An enigmatic percussionist and keyboard player, Harald Grosskopf played with Krautrock legends such as Ash Ra Tempel, Klaus Schulze and The Cosmic Jokers in the 1970s. Reaching a personal and professional crossroads in the summer of 1979 and at the encouragement of his colleagues, he began to experiment with a Minimoog, a basic sequencer and a Revox reel-to-reel recorder. He recorded the album 'Synthesist' within a few weeks.

Thirty years on, a much-admired LP by those in the know but not really reaching the wider audience it deserved, New York's electronic specialists at RVNG Intl. decided to re-release it in today's ubiquitous synth climate for all to enjoy. With many artists unlikely to be able to resist reworking the beautifully cosmic analog-produced material, RVNG artists such as Arp, Blondes and Pink Skull appear on the 'Re-Synthesist' remixes alongside the likes of Stellar Om Source, JD Twitch of Optimo, Oneohtrix Point Never and James Ferraro.

With a colourful and classic video directed by Sid Seed completing the release, Grosskopf's album appears today as a beacon in between the freeform experimental romanticism of the 1970s and the straighter electronic pop song which was to dominate in the 1980s. Though much has changed in the technology since then, the remixers explore the dreamy, utopic qualities of electronic music in similar ways.