weekend heavy with light shows and viral moments; this stood out for different reasons. It reminded audiences where techno came from – and pointed, carefully, to where it might still go.
It also marked a defining moment for Block9 – aligning perfectly with the area’s focus on radical audio-visual storytelling, underground culture and music as a vehicle for resistance and reimagination.
