Neu!'s Michael Rother pays tribute to Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider

Michael Rother, of krautrock greats Neu! and Harmonia, was also briefly a member of Kraftwerk (also with Neu!’s Klaus Dinger), and he’s now penned a tribute to that group’s Florian Schneider, who died last week, for Uncut. “The news of Florian Schneider’s passing hit me like a blow,” he writes. “Even though we hadn’t met or spoken for many years, he was always firmly in my mind as one of the most important musical figures of my life. In the late ’60s, we were both pupils at the same school in Düsseldorf (Rethel Gymnasium), and I noticed this guy with an awkward way of walking who played flute in the classical orchestra. He was obviously different from all the other pupils, an outsider.”

Rother goes on to say, “the trio with Florian, Klaus Dinger on drums and myself on guitar only lasted for 5 or 6 months but I remember some truly exciting concerts, and everything that followed in my musical life had a connection to this beginning with Ralf and Florian,” and “I admire the reduction and clarity in their music. Florian and his ideas will stay with me and the many musicians he influenced.” You can read the whole piece at Uncut.

You can also read tributes to Florian from Jean Michel Jarre, OMD, the Safdie Brothers, Thomas Dolby, Matty Healy (The 1975), Kelly Lee Owens, Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey), and many more, as well as watch classic Kraftwerk live performances, TV appearances and more. You can watch footage of the short-lived Schneider/Rother/Dinger lineup of Kraftwerk, below.