Florian Schneider-Esleben, co-founder of electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, dies at 73

Florian Schneider-Esleben, a co-founder of German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, has died, record label Sony said Wednesday. He was 73.

Citing fellow group founder Ralf Huetter, Sony said that Schneider-Esleben had been suffering from cancer, German news agency dpa reported.

Schneider-Esleben and Huetter started working together in 1968. In 1970, they founded the Kling-Klang-Studio in Duesseldorf and launched Kraftwerk.

Schneider-Esleben was involved in Kraftwerk albums including Autobahn, Radio-Activity, Trans-Europe Express, The Man-Machine and Tour de France. He left Kraftwerk in 2008.

Kraftwerk won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 2014.

Tributes flowed in from musicians, including Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark.