Florian Schneider, co-founder of the German electronic band Kraftwerk, died last week after battling cancer. He was 73.
“To say he was massively influential and changed the very sound of music, is somehow still a understatement,” tweeted filmmaker Edgar Wright.
A multi-instrumentalist, Schneider formed Kraftwerk in 1970 with Ralf Hutter released 10 studio albums up until 2003, including the acclaimed Autobahn in 1974.
Schneider left the group in 2008 and mostly stayed out of the spotlight, except for releasing an anti-pollution song in 2015.
“Florian Schneider will forever be an inspiration to the world of electronic music,” read a tweet from Moog Synthesizers. “His artistry has been influential to creatives for the last 50 years. Today, we thank and honour him for helping to guide and shape our community through sound, imagination, and innovation."
Born in Öhningen to Paul Schneider-Esbelen – an architect who redesigned Cologne Bonn Airport – he started performing music while attending school in Düsseldorf.
In 1977, David Bowie paid tribute to Schneider with the track “V-2 Schneider” on his album Heroes.
On social media, Midge Ure remembered Schneider as “way ahead of his time” and Thomas Dolby described him as “another of my great heroes gone.”
Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp tweeted: "Such an important influence upon so much of the music we know, from Bowie, to electronica, much of the 80s and beyond into modern techno and rap, Florian Schneider was forging a new Metropolis of music for us all to live in.”