Remembering Florian Schneider | The man who honed his Kraft
Wednesday 6th May 2020: News broke about the death of one of the biggest pioneers in modern musical history: Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider.
Born in Düsseldorf in 1947, Schneider began life in a post-war Germany which was trying to recover and rebuild, yet was still so divided by the Berlin Wall. By fate, he was part of the ‘free’ side, and so grew up in a world which was able to be heavily shaped by an expressive younger generation, bringing in a new and exciting approach to music and culture (The Beatles, David Bailey, Woody Allen). Unknowingly at the time, Schneider was one of the most pivotal musical artists from this period, who changed and shaped music across all genres in the world as we know it today.
THE 1960S AND PRE-KRAFTWERK
As the UK and America began to unveil multiple rock and roll bands which were achieving unprecedented success like never before, Germany tried to imitate the sound of these bands, but to little success. As the novelty faded away, an underground scene began to uprise. In 1967, the Zodiak Free Arts Lab was founded by avante-garde experimental artists Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Boris Schaak; this groundbreaking club allowed artists to go free-form and experiment musically, eventually leading to the beginning of a sound which would become prominent and reknown for in Germany.
Meanwhile, in 1968, Kraftwerk’s founding members Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter met whilst studying at the Robert Schumann Hochschule. It was here they were taught about Karlheinz Stockhausen, one of the most important innovators in developing electronic music as we know today. Eventually, after both being part of different bands, they joined together in a band called Organisation, which saw Schneider play the flute and Hütter play organ. After the failure from the release of the ‘Tone Float LP’, the band split up: Schneider and Hütter stayed together and formed Kraftwerk.
KRAFTWERK EARLY DAYS
Literally translating into ‘power plant’, the conception of Kraftwerk’s sound was to reflect the progressive and modern city of Dusseldorf. With the help of guitarist Michael Rother, drummer Klaus Dinger, producer Conny Plank and engineer Klaus Lohmer, Kraftwerk’s self-titled debut was formed. Over four tracks there was a large variety of experimental sounds, but there was prominent use of the flute, keyboards and percussion. The album displayed an early sense of building rhythms and organising different elements of sound. It went on to sell 60,000 copies in Germany.
KRAFTWERK 1970S
‘Kraftwerk 2’ was released in 1972, and by this time, Kraftwerk only consisted of Schneider and Hütter. The album was again produced by Plank. With their new studio ready to use, the album again was more on the experimental side and explored various textures. ‘KlingKlang’ is considered the defining track for their signature sound - using a beatbox for structure and synthesizer to shape the overall sound.
In 1973, Kraftwerk released ‘Ralf und Florian’. Again produced by Plank, this album displayed a notable progression to their sound. It was more ambient, more refined and more polished than before and began to use synthesizers a lot more.
The ‘Autobahn’ LP became the breakthrough album which gained Kraftwerk recognition in 1974, and was also the last time they ever worked with Plank. Being the band’s first full establishment of their notable sound, they disregarded their previous releases in their catalogue. Although still keeping instruments in the mix, the album displayed a much more prominent focus on synthesized sounds. An instant hit from the titular track, the album charted within top five in the UK and US charts, as well as peaking seventh position in Germany.
Kraftwerk then went to tour America from their success. For the percussion, a new member, Karl Bartos joined them, who was later key in the development of the future albums.
It’s now 1975, and we see the release of Radio-Activity. Following a new deal with EMI, this is the first album self-produced by Schneider and Hütter and featured the-then concrete Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür line-up. With technology constantly evolving, the album was shorter and more streamlined than previous releases. A key instrument in the production process was the use of the Vako Orchestron synthesizer and completely dismissed the use of instruments for the first time. Although it became a big hit in France, it failed in other countries.
During 1976, the sound of Kraftwerk took an unlikely turn, in the form of Brian Eno and David Bowie. Eno had left Roxy Music in 1973 and began experimenting with electronic music. As well as forming the ambient label ‘Obscure Records’, he released albums both Cluster and Harmonia - two other prominent German electronicia groups, with the release of ‘Cluster & Eno’, also seeing Conny Plank involved in the process.
Bowie had concluded his ‘Young Americans’ era and was looking for his next musical phase. Both he and Eno had bonded over their intrigue into the forward German sounds and were particularly inspired by those of Kraftwerk. Released in January 1977, ‘Low’ (the first album of Bowie’s legendary ‘Berlin Trilogy’) showcased soundscapes which were inspired by not only Kraftwerk but other notable German electronic bands of the time: Tangerine Dream and Neu!. Eno was a pivotal influence to the album’s sound, bringing his earlier experience working with Cluster and Harmonia into the mix. This album helped bring electronic music to a wider listening audience, and was acknowledged by Ralf Hütter, who said in an interview for MOJO magazine Bowie’s infatuation with Kraftwerk “was very important for us, because it linked what we were doing with the rock mainstream”.
It is reported that Bowie and Eno’s collaborative sound gave Kraftwerk a push into new musical territory, and as a result, ‘Trans-Europe Express’ was released in 1977. Revolving around the theme of the Trans Europ Express - a European railway service, the album again pushed a more defined sound, with occasional robotic vocals and repetitive rhythm sequences which had undeniable impact on bands such as Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Talk Talk and also producer Giorgio Moroder (who finalised Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’), who fused the inspired sound of Kraftwerk into tracks and transformed them into dancefloor hits.
Karl Bartos, who had been part of the background for Kraftwerk since joining, was promoted as a contributing creative member in 1978. Within six weeks, the ‘The Man Machine’ album was completed, with the use of a music sequencer playing a large part of its quick turnaround. With new look of matching outfits and more commercially-driven songs, ‘The Man Machine’ became their breakthrough album. It sold over 200,000 copies in France and peaked at number nine in the UK charts. Probably their most recognisable track was featured on this album: ‘The Model’.
The Man Machine helped open up doors for other musical subcultures developing. In 1979, the album had particular influence over Rusty Egan, who DJed at Blitz in London and would play tracks by Kraftwerk amongst others from synth-pop bands. The New Romantics scene soon developed, which inspired artists such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Boy George.
KRAFTWERK 1980S AND ONWARDS
In May 1981, Kraftwerk released their eighth album: ‘Computer World’. This release saw a return to a conceptual approach as displayed in their earlier work. It centered around the theme of dealing with computers in society - a futuristic theme showcasing yet again how they were so ahead of their time, just like their music was. A double A-side release of ‘Computer Love’ and ‘The Model’ was released the following December, which reached number one in the UK singles charts.
After the release of ‘Computer World’, Kraftwerk went on to release ‘Techno Pop’ and ‘Tour De France’. However, due to the heavy influence the band’s innovative sound had in their peak years, they became somewhat lost amongst new artists with new ideas - leaving Kraftwerk almost seeming behind the times. Kraftwerk continued to tour but did not record any new material. Schneider left in 2009, leaving Hütter to continue the legacy: one which sees him tour occasionally.
In 2014, Kraftwerk were the recipients of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at The GRAMMYs. They walked away from a musical world which would have never looked like it did without their presence, persistence and uniqueness.