You may not know Kraftwerk, but you have a lot to thank them for.

This German band from the 70s is largely considered the pioneers of electronic music and popularising the genre, and today we mourn the death of one of the founding two members, Florian Schneider.

After a short battle with cancer, Schneider passed away at the age of 73, but his music legacy will have his name remembered for much longer.

The duo, with Ralf Huetter, trailblazed the bending of psychedelic rock with heavy synthesisers we’ve now become familiar with in club genres such as house, techno, hip-hop and synth pop.

Arguably, this band has had a pop culture influence on par with The Beatles and have inspired the sounds of artists such as Kanye West, David Bowie and Daft Punk.

Bowie, in fact, referenced their influence numerous times but explicitly nodded to Schneider in the title of his track ‘V-2 Schneider.

Notable musicians have been taking to Twitter to share their condolences. 

It’s a sad day for the music industry, but also definitely one that calls for celebration.

With clubs currently closed, tonight we will pay tribute with a loungeroom quaran-rave to commemorate Florian Schneider’s gift to the music world.

Main Image Credit: Licensed by Getty.

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