Kraftwerk Co-Founder Florian Schneider Dies Aged 73

Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider (pictured third from left) has sadly died at the age of 73.

Florian was the co-founder and keyboardist for the German electronic pioneers, whose music not only popularised the genre, but had an enormous impact on the world of rock and metal – influencing scene veterans like HIM, Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, Rammstein (who covered the German version of the band's 1978 single Das Model), Queens Of The Stone Age, Steve Albini and Mark Lanegan, as well as younger stars such as Enter Shikari and iDKHOW's Dallon Weekes.

As announced by the band in a statement to Rolling Stone, the musician lost a short battle with cancer, passing away "just a few days" after his 73rd birthday.

“Kraftwerk co-founder and electro pioneer Ralf Hütter has sent us the very sad news that his friend and companion over many decades,” the full statement reads. “Florian Schneider has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday.

“In the year 1968 Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider started their artistic and musical collaboration. In 1970 they founded their electronic Kling Klang studio in Düsseldorf and started the multi-media project Kraftwerk. All the Kraftwerk catalogue albums were conceived and produced there.”

As Thursday and No Devotion frontman Geoff Rickly wrote on Twitter upon hearing the news, "Hard to imagine modern music without the influence of Kraftwerk. Impossible to quantify their contribution."

Kerrang!'s thoughts are with Florian's family, friends, and everyone who knew him at this time.