The death of Kraftwerk founding member Florian Schneider has been announced. He was 73 years old.
His co-founder Ralf Hütter confirmed the ‘very sad news’ in a statement, writing that, ‘his friend and companion over many decades has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday’.
Schneider and Hütter first came together as classical music students in the early seventies. After various line-up changes around them, the influence on all corners of modern music, particularly from the release of Kraftwerk’s self-titled 1974 album, cannot be overstated.
It’s an impact reflected in the many tributes which have already been paid to Schneider, stretching to labels such as Defected Records who have written on social media that Schneider was a, ‘true innovator and pioneer of electronic music whose music and influence will live on forever’.