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Neu!, Kraftwerk Drummer Dies of Heart Failure

Klaus Dinger, Kraftwerk's former drummer and a co-founder of Neu!, died of heart failure on Friday, March 21. He was 61. Neu!'s label, Grönland, confirmed Dinger's death on its Web site, www.groenland.com, writing, "[Dinger's] landmark drumming style … a propulsive, almost surf-like repetitious groove defined the term 'motorik' and has had a profound influence on a huge range of artists such as Primal Scream, Stereolab, Wilco, David Bowie, The Boredoms and Four Tet. [His] burial took place amongst a private circle of family and friends. He will be greatly missed."

Dinger drummed on Kraftwerk's self-titled 1970 debut before leaving the band and forming Neu! with guitarist Michael Rother. When Neu! broke up after its run of three seminal '70s records, he ended up selling more than a million records with his third major band, La Düsseldorf.

In a statement released today, Grönland Records president René Renner said Dinger was "an uncompromising musician, a challenging personality, [an] inspirational human being, and one of the most influential drummers."

Rother added his own thoughts on his Web site, saying, "Together with many friends of his music I will remember Klaus for his creativity as an artist and I will think about him with gratitude for his wonderful contributions to our project Neu!"

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.02.08