By Thomas Escritt
BERLIN (Reuters) – Florian Schneider, co-founder of pioneering German electronic band Kraftwerk, which influenced generations of pop and dance musicians with mesmerising tracks such as “Autobahn”, has died of cancer aged 73, longtime bandmate Ralf Huetter said.
Kraftwerk have been a major influence for musicians ranging from Detroit techno star Juan Atkins to pop act the Pet Shop Boys and David Bowie, and is widely seen as among the first to popularise electronic music, with eventual commercial success.
“Kraftwerk co-founder and electric pioneer Ralf Huetter has sent us the very sad news that his friend and companion over many decades Florian Schneider has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday,” read a statement relayed by Kraftwerk’s publisher Warner Music.
Schneider and Huetter founded Kraftwerk in 1970 after meeting at a music academy in Duesseldorf, the German industrial city that they made their base, and they rapidly dispensed entirely with acoustic instruments. read more
He and Kraftwerk did good stuff. RIP
“now is zee time on Sprockets ven vee dance”
https://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/sprockets.gif
Soulless.
RIP anyway.
‘Souless’? Do you have any idea how influential and important they were and are???
The music was interesting and really cool.
Not EVERYTHING was my cup of tea but to call them soulless or not good is stupid and a bit tasteless.
Anyway. My sister is going to be very upset when I tell her… she and my dad bonded over weird good shit like kraftwerk. 🙁
I had the Kraftwerk cassette tape Autobahn back in 1975. I always thought that the sound of that car going from left to right in my earphones going as fast it could go on the Autobahn was such a cool sound. I haven’t heard it in years but I still remember the sound of that car.
Man,
I have them on that IPod thing
Loved them since the autobahn days
‘We are the robots’ is a great album
I listened to a lot of Kraftwerk in high school. Extremely innovative and slightly ahead of their time, their influence is noted worldwide.
Thanks for the noise, Florian. You made art, sir.
I used to work for a guy that was a German immigrant. Everything German was great, including Electronic Racket. It drove me nuts. Sprockets on SNL was funny in small doses. Didn’t that cause seizures in some kids?
Er fährt auf der ewigen Autobahn.
EDM is the Moog on coke and pills.
Stick to classic rock and the smoke…and booze. Much better for you.
New Wave was his fault, then. Now I know who was responsible.
Radioactivity is a great song.
Trans Europe Express was great. Mesmerizing. You could close your eyes and believe you were in central or eastern Europe, maybe in the 1930’s, because the music evoked the coming of dreadful events.
At one point, the beat was the sound of a piece of metal hitting another metal object, over and over…that part of it was actually called “Metal on Metal”.
My favorite was “Computer Love.” I played that record soooo many times!
Yeah, I liked Autobahn a lot, so (back in the day) I went to a Kraftwerk concert at the Aragon Ballroom. That’s time and money I won’t get back.
This Autobahn cover by Señor Coconut is a whole lotta fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9XslI1272I