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Florian Schneider has died

bbc.co.uk

151–159 of 159 posts

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Kraftwerk, but didn't enjoy their show. It felt high tech but low effort, and I know folks are okay with that, but it all felt so trade-show/product demo and not rock show. I would have been happier if it was a bar and not an arena. This may be because: The Knife and New Order, though. Much better shows .. /ymmv

i love new order but i thought they were well-know for having bad live shows? Stuff going wrong, bum notes, lousy singing etc

I don't think they're that bad lately, certainly in the 80's, but their live shows these days are pretty tight .. and anyway, the cold hard precision of a playback-show like Kraftwerk gets tiring after a few tracks, unless there are other major distractions going on, which is what I found to be the case. It got boring to watch them checking their email on stage ..

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#155
post #112

Now their music is kind of obvious but when you think about the scene back then it’s pretty amazing what they did.

I totally agree with this. I think it’s a sign of their brilliance. Their music is like an algorithm or scientific theory. Being more complex would not make it better. For example (and IMHO) if you’re trying to make a techno track you’re not going to make anything better than Numbers. Numbers isn’t techno. Techno as genre didn’t exist before some guys in Detroit heard that track. Numbers is what techno wants to be. Y…

>some guys in Detroit

Which guys? I'd like to go digging in music history.

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those “academic“ composers had a huge influence on many musicians. They literally invented the techniques that groups like Kraftwerk could built upon. You might not like their music, but please don't underestimate their importance for music history! In fact, artists like Aphex Twin know very well how much they owe to people like Stockhausen.

Sure. I think at most we're saying the same thing. Everybody in electronic music was influenced by Stockhausen. But Stockhausen never got a whole lot of air play. If you listen to his stuff I think it's obvious why.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Yes, it's obvious why Stockhausen didn't get much “air play“ - but how is this relevant? Are you suggesting a correlation between air play and musical quality?

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#157
post #155
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree with this. I think it’s a sign of their brilliance. Their music is like an algorithm or scientific theory. Being more complex would not make it better. For example (and IMHO) if you’re trying to make a techno track you’re not going to make anything better than Numbers. Numbers isn’t techno. Techno as genre didn’t exist before some guys in Detroit heard that track. Numbers is what techno wants to be. Y…

>some guys in Detroit Which guys? I'd like to go digging in music history.

Ah, the people you are looking for are known as The Belleville Three[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belleville_Three

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#158

I enjoy electronic music. Never knew Florian Schneider was one of the influencers. RIP!

Influencer? INFLUENCER? Go wash out your mouth with soap. An influencer in this context is someone whose IG feed, had there been IG back in the day, would have told you to check the latest from this crazy German band from Dusseldorf. Ralf & Florian weren't influencers, they were inventors, pioneers, ground breaking visionaries (even if they didn't know it themselves most of the time).

Sorry I didn't mean influencer from marketing context. I meant influencer - someone who influenced others to listen/make/practice music in a new way. Agree that "innovator" is the correct word instead.

Re: Florian Schneider has died

#159
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Understanding how to design electronic circuits is necessary but not sufficient to design synthesizers. - Understanding how to combine various elements making up a synthesizer in a musically relevant way is necessary but not sufficient to design synthesizers. I think an experienced modular synth sound designer is closer to the needed skillset than someone who is able to design circuitry. Not least because an experi…

I'm not making any excuses for EEs who thought they could design a good synth without involving anyone who understood sound design. My eyes roll at the very idea. (I.e. I've fooled around with it myself, and the results were boring at best.) In your Deadmau5 example ... I think we might be saying roughly the same thing. Once you buy all those modules, who needs an EE? The circuit problems should hopefully be hidden a…

I think what Deadmau5 exemplifies is intuitive understanding to a degree where I think it wouldn't be very hard for him to learn how to design circuitry if he wanted to. You don't really need to be an electrical engineer in order to successfully build low frequency electronics. It is one of those fields where you can get a surprising amount of useful work done by roughly knowing what you are doing and accumulating experience.

...as long as you don't connect anything to mains power or irreplacable modular synths :-)

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