Pitchfork

Nearly 40 years after co-founding Teutonic robot band Kraftwerk with Ralf Hutter, Florian Schneider has parted ways with the group (which will apparently continue without him). Though Kraftwerk are famous for their mechanized facelessness, it's hard to overstate Schneider's influence on electronic music in all its forms: David Bowie named his song "V-2 Schneider" after him, and artists as diverse as Afrika Bambaataa, Joy Division, and Derrick May drew from the band's mesmerizing krautrock beat. (His personality is almost as stark as Kraftwerk's songs, as evidenced in this phenomenal interview.)

According to a Speak & Spell-worthy statement on the band's website, "Florian is a great musician, always seeking the perfect sound through technology. Refined and perfected sounds and vocoders to impossible levels of perfection." The exit isn't a complete surprise-- Schneider didn't perform/stand still with Kraftwerk on their 2008 tour (we forgive you for not noticing). One profound consequence of his departure: Pretentious dudes will no longer be able to say "Ralf and Florian" when they really mean Kraftwerk. They'll have to just say "Ralf" instead.

The band's website hints at future projets from both Schneider and the newly Schneider-free group (aka "new Kraftwerk"). Still, computerized mannequins everywhere are shedding tears.