Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider has died
Florian Schneider-Esleben, co-founder of pioneering band Kraftwerk, has died aged 73, Billboard has confirmed.
Rumours had been circulating about the death of the electronic pioneer via social media, and his cause of death is currently unknown.
The multi-media German group made an outstanding contribution to electronic music and paved the way for many different styles of electronic sounds and hip-hop, formed in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Schneider in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Born 7th April 1947, Schneider played the synthesiser, vocoder, flute, sax and more, as well as providing vocals, and left the band in 2008 after four decades with them.
David Bowie tipped his hat to Schneider’s influence via the track ‘V-2 Schneider’ on his 1977 album ‘Heroes’.
Read a selection of the tributes posted on social media below.
Farewell to the extraordinary Florian Schneider (1947-2020) of @kraftwerk – the man machine lives on through an astonishingly original back catalogue of inspirational music. pic.twitter.com/yWF5UGwq8c
— Robin Rimbaud – Scanner (@robinrimbaud) May 6, 2020
Just reading on @markreedermfs facebook profile that Florian Schneider passed away.. we still don’t have public news but seems confirmed. Impossible to describe the impact of this hero
on the foundation of every genre of Electronic music. crazy, crazy loss. pic.twitter.com/KNyqQWyi5y— Mannequin Records (@mannequinlabel) May 6, 2020
Quoting Florian Schneider would be a disservice to his legacy and the intent of his work. The music says it all. Every single note. pic.twitter.com/s2Bs1lmepy
— Ghostly (@ghostly) May 6, 2020
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