R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) - Page 2 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

G6Tanuki · 11th May 2020, 6:28 pm

Florian will be missed... Kraftwerk really realigned the musical avant-garde in the 70s.

Which in turn fed back into more-classical music:

I love the Balanescu Quartet's revisiting of Kraftwerk!

https://youtu.be/KluPmuO6mzk

https://youtu.be/5p7WiCLUl0I

and rather think Florian would appreciate this.

The Philpott · 11th May 2020, 6:32 pm

The Father Ted homage was one of the first things to come to mind when this thread started! They must be one of the more copied and sampled bands. Coldplay borrowed one of their riffs, converting it to electric guitar. It was credited inside the album cover.

Fans of Kraftwerk may also like Ausgang Verboten, also Artist Unknown, AKA Berlin Mitte Boys, AKA Martini Bros (not to be confused with the US Martini Bros.)

A friend of mine once said Gary Numan was the first in the sphere of electronic music- i said 'Hang on, step back ten years to Dusseldorf...oh and further back, what about the Tornadoes and Joe Meek..?'

Dave

turretslug · 11th May 2020, 6:35 pm

Or step back a bit further to revolutionary Russia and Leon Theremin's brave new eponymous instrument....

dglcomp · 11th May 2020, 7:08 pm

Yes R.I.P. Florian, an excellent musican who was so important to the advancement/popularisation of electronic music and was one of the (very) few musicians to buy a Vako Orchestron, the pro version of the Mattel Optigan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optigan) which was responsible for the haunting choir on Radioactivity and the strings on TEE. Also a good flautist and had a controller made to (I believe) replicate similar fingering to a flute, see the Radioactivity video.

As for live content the Computerworld Tour radio bootlegs are excellent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f16ZTSGu1XQ

ITAM805 · 11th May 2020, 7:12 pm

Not forgetting Tangerine Dream, the original Krautrockers

dglcomp · 11th May 2020, 7:38 pm

And in the electronic field we have to remember not only the British pioneers but also the French, inc. people like Pierre Schaffer at the GRM in Paris, where Jean Michel Jarre studied.

Also let's not forget the Hammond Corporation, mainly know for their organs but did produce a synthesizer in the 1930's!, the Hammond Novachord. Responsible for a lot of peoples unknowing introduction to synthesizers and synthesized music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvgM_xcx2GI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMEuibX4c04

The Philpott · 11th May 2020, 9:14 pm

I HAD forgotten about Tangerine Dream..but i didn't know they were German. The film 'Near Dark' wouldn't have had the same impact without their soundtrack.
Dave

Richard_FM · 11th May 2020, 11:13 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Philpott

The Father Ted homage was one of the first things to come to mind when this thread started!
Dave

Same here, on the DVD commentary track it mentions Neil Hannon did the music for that skit.

Graham G3ZVT · 11th May 2020, 11:19 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by turretslug

Or step back a bit further to revolutionary Russia and Leon Theremin's brave new eponymous instrument....

With Delia Derbyshire and F. C. Judd in between.

Radio Wrangler · 11th May 2020, 11:39 pm

And Daphne Oram.

David

Alistair D · 12th May 2020, 12:03 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

Bill Bailey did a rather good Kraftwerk parody as well.

I'd not seen that Father Ted one before and I'm still laughing. Thanks, Paul.

David

Here is the link to that video. The comments below the video imply that Bill was a good friend of the band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwaxWoJPUC0

Al

dave walsh · 12th May 2020, 1:54 am

Definitely game changing but as the Guardian Obit suggests, nobody ever actually seemed to know very much about him. Robots are [usually] fairly anonymous though

Tangerine Dream were very good. Performing in Cathedrals 1974!

Dave W

barretter · 12th May 2020, 11:23 am

De mortuis nil nisi bonum but I think the influence of Kraftwerk in the use of electronics in music is being exaggerated. Apart from the theremin (used by the Beach Boys on "Good vibrations" in the middle 1960s) other electronic instruments were invented in the early days of the discipline. Trautwein invented the Trautonium which was used in works by Hindemith and Oskar Sala. Martenot invented the Ondes Martenot which was used extensively by Olivier Messiaen particularly in his Turangalila symphony (1947) ; he even wrote a work for six Ondes Martenot, "La fete des belles eaux" (1937). After the Second World War Karl-Heinz Stockhausen did extensive work with electronics, the first fruit of which was Gesang der Junglinge (1956). In Italy there was Luciano Berio and in France Pierre Schaffer, as already mentioned. If you consider the Mellotron an electronic instrument the Beatles used that notably in "Strawberry fields forever". And nobody has mentioned Wendy (Walter) Carlos.

Craig Sawyers · 12th May 2020, 11:45 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alistair D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

Bill Bailey did a rather good Kraftwerk parody as well.

I'd not seen that Father Ted one before and I'm still laughing. Thanks, Paul.

David

Here is the link to that video. The comments below the video imply that Bill was a good friend of the band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwaxWoJPUC0

Al

Oh my word, that is brilliant! I already rate Bailey - gentle humour with no expletives or sexual innuendo - and a talented musician.

Craig

Richard_FM · 12th May 2020, 11:47 am

Wendy Carlos crossed my mind when reading this, I have Switched On Bach with a bonus track narrated by the artist describing how it was a learning process to get the right sound of a Moog, & had some clips from the demos.

Stanley Kubrick used Wendy Carlos to provide the music for A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.

dave walsh · 14th May 2020, 12:31 am

Indeed Richard! Stanley only ever wanted the best. Switched on Bach is still really amazing! "Bach but not as we know it Jim"

Dave W

dglcomp · 14th May 2020, 1:27 am

Also amazing to remember that on a clockwork orange and switched on Bach no polyphonic synths were used, though they did exist/had existed, same with the early Kraftwerk stuff, all "chords" were done using multitracking.

One thing that does have a habit of annoying me is the disregard some documentaries/people have for European synthesizers, forgetting that they even existed concentrating on American and Japanese synths.
Not only did Europe give birth to the first self-contained portable modern synthesizer (the EMS VCS3/Putney),
the first digital sampler (part of EMS' MUSYS system running on the PDP-8),
one of the first fully programmable drum machines (the EKO Computerhythm),
one of the finest (or the finest according to JMJ, claims it's better than his Memorymoog) analogue polysynths ever made (the ELKA Synthex),
and one of the most revered string synthesizers (the Eminent Solina and 310U).
Plus Europe has the largest manufacturer of quality keybeds, FATAR in Italy.

There is a good Australian documentary on Peter Zinovieff/EMS on YouTube.

Richard_FM · 14th May 2020, 10:27 am

I remember on the documentry Synth Britannia Bernard Sumner mentioned that he built his first synthesizer from a kit, I can't remember what make it was.

radioman · 14th May 2020, 12:01 pm

I think it was a Powertran 'Transcendent 2000'.
http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/transcendent2000.php
IIRC, it was a project featured in ETI.

Andy

Kentode · 14th May 2020, 12:20 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard_FM

I remember on the documentry Synth Britannia Bernard Sumner mentioned that he built his first synthesizer from a kit, I can't remember what make it was.

I'd put heavy money on it being the Maplin 5600S. (See pic).

True story...

I went to a synthesiszer demonstration (ARP) above the pub directly opposite the entrance to Radio Manchester on Oxford road in the late 70's/early 80's.

Also in the crowd were Howard Devoto and Bernard.

The chap at the keyboard gave us a 20 minute lecture on the complexity and possibilities of a polyphonic instrument and concluded by saying " any questions?".

To which some wag replied " are you going to play the f@cking thing!"

Guilty as charged!

11th May 2020, 6:28 pm	#21
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,998	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Florian will be missed... Kraftwerk really realigned the musical avant-garde in the 70s. Which in turn fed back into more-classical music: I love the Balanescu Quartet's revisiting of Kraftwerk! https://youtu.be/KluPmuO6mzk https://youtu.be/5p7WiCLUl0I and rather think Florian would appreciate this. Last edited by G6Tanuki; 11th May 2020 at 6:33 pm.

11th May 2020, 6:32 pm	#22
The Philpott Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Colchester, Essex, UK. Posts: 4,107	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) The Father Ted homage was one of the first things to come to mind when this thread started! They must be one of the more copied and sampled bands. Coldplay borrowed one of their riffs, converting it to electric guitar. It was credited inside the album cover. Fans of Kraftwerk may also like Ausgang Verboten, also Artist Unknown, AKA Berlin Mitte Boys, AKA Martini Bros (not to be confused with the US Martini Bros.) A friend of mine once said Gary Numan was the first in the sphere of electronic music- i said 'Hang on, step back ten years to Dusseldorf...oh and further back, what about the Tornadoes and Joe Meek..?' Dave

11th May 2020, 6:35 pm	#23
turretslug Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Surrey, UK. Posts: 4,396	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Or step back a bit further to revolutionary Russia and Leon Theremin's brave new eponymous instrument....

11th May 2020, 7:08 pm	#24
dglcomp Heptode Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Portland, Dorset, UK. Posts: 874	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Yes R.I.P. Florian, an excellent musican who was so important to the advancement/popularisation of electronic music and was one of the (very) few musicians to buy a Vako Orchestron, the pro version of the Mattel Optigan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optigan) which was responsible for the haunting choir on Radioactivity and the strings on TEE. Also a good flautist and had a controller made to (I believe) replicate similar fingering to a flute, see the Radioactivity video. As for live content the Computerworld Tour radio bootlegs are excellent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f16ZTSGu1XQ

11th May 2020, 7:12 pm	#25
ITAM805 Nonode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Folkestone, Kent, UK. Posts: 2,172	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Not forgetting Tangerine Dream, the original Krautrockers

11th May 2020, 7:38 pm	#26
dglcomp Heptode Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Portland, Dorset, UK. Posts: 874	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) And in the electronic field we have to remember not only the British pioneers but also the French, inc. people like Pierre Schaffer at the GRM in Paris, where Jean Michel Jarre studied. Also let's not forget the Hammond Corporation, mainly know for their organs but did produce a synthesizer in the 1930's!, the Hammond Novachord. Responsible for a lot of peoples unknowing introduction to synthesizers and synthesized music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvgM_xcx2GI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMEuibX4c04

11th May 2020, 9:14 pm	#27
The Philpott Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Colchester, Essex, UK. Posts: 4,107	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) I HAD forgotten about Tangerine Dream..but i didn't know they were German. The film 'Near Dark' wouldn't have had the same impact without their soundtrack. Dave

11th May 2020, 11:39 pm	#30
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,877	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) And Daphne Oram. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

12th May 2020, 1:54 am	#32
dave walsh Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex. Posts: 5,817	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Definitely game changing but as the Guardian Obit suggests, nobody ever actually seemed to know very much about him. Robots are [usually] fairly anonymous though Tangerine Dream were very good. Performing in Cathedrals 1974! Dave W

12th May 2020, 11:23 am	#33
barretter Heptode Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Todmorden, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 870	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) De mortuis nil nisi bonum but I think the influence of Kraftwerk in the use of electronics in music is being exaggerated. Apart from the theremin (used by the Beach Boys on "Good vibrations" in the middle 1960s) other electronic instruments were invented in the early days of the discipline. Trautwein invented the Trautonium which was used in works by Hindemith and Oskar Sala. Martenot invented the Ondes Martenot which was used extensively by Olivier Messiaen particularly in his Turangalila symphony (1947) ; he even wrote a work for six Ondes Martenot, "La fete des belles eaux" (1937). After the Second World War Karl-Heinz Stockhausen did extensive work with electronics, the first fruit of which was Gesang der Junglinge (1956). In Italy there was Luciano Berio and in France Pierre Schaffer, as already mentioned. If you consider the Mellotron an electronic instrument the Beatles used that notably in "Strawberry fields forever". And nobody has mentioned Wendy (Walter) Carlos.

12th May 2020, 11:47 am	#35
Richard_FM Nonode Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,002	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Wendy Carlos crossed my mind when reading this, I have Switched On Bach with a bonus track narrated by the artist describing how it was a learning process to get the right sound of a Moog, & had some clips from the demos. Stanley Kubrick used Wendy Carlos to provide the music for A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. __________________ Hello IT: Have you Tried Turning It Off & On Again?

14th May 2020, 12:31 am	#36
dave walsh Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex. Posts: 5,817	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Indeed Richard! Stanley only ever wanted the best. Switched on Bach is still really amazing! "Bach but not as we know it Jim" Dave W

14th May 2020, 1:27 am	#37
dglcomp Heptode Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Portland, Dorset, UK. Posts: 874	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) Also amazing to remember that on a clockwork orange and switched on Bach no polyphonic synths were used, though they did exist/had existed, same with the early Kraftwerk stuff, all "chords" were done using multitracking. One thing that does have a habit of annoying me is the disregard some documentaries/people have for European synthesizers, forgetting that they even existed concentrating on American and Japanese synths. Not only did Europe give birth to the first self-contained portable modern synthesizer (the EMS VCS3/Putney), the first digital sampler (part of EMS' MUSYS system running on the PDP-8), one of the first fully programmable drum machines (the EKO Computerhythm), one of the finest (or the finest according to JMJ, claims it's better than his Memorymoog) analogue polysynths ever made (the ELKA Synthex), and one of the most revered string synthesizers (the Eminent Solina and 310U). Plus Europe has the largest manufacturer of quality keybeds, FATAR in Italy. There is a good Australian documentary on Peter Zinovieff/EMS on YouTube.

14th May 2020, 10:27 am	#38
Richard_FM Nonode Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,002	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) I remember on the documentry Synth Britannia Bernard Sumner mentioned that he built his first synthesizer from a kit, I can't remember what make it was. __________________ Hello IT: Have you Tried Turning It Off & On Again?

14th May 2020, 12:01 pm	#39
radioman Heptode Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ayr, Ayrshire, UK. Posts: 631	Re: R.I.P. Florian Schneider (Kraftwerk) I think it was a Powertran 'Transcendent 2000'. http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/transcendent2000.php IIRC, it was a project featured in ETI. Andy __________________ G-QRP #12697 Last edited by radioman; 14th May 2020 at 12:03 pm. Reason: Additional info.