Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk Founder Dead at Age 73

According to music journalist Neil McCormick, Kraftwerk might be "the most influential group in pop history".[4] NME wrote: "'The Beatles and Kraftwerk' may not have the ring of 'the Beatles and the Stones', but nonetheless, these are the two most important bands in music history".[20] AllMusic wrote that their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century".[5]

David Bowie's "V-2 Schneider", from the 1977's Heroes album, was a tribute to Florian Schneider.[75] Post-punk bands Joy Division and New Order were heavily influenced by the band. Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was a fan, and showed his colleagues records that would influence their music

Florian Schneider of German electronic band Kraftwerk has died, Billboard confirms. He was 73.

Schneider formed the influential group and multimedia project with Ralf Hutter in 1970. Kraftwerk -- with its use of electronic instruments that included homemade and custom-built devices -- has been widely credited with pioneering electronic music and influencing various genres across the musical spectrum, including hip-hop, synthpop and rock with their soundscapes, experimentation and technical innovations.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Kraftwerk, if you like them or not, was seminal in the advancement of techno music.

They were supposed to play Red Rocks this month. Im lucky I have seen them before.

Here's to the music and joy brought to the world by Florian.

Florian Schneider Dies at 73

According to music journalist Neil McCormick, Kraftwerk might be "the most influential group in pop history".[4] NME wrote: "'The Beatles and Kraftwerk' may not have the ring of 'the Beatles and the Stones', but nonetheless, these are the two most important bands in music history".[20] AllMusic wrote that their music "resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century".[5]

Kraftwerk's musical style and image can be heard and seen in 1980s synthpop groups such as Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, and Soft Cell.[65][20][66] Kraftwerk would also go on to influence other forms of music such as hip hop, house, and drum and bass, and they are also regarded as pioneers of the electro genre.[67]

Most notably, "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers" were interpolated into "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, one of the earliest hip-hop/electro hits. Kraftwerk helped ignite the New York electro-movement.[12]

Techno was created by three musicians from Detroit, often referred to as the 'Belleville three' (Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May), who fused the repetitive melodies of Kraftwerk with funk rhythms.[68]

The Belleville three were heavily influenced by Kraftwerk and their sounds because Kraftwerk's sounds appealed to the middle-class blacks residing in Detroit at this time.[12] Depeche Mode's composer Martin Gore emphasized: "For anyone of our generation involved in electronic music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers".[4]

Vince Clarke of Erasure, Yazoo and Depeche Mode, is also a notable disco and Kraftwerk fan. Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records, purchased the vocoder used by Kraftwerk in their early albums, comparing it to owning "the guitar Jimi Hendrix used on 'Purple Haze'".[69] Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, founding members of OMD, have stated that Kraftwerk was a major reference on their early work,[70] and covered "Neon Lights" on the 1991 album, Sugar Tax.[71]

The electronic band Ladytron were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when they composed their debut single "He Took Her To a Movie". Richard D James a.k.a. Aphex Twin, has noted Kraftwerk as one of his biggest influences and called Computer World as a very influential album towards his music and sound.[72]

Björk has cited the band as one of her main musical influences.[73] Electronic musician Kompressor has cited Kraftwerk as an influence. The band was also mentioned in the song "Rappers We Crush" by Kompressor and MC Frontalot ("I hurry away, get in my Chrysler. Oh, the dismay!/Someone's replaced all of my Backstreet Boys with Kraftwerk tapes!"). Dr. Alex Paterson of the Orb listed The Man-Machine as one of his 13 most favourite albums of all time.[74]

According to NME, Kraftwerk's pioneering "robot pop" also spawned groups like Prodigy and Daft Punk.[20]

Kraftwerk inspired many acts from other styles and genres. David Bowie's "V-2 Schneider", from the 1977's Heroes album, was a tribute to Florian Schneider.[75] Post-punk bands Joy Division and New Order were heavily influenced by the band. Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was a fan, and showed his colleagues records that would influence their music.[76]

New Order also would sample "Uranium" in its biggest hit "Blue Monday".[77] Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded a cover of "Hall of Mirrors" on their 1987 album Through the Looking Glass which was lauded by Ralf Hütter: "In general, we consider cover versions as an appreciation of our work. The version of "Hall of Mirrors" by Siouxsie and the Banshees is extraordinary, just like the arrangements of Alexander Bălănescu for his Bălănescu Quartet release [of Possessed, 1992]. We also like the album El Baile Alemán of Señor Coconut a lot."[78]

Members of Blondie have admitted on several occasions that Kraftwerk were an important reference for their sound by the time they were working on their third album Parallel Lines. The worldwide hit "Heart of Glass" turned radically from an initial reggae-flavoured style to its distinctive electronic sound in order to imitate the technological approach of Kraftwerk's albums and adapt it to a disco concept.[79]

U2 recorded a cover version of "Neon Lights" as did Simple Minds.[80] An LCD Soundsystem song called "Get Innocuous!" is built on a bass line reminiscent of Kraftwerk single "The Robots". The band also performed some Kraftwerk songs as snippets during live shows. Franz Ferdinand were inspired by Kraftwerk's song "The Model" when writing their song "Walk Away".

Rammstein also covered their song, Das Modell releasing it on a non-album single in 1997. John Frusciante cited the ability to experiment of the group as an inspiration when working in a recording studio.[81]

They Influnced a lot of Bands

a reply to: ColoradoJens

Gutted.

A huge influence on both listeners and artists alike.

I can still remember hearing The Model for the first time.

Thankfully his legacy will live on and his name be forever remembered.

RIP and thanks for the music.

a reply to: ColoradoJens

RIP, I have the mix album on vinyl, they really were groundbreaking



I adore Trans Europe Express



Can you imagine driving across Europe, soft top car, sun beaming, love of your life in passenger seat

makes life worth living, thanks for the dreams and memories Florian


How Florian Schneider and Kraftwerk influenced five decades of music

But not everyone was impressed. In the era of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, the music press treated the pioneers with a sneering suspicion. "For God's sake, keep the robots out of music," wrote Melody Maker's Keith Ging. "They sound so detached," complained the NME. "The kind of guys who could blow up the planet just to hear the noise it made."

a reply to: ColoradoJens
I tried to listen to a couple of the videos you posted, but then I realized after about a minute of listening I would rather be kicked in the balls. But sorry the guy died.

I was a fan and love many songs till today. But i hate those guys meanwhile, greed made them attack other artists which sampled 2 seconds from Metall auf Metall when Kraftwerk almost was forgotten here:

BGH judgment on Kraftwerk sample
Pelham gets right, but the litigation continues

"The Frankfurt hiphopper Moses Pelham has been arguing with the Kraftwerk group for over 20 years: it's about a snippet of music that Pelham had taken over for a song. The Federal Court of Justice has now ruled. But the legal tug of war is not over yet.

It is probably the most famous two seconds of music in German legal history: For 23 years a dispute between the electropop group Kraftwerk and the Frankfurt rapper and music producer Moses Pelham has been raging over a so-called sample, a snippet of music.

At that time, Pelham had copied a two-second sequence from the Kraftwerk title "Metal on Metal" for a song by rapper Sabrina Setlur and placed it under her piece in a modified form - an actually common procedure in hiphop. Kraftwerk had sued against this. The band had not been asked beforehand. The case went through various instances to the European Court of Justice.

BGH judgment: EU directive tightened sampling law
Now the final decision is getting closer: On Thursday, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe, which dealt with the case for the third time, ruled. According to the judges, Moses Pelham was allowed to copy the sequence in 1997 without asking and put it under the song. At that time, such samples were largely covered by the freedom of art.

Since December 2002, however, an EU directive has tightened the regulations: According to this, sampling is only allowed if the snippet is changed so that it can no longer be recognized in the new song. And that, according to the BGH, was not the case with the Setlur song.

It is unclear whether recordings were still made with the Setlur song after 2002. Other open questions have yet to be clarified. Therefore, the case ends up again at the Hamburg Higher Regional Court - where the legal dispute began many years ago.

23 years of litigation for two seconds - a chronology:
1977: The band Kraftwerk publishes its title "Metal on Metal".
1997: Moses Pelham uses a two-second sequence from it and places it in a modified form as an endless loop under the piece "Nur mir" by the rapper Sabrina Setlur.
1999: Kraftwerk files a lawsuit for damages and injunctive relief with the Hamburg district court. The case is first heard in the Hamburg Higher Regional Court. Pelham is no longer allowed to sell the song and the associated album.
2008: The BGH overturns the judgment of the Higher Regional Court and thus initially approves Pelham.
2012: Second trial before the BGH. This time the verdict is: Pelham could - and should - have reproduced the sample itself. For the time being, Kraftwerk is right.
2016: The Federal Constitutional Court overrides the second BGH ruling and refers to the good of artistic freedom. The case is returned to the BGH, which finally submits it to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for assessment.
July 2019: The CJEU decides: Musicians may extract audio fragments from other pieces - but only if they are used "in a new work in a modified form that is unrecognizable when listening".
January 2020: The BGH is negotiating the litigation again.
April 30, 2020: According to the BGH ruling, Pelham was allowed to produce the song at the time, but it is objectionable according to an EU directive that was only issued in 2002. The ball is now - for the possibly final judgment - again at the Hamburg Higher Regional Court."
Link

Greedy old farts, one less now.

originally posted by: Cymru
a reply to: ColoradoJens

Gutted.

A huge influence on both listeners and artists alike.

I can still remember hearing The Model for the first time.

Thankfully his legacy will live on and his name be forever remembered.

RIP and thanks for the music.

Yeah, agreed that his legacy will live on forever. Too unique.

One of the greatest hip hop songs ever sampled Kraftwerx....




Wack ass IP lawyers can't embedded Planet Rock...

originally posted by: MRinder
a reply to: ColoradoJens
I tried to listen to a couple of the videos you posted, but then I realized after about a minute of listening I would rather be kicked in the balls. But sorry the guy died.

You must not like Techno, HipHop, Acts like US, Blonde, Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, Soft Cell, Eurythmics, Oingo Boingo, Erasure, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Joy Division, New Order, DEVO, Rammstein, NIN, OMD, Kompressor, Beastie Boys, Aphex Twin, LadyTron, man I could go on and on about their influence seriously...

That or you don't know music?

Auf Wiedersehen Florian Schneider!

a reply to: ColoradoJens

Damn, the Stranglers Dave Greenfield and now this. I've always been a fan- there are certain times and certain moods where Kraftwerk is the only choice. R.I.P. Florian

a reply to: UpIsNowDown

I love that tune. So hypnotic.

Trans Europe Express was openly copied and owned by 80's Detroit electro artists as Edumacated so aptly pointed out.

So awesome considering they were German white as ghost robots.

The entire basis of this song is Computer Love:



Argument for Kraftwerk as Most Influential Band

a reply to: ColoradoJens

Who sampled?

A lot more than we realised ....

www.whosampled.com...

Kraftwerk
769 samples, 180 covers, 56 remixes

originally posted by: abeverage

originally posted by: MRinder
a reply to: ColoradoJens
I tried to listen to a couple of the videos you posted, but then I realized after about a minute of listening I would rather be kicked in the balls. But sorry the guy died.

You must not like Techno, HipHop, Acts like US, Blonde, Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, Soft Cell, Eurythmics, Oingo Boingo, Erasure, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Joy Division, New Order, DEVO, Rammstein, NIN, OMD, Kompressor, Beastie Boys, Aphex Twin, LadyTron, man I could go on and on about their influence seriously...

That or you don't know music?

Auf Wiedersehen Florian Schneider!

One thing that was original (at least to me) was that they would sing in multiple languages.

The kings of electronic cool singing in Italian about a pocket calculator. So hilarious and awesome at the same time.



Making fans in Japan happy (Japanese starts around 3:25)

a reply to: ColoradoJens

The funniest thing is the Italian host saying pocket calculator in English.

Neither German nor Italian.

originally posted by: abeverage

originally posted by: MRinder
a reply to: ColoradoJens
I tried to listen to a couple of the videos you posted, but then I realized after about a minute of listening I would rather be kicked in the balls. But sorry the guy died.

You must not like Techno, HipHop, Acts like US, Blonde, Gary Numan, Ultravox, John Foxx, Human League, Depeche Mode, Visage, Soft Cell, Eurythmics, Oingo Boingo, Erasure, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Joy Division, New Order, DEVO, Rammstein, NIN, OMD, Kompressor, Beastie Boys, Aphex Twin, LadyTron, man I could go on and on about their influence seriously...

That or you don't know music?

Auf Wiedersehen Florian Schneider!

Indeed !!

MRinder why even post that.

As must as I respect the fact you said you are sad Florian has passed, why disrespect a catalogue of music of which he was jointly responsible? That also influenced and entertained so many.
What is your preferred genre?

a reply to: underpass61

Yeah underpass61 tough past week in the world of music. I feel old. True artists each of them.

One thing that was great about Kraftwerk is they have great melodies in addition to the synth crunch.

MoMA Residency for Kraftwerk. A band on Exhibit.

a reply to: ColoradoJens

As an ex-glam musician, I'll never forgive Florian for what he did to David Bowie.

As a music lover I'll never have the chance to thank him enough!