dinger pictured here in 1971 with Neu! mate Michael Rother

in the how did i find out so late about this column goes the untimely passing of the great krautrock drummer Klaus Dinger, who passed away on March 21nd as a result of heart failure at age 61. founding member of one of the essential krautrock bands, Neu!, early member of Kraftwerk and later member of La Dusseldorf and the combo band La! Neu?, Dinger was (at least to me) instantly recognizable for his self-described “apache beat”, the quintessential definition of “motorik.” r.i.p. klaus