Florian Schneider, co-founder of the influential and innovative German group Kraftwerk, died on Wednesday, the 6th. The 73-year-old multi-instrumentalist was battling cancer.
Born in Öhningen, in southern Germany on April 7, 1947, Schneider founded Kraftwerk with Ralf Hütter in 1970. The pioneer of electronic music, the group is considered one of the most influential in pop music, in diverse genres such as rock and hip hop.
David Bowie paid tribute to Schneider on the instrumental track “V-2 Schneider” from the album ‘Heroes’, recorded during the period when the English singer lived in Berlin.
Schneider left Kraftwerk in 2008.
