Florian Schneider
Encyclopedia
Florian Schneider-Esleben (born 7 April 1947, Düsseldorf
, Germany
) is one of the founding members of electronic music
band Kraftwerk
. He left the band in November 2008.
in 1970. They met in 1968 whilst 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 played with Eberhard Kranemann in the group Pissoff from 1967-68. From 1968-69 Florian Schneider played flute with Ralf Hutter 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 synthesizer
s (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.
Schneider, speaking in 1991, said: "I had studied seriously up to a certain level, then I found it boring; I looked for other things, I found that the flute was too limiting... Soon I bought a microphone, then loudspeakers, then an echo, then a synthesizer. Much later I threw the flute away; it was a sort of process." Although he has limited keyboard technique, and is a trained flautist
, he apparently preferred to trigger the synth sounds through a keyboard in the group's 1975, 1976 and 1981 concerts (later, developments in sequencing limited the need for hands-on playing).
Schneider's approach is concentrated on sound design (in an interview in 2005, Hütter called him a "sound fetishist") and vocoding
/speech-synthesis. One patented implementation of the latter was christened the Robovox, a distinctive feature of the Kraftwerk sound.
Schneider is also known for his comical, enigmatic interviews, although he has only seldom given permission to be interviewed.
, an associate working for the band as a video technician. According to a close associate of the group, Schneider left Kraftwerk on 21 November 2008. On 6 January 2009, NME confirmed Schneider's departure.
-Büderich near Düsseldorf
, and has a daughter named Lisa. He is the son of architect Paul Schneider-Esleben and Eva Maria Esleben. His father designed Cologne airport.
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) is one of the founding members of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
. He left the band in November 2008.
Career
Florian Schneider-Esleben founded Kraftwerk with Ralf HütterRalf Hütter
Ralf Hütter is the lead singer, keyboardist, and reportedly leader of the electronic-music band Kraftwerk. Since the departure of Florian Schneider in 2008, he is also the group's sole remaining founding member....
in 1970. They met in 1968 whilst studying at the Academy of Arts in Remscheid, then at the Robert Schumann Hochschule
Robert Schumann Hochschule
The Robert-Schumann-Hochschule is a college for music studies on university level in Düsseldorf, Germany.-History:...
in Düsseldorf. They played improvisational music together in the ensemble Organisation
Organisation (band)
Organisation was an experimental Krautrock band, that was the immediate predecessor of the band Kraftwerk. In addition to the founding members of Kraftwerk, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, Organisation consisted of Basil Hammoudi, Butch Hauf and Alfred "Fred" Mönicks.Charly Weiss, Peter...
. Before meeting Hütter, Schneider played with Eberhard Kranemann in the group Pissoff from 1967-68. From 1968-69 Florian Schneider played flute with Ralf Hutter on Hammond organ, Eberhard Kranemann on bass and Paul Lovens on drums.
Originally Schneider's main instrument was the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, which he would treat using electronic effects, including tape echo, ring modulation
Ring modulation
Ring modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, an implementation of amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of...
, use of pitch-to-voltage converter, fuzz and wah-wah, allowing him to use his flute as a bass instrument. He also played violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
(similarly treated), electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(including slide guitar), and made use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s (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
Autobahn (album)
Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974. The 22-minute title track "Autobahn" was edited to about 3 minutes for single release and reached number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and performed even higher around Europe, including...
his use of acoustic instruments diminished.
David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
titled his "Heroes" instrumental track "V-2 Schneider
V-2 Schneider
"V-2 Schneider" is a largely instrumental piece written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was a tribute to Florian Schneider, co-founder of the band Kraftwerk, whom Bowie acknowledged as a significant influence at the time. The title also referenced the V-2 rocket.The only words...
" after Schneider, and was heavily influenced by Kraftwerk's sound during his 'Berlin' period
Berlin Trilogy
The Berlin Trilogy is a series of David Bowie albums recorded in collaboration with Brian Eno in the 1970s. The three albums are Low, "Heroes" and Lodger....
in the late 1970s.
Schneider, speaking in 1991, said: "I had studied seriously up to a certain level, then I found it boring; I looked for other things, I found that the flute was too limiting... Soon I bought a microphone, then loudspeakers, then an echo, then a synthesizer. Much later I threw the flute away; it was a sort of process." Although he has limited keyboard technique, and is a trained flautist
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
, he apparently preferred to trigger the synth sounds through a keyboard in the group's 1975, 1976 and 1981 concerts (later, developments in sequencing limited the need for hands-on playing).
Schneider's approach is concentrated on sound design (in an interview in 2005, Hütter called him a "sound fetishist") and vocoding
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
/speech-synthesis. One patented implementation of the latter was christened the Robovox, a distinctive feature of the Kraftwerk sound.
-
- — Ralf HütterRalf HütterRalf Hütter is the lead singer, keyboardist, and reportedly leader of the electronic-music band Kraftwerk. Since the departure of Florian Schneider in 2008, he is also the group's sole remaining founding member....
- — Ralf Hütter
Schneider is also known for his comical, enigmatic interviews, although he has only seldom given permission to be interviewed.
Departure from Kraftwerk
Schneider did not perform on any of the dates of the Kraftwerk 2008 world tour. His position onstage was filled by Stefan PfaffeStefan Pfaffe
Stefan Pfaffe is a member of the electronic music band, Kraftwerk. Before being an official member, he worked in Kraftwerk's Kling Klang crew, as an engineer and was credited on the Minimum-Maximum release ....
, an associate working for the band as a video technician. According to a close associate of the group, Schneider left Kraftwerk on 21 November 2008. On 6 January 2009, NME confirmed Schneider's departure.
Personal life
Florian Schneider currently lives in MeerbuschMeerbusch
Meerbusch, a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has been an incorporated city since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the second most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia.- Geography :...
-Büderich near Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, and has a daughter named Lisa. He is the son of architect Paul Schneider-Esleben and Eva Maria Esleben. His father designed Cologne airport.