Nearly 500 Florian Schneider Items to Be Auctioned

Nearly 500 items from the late Kraftwerk co‑founder Florian Schneider's personal collection will be sold by Julien's Auctions in mid‑November in Nashville, with in-person, online, phone and absentee bidding available. The sale is collectively estimated at $450,000–$650,000 and is intended to fulfill Schneider's wish that his instruments and ephemera "continue living beyond him." The lots include signature electronic gear — an EMS Synthi AKS suitcase synthesizer, multiple vocoders and Votrax speech units — alongside more than 100 brass and woodwind instruments and stage wardrobe. Iconic memorabilia up for auction include Schneider's 1964 Volkswagen Type 2 van, the Panasonic Panaracer bicycle from the "Tour de France" video, Polaroid photographs, and a Kling Klang studio sign. Individual lot estimates vary (the Synthi AKS is catalogued at roughly $8,000–$20,000; the van about $15,000–$20,000; the Panaracer bike $4,000–$6,000). The auction listing and video also feature music from a solo project Schneider was working on before his 2020 death.