harald grosskopf: oceanheart

"Tired of the rock format and excited by the freedoms promised by electronic music, Harald Grosskopf quit Wallenstein, a conventional rock band, in the mid-'70s to turn his attention to electronica. Grosskopf thus became the first drummer to specialize in the electronic music field. He played drums on Klaus Schulze's Body Love album and on YOU's Electric Day. When Manuel Göttsching from Ash Ra Tempel asked him if he would consider enrolling as the regular drummer in the group now rechristened Ashra, he did not need to think about it for long. Grosskopf changed course again in the '80s, this time in pursuit of commercial success: he played in the NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle) group Lilli Berlin and backed Joachim Witt on his best-selling Silberblick LP, which featured the hit 'Goldener Reiter.' Sky, the record company, were more than a little disappointed with the performance of Grosskopf's first solo effort Synthesist, so there was no great sense of urgency as far as its successor was concerned. 'They even halved my advance!' Grosskopf recalls. Oceanheart was released some six years after Synthesist. 'The album title reflects my love of transcendental meditation, of course it might be taken for watery esoterics.' (A similar vibe was evident in the cover art, hence fresh artwork has been created for the reissue). Musical equipment for the production was limited by the label's ongoing thrift program. The first Oceanheart recordings took place 'under the roof' in the Lilli Berlin Studio, Kreuzberg. They were completed at the Spandauer Studio by former Tangerine Dream member Christoph Franke. 'We mixed everything down and recorded the drums there.' Harald Grosskopf again played everything himself, except for the tablas. In keeping with its predecessor, Oceanheart was no best-seller, but, like Synthesist, it attained cult status, rediscovered in recent years through the internet by a younger generation. Harald Grosskopf himself needed time to appreciate the work: 'I only really discovered the musical quality of Oceanheart years later. I finally realized that I had created something quite special.'" --Christoph Dallach