the Death of Florian Schneider, one of the founders of the German techno group Kraftwerk, in contrast to Mark TWAIN’s joke about the “exaggerated rumors”, unfortunately, was a fact, however, is still surrounded by mysterious circumstances, which is in the spirit of this legendary band. Kraftwerk played in Russia twice, and both concerts have become something of urban legends.
“MK” on the rights of the witness of these Grand performances recalls the adventures of the Germans in Russia and paid tribute to Florian Schneider, the musician opened to the world a new sound.
“I am your servant, I your worker” in 1978, these lines, uttered by “metal” voice in the strange “mechanical” music processing, stunned one-fifth of earth’s land – the USSR. Audiophiles, and those were then almost all the young generation of the country Councils, tensely listening to the sounds of magnetoplasma overwritten with dozens or even hundreds of times a hit “from abroad”, could not believe his ears: fashionable Western group inserted in his hit phrase in Russian!
According to the effect on the public living behind the iron curtain, this graceful word “vignette” from the other universe was comparable in impact with the news about the flight of Gagarin into space, as actually and very “cosmic” music of Kraftwerk, which blew up then a global musical space. Perhaps that is why many years later, the musicians Kraftwerk insisted the space pavilion as the location of their first concert in Russia.
Florian, unlike Ralph Hutter, his main companion at Kraftwerk, belonged to the not very common breed of stars who hated publicity and all that goes with it. Even news of the death of the musician collected from various, often conflicting statements.
There are links to the Facebook posts and comments from your friends and Schneider, but all this, including even the date of death of the artist (in the news tape of information about the death of Florian came may 6) filled with contradictions. All agree only in the fact that the musician died from a rapidly growing cancer, however, the date of his death is still unspecified.
In the history of Kraftwerk too many contradictions and illogical behavior.
the Possessed crow-the Troc (experimentalnoy, psychedelic music), the students of the art Academy in Dusseldorf, West Germany Ralph Hutter and Florian Schneider have built in 1969, the group Organization, which survived only one album. With seventy recorded as Kraftwerk.
in order to create the first successful album took three walk-through of the album and four years. During this time Ralf and Florian diligently experimented with electronics and the avant-garde, inspired by the sounds of highways and the result was the album Autobahn, which will shakel pop music so much so that in 1974 the synths and drum machines, many have declared almost the main instruments of the era.
the following five releases Ralf, Florian and the other participants in the process released all that and still need to know about electronic music, including the hit The Robots with exotic phrase in Russian about “servant and employee”, released as a single in 1978.
No less epochal bands Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys added to the theorems and axioms of the great Germans of the sentimental tunes, the stage show-and British jokes that allowed them to become artists on a planetary scale, but never forget to give recognition to the “discoverers” of Kraftwerk. David Bowie dedicated Floriano songs, Coldplay also did not hesitate to confess his love.
Perhaps the members of Kraftwerk have lost bags of money when refused to work with Michael Jackson, but I was trying to obtain music is only enjoyed working on the scheme “rarely, but neatly”. They are German composure brought their mission to “design a perfect pop to tribal peoples of the global village” — so wrote about them critics.
In 2003, after seventeen years of silence the band released Tour De France and went on a big tour, inscribing in it two Russian dates. In Moscow something very strange — the Germans gave a press conference. In the literal sense. They haven’t sent to reporters the four robots, as it happened for more than twenty years, and did it themselves. It is very impressive. Faded clothes, zero pathos and brains as sharp as scalpels.
“Kraftwerk” — a fully Autonomous creation. By and large we don’t care about other people’s opinions and advice”… “At the end of the 60s the music was dominated by Anglo-American mood, we also tried to revive the German spirit. We did not just concerts, so we played in galleries and art halls, trying to fit our music in a different art. So we found our unique language, and this language is German”… “Group for 37 years. But this does not frighten us. A nice walk on the bike — and we have the same last”.
Then there was a concert featuring tunes, though born at the North pole was boiling hot reversee passion. At the party after the show, an intelligent German gentleman, not looking like the world’s musical pillars, the patriarchs of the whole cult genre of synth-pop, once in the epicenter of the capital club life, let compliments to the beauties and lamented the fact that the images of robots deprived them of many touring frivolous pleasures. And after the Russian epic musicians, rumored for quite a long time tortured the local promoters for possible losses of their concerts and has repeatedly offered to return the money, because of fun to��which they received from the Russian public and you can pay extra.
Kraftwerk returned to Russia fourteen years and without Florian Schneider, who eventually left the band in 2008. It was rumored that the main tour began to bring less pleasure to the revered composer and he decided to focus on more intimate projects. The group from where the original structure remained only Ralph Hutter, came to Moscow with three-dimensional show, viewers were handed out before the concert, outlandish glasses for viewing 3-D theatrical installations, and a springboard for the violence of techno and technology became the grandiose Kremlin Palace.
About the band’s future plans are not yet known. Given the fact that the chief ideologue of the team already 73 years old, to make accurate predictions on the albums and touring, few takes. But this group knows how to surprise, even in situations when everything seems to be clear. In addition, the late Florian and Ralph alive was able to give the German order as the spontaneity and sexiness that fans still expect surprises.