Dance music pioneer and former member of seminal Krautrock bands Neu! and Kraftwerk Klaus Dinger has died aged 61. The German drummer, who pioneered the ‘Motorik’ rhythm made famous by Kraftwerk’s hit ‘Autobahn’, suffered heart failure on 20th March just 4 days before his 62nd birthday. His label, Gronland Records, today issued a statement saying his funeral had already taken place ‘amongst a private circle of family and friends’.

This announcement represents a sad day for the dance community, as without the likes of Dinger and Kraftwerk, who knows where, say, Detroit Techno, which borrows heavily from the Krautrock manual, would be today? However, it is not just the directly derived genres that owe a huge debt of gratitude, but the entire music industry, as these revolutionary pioneers really did shape the face and direction of music since the early 70s, pushing synthesizers and beat-heavy rhythms to the very forefront of popular music.

It is indeed a sad day in dance.

RIP Klaus Dinger (24.03.1946 - 20.03.2008)

(Words: Gavin Leversuch)