Kraftwerk founding member Florian Schneider dies at the age of 73

Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider has died at the age of 73, Billboard has confirmed.

In a statement, his bandmate Ralf Hütter confirmed: ‘the very sad news that his friend and companion over many decades Florian Schneider has passed away from a short cancer disease just a few days after his 73rd birthday.’    

In February, the legendary German electro pioneers announced a North American tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Farewell: Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider has died at the age of 73, Billboard has confirmed (pictured 2004)

The influential group — which has inspired artists from David Bowie to Kanye West and Daft Punk — planned to kick off the 27-date trek throughout the US and Canada in Seattle on June 19, with destinations including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago along with Vancouver and Montreal.

The act promised immersive “3-D Concerts” — a concept launched in 2013 that fuses three-dimensional visuals and performance art with Kraftwerk’s music catalog — that will return stateside for the first time since 2016.  

Florian and Ralf Huetter started Kraftwerk in Dusseldorf in 1970 as part of the experimental ‘krautrock’ movement, a broad genre blending psychedelic rock with electronic rhythms and early synthesizers.

The group, who famously said that they wanted to make music more as machines than as men, quickly gained international recognition for industrial sounds, sparse arrangements and computerized beats that provided a blueprint for later genres including electro, hip hop, techno and synthpop.

Kraftwerk — whose major albums include ‘Autobahn,’ ‘Trans-Europe Express’ and ‘The Man-Machine’ — were honored in 2014 with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

The notoriously reclusive act has been a major contributor to music technology, constructing homemade instruments and devices to craft its innovative sound.