Kraftwerk’s electronic sound was created at the legendary Kling-Klang studios from 1970 onwards. Five years ago, co-founder Florian Schneider died – now estate items are auctioned for high prices in the US.
Five years after the death of Florian Schneider, one of the founders of the legendary group Kraftwerk, more than 450 of the musician’s possessions were auctioned. At the auction in Nashville, Tennessee, rare instruments, studio equipment and personal items were sold, according to auction house Julien’s Auctions.
Among the most interesting was the Sennheiser VSM Vocoder, which fetched eight times its estimated value with an auction price of $256,000 (222,000 euros). Kraftwerk used these electronic devices on the albums “Die Mensch-Machine” (1978) and “Computerwelt” (1981).
A racing bike featured in the 1984 “Tour de France” music video found a new owner for just under $58,000, 14 times its estimated price. A 1964 gray VW panel van costs more than $44,000.
A light board with the words “Ruhe” from the Kling-Klang studio in Düsseldorf sold for $19,000; previously estimated at around $700. Florian Schneider’s passport from 1968 is worth $6,400.
Giles Moon of Julien’s Auctions said they were very pleased with the “excellent outcome” of the auction. The worldwide interest will underline the special nature of these works and Schneider’s “important role” in shaping electronic music.
Schneider died of cancer in April 2020 at the age of 73. Together with Ralf Hütter he founded Kling-Klang-Studio in 1970. At the Düsseldorf location, the group worked on their completely synthetic, electronic and minimalist sound. Kraftwerk made its international breakthrough in 1974 with “Autobahn”. The album was the first hit export of German pop music to the United States. These rare recordings can still be found in American record stores today.
At the end of 2008, Schneider left the group at the age of 61. In 2014 he received a Grammy for his life’s work. Kraftwerk’s minimalist synthesizer sound was groundbreaking and pioneered musical styles such as electro and techno. Kraftwerk is the first German band to be inducted into the Music Hall of Fame.
pacing/dpa
