Florian Schneider, co-founder of electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, dies at 73
Florian Schneider, co-founder of German electronic group Kraftwerk, has died from cancer. He was 73.
The band's publicist, Alexandra Greenberg, confirmed the news Wednesday in a statement shared with USA TODAY.
"Kraftwerk co-founder and electro pioneer Ralf Hütter 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," the statement reads.
Formed in 1970, Kraftwerk is best known for helping pioneer the use of synthesizers, keyboards and vocoders in pop music, influencing artists as varied as Madonna, Daft Punk and Kanye West. Their songs have been sampled by artists including Coldplay ("Talk"), LCD Soundsystem ("Get Innocuous!"), Miley Cyrus ("Dooo It!"), and Dr. Dre ("Under Pressure" featuring Jay-Z).
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Kraftwerk scored hits including "Autobahn" and "Trans-Europe Express," named for the 1974 and 1977 albums, respectively. The group, which Schneider left in 2008, has undergone multiple lineup changes over the past five decades.
Kraftwerk won a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 2014 and the Grammy for best electronic/dance album (for live album "3-D The Catalogue") in 2018. Last fall, the band was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Tributes to the late Schneider poured in on Twitter Wednesday, with Scottish musician Midge Ure remembering him as "way ahead of his time." "Shaun of the Dead" filmmaker Edgar Wright also mourned his loss, writing, "To say he was massively influential and changed the very sound of music, is somehow still a understatement."
To say he was massively influential and changed the very sound of music, is somehow still a understatement. RIP, Florian Schneider, founder member of Kraftwerk. https://t.co/YAeV9VMlER
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) May 6, 2020
Damn. Without Kraftwerk there would be no Art Lord and the Self-Portraits, thus no Future Islands.
Kraftwerk was the crux of our musical friendship and beginnings. We wanted to be just like them. And so we were. RIP Florian, a true Lord of Art. https://t.co/zmPROZlIQJ— Future Islands (@futureislands) May 6, 2020
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider dies at 73
