Kraftwerk cofounder Florian Schneider has died aged 73

Kraftwerk cofounder Florian Schneider has died at age 73.

Word of Schneider’s passing began circulating social media on Wednesday after British musician Mark Reeder shared a now-deleted tribute post. Billboard later confirmed the news. No other details are known at this time, and we’ll update this story as we learn more.

Schneider founded the pioneering electro group with Ralf Hütter in 1970. David Bowie named the track “V-2 Schneider” after the German artist on his pivotal 1977 album Heroes. Schneider quit Kraftwerk in 2009, while Hütter continued to tour with Henning Schmitz, Fritz Hilpert and Falk Grieffenhagen. The 50th anniversary 3-D live tour was planned to take place this year, although it has since been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Listen to our Introduction To Kraftwerk playlist.