Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider has died at the age of 73, Billboard has confirmed.
In a statement, his bandmate Ralf Hütter announced: ‘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.’
In February, the legendary German electro pioneers announced a North American tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
RIP: Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider has died at the age of 73, Billboard has confirmed
The influential group – which has inspired artists from David Bowie to Kanye West and Daft Punk – planned to kick off the 27-date trek throughout the US and Canada in Seattle on June 19, with destinations including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago along with Vancouver and Montreal.
The act promised immersive ‘3-D Concerts’ — a concept launched in 2013 that fuses three-dimensional visuals and performance art with Kraftwerk’s music catalog — that will return stateside for the first time since 2016.
Florian and Ralf Hütter started Kraftwerk in Dusseldorf in 1970 as part of the experimental ‘krautrock’ movement, a broad genre blending psychedelic rock with electronic rhythms and early synthesizers.
The group, who famously said that they wanted to make music more as machines than as men, quickly gained international recognition for industrial sounds, sparse arrangements and computerised beats that provided a blueprint for later genres including electro, hip hop, techno and synthpop.
Farewell: In a statement, his bandmate Ralf Hütter announced: ‘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 (Florian pictured 2004)
Iconic: Florian and Ralf Hütter started Kraftwerk in Dusseldorf in 1970 as part of the experimental ‘krautrock’ movement, a broad genre blending psychedelic rock with electronic rhythms and early synthesizers (pictured 1973)
Kraftwerk – whose major albums include ‘Autobahn,’ ‘Trans-Europe Express’ and ‘The Man-Machine’ – were honoured in 2014 with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.
The notoriously reclusive act has been a major contributor to music technology, constructing homemade instruments and devices to craft its innovative sound.
Florian did not perform on any of the dates for Kraftwerk’s 2008 world tour and was replaced by Stefan Plaffe.
An associate of the group said that Florian left Kraftwerk in November 2008, with his departure confirmed by NME in January 2009.
Success: The group, who famously said that they wanted to make music more as machines than as men, quickly gained international recognition (pictured in 1981)
Florian’s exit from the band came with no explanation and from then on he kept a low profile.
Speaking in 2009, Ralf said his ex-bandmate ‘worked for many, many years on other projects: speech synthesis, and things like that. He was not really involved in Kraftwerk for many, many years.’
Three years ago, he insisted that he had ‘not really’ communicated with Florian since he quit the group.
Departure: Florian’s exit from the band came with no explanation and from then on he kept a low profile (pictured in 1971)
One of his last pieces of music came in 2015, when he teamed up with producer Dan Lacksman on ‘Stop Plastic Pollution’, to raise awareness for the climate crisis.
He stated that the track was about ‘taking a swim in the ocean at the coasts of Ghana, watching fishermen catch nothing but plastic garbage in their nets’.
Tributes poured in for the musician following the news of his death from figures including Gary Kemp, Midge Ure and Jeremy Vine.
Paying respects: Tributes poured in for the musician following the news of his death
Taking to Twitter, Gary wrote: ‘Such an important influence upon so much of the music we know, from Bowie, to electronica, much of the 80s and beyond into modern techno and rap, Florian Schneider was forging a new Metropolis of music for us all to live in. RIP.’
Midge Ure simply wrote: ‘Way ahead of his time’ while director Edgar Wright said: ‘To say he was massively influential and changed the very sound of music, is somehow still an understatement. RIP, Florian Schneider, founder member of Kraftwerk.’
Jeremy Vine encouraged people to go and listen to Kraftwerk’s album Autobahn, an album that sounds ‘far ahead of its time in 2020’.
Founder of The Human League and Heaven 17 Martyn Ware wrote: ‘The Future, The Human League, B.E.F. and Heaven 17 would never have existed without Florian Schneider and Kraftwerk’.
Later career: Speaking in 2009, Ralf said his ex-bandmate Florian ‘worked for many, many years on other projects: speech synthesis, and things like that’