Florian Schneider
| Florian Schneider | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Florian Schneider-Esleben |
| Born |
7 April 1947 Öhningen, Germany |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Synthesizer, vocals, guitar, flute, saxophone, drums, percussion, violin |
| Years active | 1968– present |
| Associated acts |
Kraftwerk Organisation Pissoff |
Florian Schneider-Esleben (born 7 April 1947, Öhningen,Germany) is one of the founding members of the German electronic music group Kraftwerk, taking his role with the band until his departure in November 2008.
Florian Schneider-Esleben founded Kraftwerk with Ralf Hütter in 1970. They met in 1968 while studying at the Academy of Arts in Remscheid, then at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. They played improvisational music together in the ensemble Organisation. Before meeting Hütter, Schneider had played with Eberhard Kranemann in the group Pissoff from 1967 to 1968. From 1968 to 1969, Schneider played flute, with Ralf Hütter on Hammond organ, Eberhard Kranemann on bass and Paul Lovens on drums.
Originally Schneider's main instrument was the flute, which he would treat using electronic effects, including tape echo, ring modulation, use of pitch-to-voltage converter, fuzz and wah-wah, allowing him to use his flute as a bass instrument. He also played violin (similarly treated), electric guitar (including slide guitar), and made use of synthesizers (both as a melodic instrument and as a sound processor). Later he also created his own electronic flute instrument. After the release of their 1974 album, Autobahn, his use of acoustic instruments diminished.
David Bowie titled his "Heroes" instrumental track "V-2 Schneider" after Schneider, and was heavily influenced by Kraftwerk's sound during his "Berlin period" in the late 1970s.
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