Co-Founder of Kraftwerk, Florian Schneider, Has Died

German electronic artist and the co-founder of the band Kraftwerk, Florian Schneider has died at the age of 73.

According to a statement from the band's co-founder Ralf Hütter, Schneider passed away due to a bout with cancer, having just recently celebrated his birthday days ago. 

The duo originally connected in 1968 and went on to establish Düsseldorf’s famous Kling-Klang-Studio, eventually forming and launching their band Kraftwerk in 1970. Schneider helped to push the needle of electronic and dance sounds through recordings with the group including albums Autobahn, Radio Activity, The-Man Machine and others before departing from the band in 2008 to pursue a solo career.

Along with Kraftwerk, Schneider became well known for fusing his instrumentation on synthesizer and vocoder with dance and pop sensibilities to create heavily industrial takes on electronic.

The German band he helped found toyed with ideas about technology and society, leaving a profound mark on the rock, dance music, and hip-hop.

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