Kraftwerk founder Florian Schneider dies aged 73
- Electric music pioneer died of cancer, group’s managers said
- Kraftwerk, which Schneider set up with Ralf Hutter in 1970, helped lay foundations for hip-hop, synth-pop, techno and house
The co-founder of electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, Florian Schneider, has died at the age of 73 from cancer, the managers of the group announced on Wednesday.
The band, which he set up with co-founder Ralf Hutter in 1970, changed electronic music, laying down the foundations for hip-hop, synth-pop, techno and house.
“Florian Schneider died after a short cancer, just a few days after his 73rd birthday,” said Alexandra Greenberg, one of the group’s managers, quoting comments from Hutter.
Born in Ohningen in West Germany in April 1947, Schneider started collaborating with Hutter in 1968.
The pair combined their German mother tongue with synthesisers and drum machines to create“krautrock”, a major contrast to the Anglo-Saxon pop brought in by the British and American troops in Germany.
Some have placed Kraftwerk’s influence on pop music on a par with that of The Beatles.
