Electronic Music Pioneer's Iconic Equipment Are Featured in Stateside Bidding
This innovator in the electronic genre with the group Kraftwerk redefined popular music and impacting musicians including Bowie, New Order, Coldplay, and Run-DMC.
Now, his synth gear and performance items that Florian Schneider used in crafting some of the band’s best-known songs in the 1970s and 1980s are estimated to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars when they are sold at auction next month.
Rare Glimpse of Unreleased Personal Work
Music for a solo project that Schneider was working on prior to his passing due to cancer at 73 years old back in 2020 is being shared initially through a clip about the auction.
Wide Array from His Possessions
In addition to his suitcase synthesiser, the wooden flute plus voice modulators – utilized by him for robotic vocal effects – fans will get a chance to buy approximately 500 items from his estate at the auction.
Among them are the assortment of more than 100 musical wind tools, several snapshots, his shades, his travel document for his travels before 1979 plus his custom van, painted in a gray hue.
The bike he rode, featured in Kraftwerk’s Tour de France music video and shown on the single’s artwork, will be auctioned later this month.
Sale Information
The total estimated value from the event is $450,000 to $650,000.
They were innovators – among the earliest acts with electronic gear crafting compositions unlike anything prior.
Fellow musicians found their tracks “mind-blowing”. They suddenly discovered an innovative direction for compositions pioneered by the band. This motivated numerous artists to shift towards of using synthesised electronic music.
Notable Pieces
- One voice modulator that is likely the one Kraftwerk used for recordings The Man Machine in 1978 and Computer World in 1981 may go for $30K–$50K.
- A suitcase synthesizer thought to be the one used in early work Autobahn is appraised for $15K–$20K.
- The flute, an Orsi G alto featured in performances alongside electronic gear until 1974, is valued at up to five figures.
Unique Belongings
In the affordable range, a group of about 90 Polaroid photographs he captured of his woodwind and brass instruments is available for a modest sum.
More unusual pieces, like a clear, colorful bass plus a distinctive 16-inch model of a fly, placed at his studio, may go for $200 to $400.
The musician's eyewear with green lenses plus snapshots of him wearing them could sell for under $500.
Family’s Words
He felt that instruments should be used and enjoyed by others – not stored away or gathering dust in storage. His desire was his equipment to go to enthusiasts that will cherish them: artists, gatherers and fans by audio creativity.
Enduring Impact
Recalling the band's impact, a well-known drummer commented: Starting out, we loved Kraftwerk. Autobahn was an album that had us take notice: what’s this?. They were doing something different … fresh sounds – they intentionally avoided previous styles.”
