Sad news today as it’s being reported that Florian Schneider of the hugely influential German electronic band Kraftwerk has passed away. He was 73.
I’ve been a major fan of Kraftwerk since I discovered their music in college, and seeing how they influenced the entirety of electronic music, hip-hop culture, and high-minded artistic aesthetics has changed a lot of how I view the world of music.
Schneider left the group in 2008, and they had planned to resume touring this year before the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak struck and cancelled touring plans for most artists across the globe.
If you haven’t seen their incredible Minimum Maximum live concert, you are missing out.
Before Schneider was part of forming Kraftwerk together with Ralf Hutter, they were part of a psychedelic group called the Organisation.
The Guardian is reporting that the cause of death was cancer, and they also confirmed that Schneider had died a week ago and had a private burial.
rest in peace Florian Schneider. if you had to unpack his influence to someone unaware of him, it would be near impossible. it runs too deep through so much of what we love, genres on genres, through decades of music
a true freak, a goofball, a visionaryhttps://t.co/la5QdiD406
— Good Willsmith (@GoodWillsmith) May 6, 2020
