Klaus Dinger, the Krautrock pioneer who invented the "motorik beat, has passed away. On March 21, the one-time Kraftwerk member and Neu! co-founder died of heart failure, just four days shy of his 62nd birthday.
In his life, Dinger was a German composer and drummer, whose repetitive, click rhythms, dubbed "motorik, defined early the Kraftwerk sound and his full-time project Neu!, which he started as a duo in the early 1970s with Michael Rother. Along with Rother, Dinger was also often seen as one of the first musicians to indulge in the art of remixing, when he sped up, slowed down and warped the tape of two tracks on the pairs second album, Neu! 2.
After the demise of Neu!, Dinger later formed La Dusseldorf in the latter half of the 70s. Both David Bowie and Brian Eno have pointed to La Dusseldorf as having a tremendous influence on the twos trio of Berlin albums: Low, Heroes and Lodger. In the late 90s, Dinger began La! Neu? and helped reissue Neu!s back-catalogue, which has had a major influence on modern acts such as Stereolab, Sonic Youth, Tortoise and Fujiya & Miyagi, to name a few.
And although Dingers unique beats became known as motorik (German for "motor skills), he is said to have preferred to the term "Apache beat himself.
So long, Klaus.
Neu! "Hero
In his life, Dinger was a German composer and drummer, whose repetitive, click rhythms, dubbed "motorik, defined early the Kraftwerk sound and his full-time project Neu!, which he started as a duo in the early 1970s with Michael Rother. Along with Rother, Dinger was also often seen as one of the first musicians to indulge in the art of remixing, when he sped up, slowed down and warped the tape of two tracks on the pairs second album, Neu! 2.
After the demise of Neu!, Dinger later formed La Dusseldorf in the latter half of the 70s. Both David Bowie and Brian Eno have pointed to La Dusseldorf as having a tremendous influence on the twos trio of Berlin albums: Low, Heroes and Lodger. In the late 90s, Dinger began La! Neu? and helped reissue Neu!s back-catalogue, which has had a major influence on modern acts such as Stereolab, Sonic Youth, Tortoise and Fujiya & Miyagi, to name a few.
And although Dingers unique beats became known as motorik (German for "motor skills), he is said to have preferred to the term "Apache beat himself.
So long, Klaus.
Neu! "Hero
