One of the great unsung talents at the center of the Krautrock movement, Grosskopf never really received the acclaim of a Schuzle or Gottsching. But he was vital to the recording of many albums. In the early ’70s he, along with members of The Cosmic Jokers, recorded music for the incredible Tarot album credited to Walter Wegmuller. He played drums on the Wallenstein album Blitzkrieg. He appeared on the Witthuser & Westrupp LP Bauer Plath. He appears on Ash Ra Tempel’s Starring Rosi, Cosmic Jokers’ Planeten Sit In, and has toured and recorded with both the aforementioned Schuzle and Gottsching. He was there, man. He lived that shit.
In 1980 he released his first solo album, Synthesist. It was recorded, mixed and produced by Grosskopf at Studio Panne-Paulsen in Frankfurt. It was released on Sky Records, and in 1999 it was issued on CD on Think Progressive. Both titles are now out of print.
Musically, Synthesist toes the line between the later, poppy sounds of Kraftwerk and the more experimental music that Grosskopft recorded in the early ’70s. “B Aldrian” keeps a steady low-end synth drone going as spacey, celestial notes drift aimlessly. The centerpiece of the album, the title track, is an upbeat number that encapsulates the predominant theme of the record, hope for the coming electronic age and the beauty of our world and that which lies beyond. Cool shit.
Harald Grosskopf
Synthesist
Sky, 1980
MediaFire DL Link
01. So Weit So Gut
02. B. Aldrian
03. Emphasis
04. Synthesist
05. 1847 – Earth
06. Trauma
07. Transcendental Overdrive
08. Tai Ki
