Synergy

Larry Fast launched the Synergy project in 1975 through the album Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra, a work that probed the creative potential of synthesizer and sequencer technology alongside emerging digital-studio methods and produced some of the decade’s most original electronic music. The endeavor was essentially Fast’s solo undertaking, and his parallel efforts to integrate synthesized textures into mainstream pop during the 1970s and 1980s further established his reputation; the artists who enlisted him for these passages included Yes, Peter Gabriel, Meat Loaf, John Denver, Barbra Streisand, Hall & Oates, Kate Bush, Foreigner, and Randy Newman.

Raised in West Essex, New Jersey, Fast studied piano and violin prior to enrolling at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Exposure to computer-science classes there sparked his interest in synthesized sound, prompting him to construct rudimentary instruments of his own. An interview at a local radio station led to an introduction to Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who became intrigued by Fast’s custom-built devices and modified synthesizers. While Fast was in England helping Yes complete Tales from Topographic Oceans in 1974, Passport Records offered him a recording contract.

Under the Synergy name, he issued Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra in 1975; the album unexpectedly found favor on progressive radio and earned praise from Robert Moog, who called it the most significant recording yet made with his Moog synthesizer. Shortly afterward Fast met Peter Gabriel, then newly departed from Genesis and preparing his solo debut; Gabriel enlisted him to handle synthesized effects on his first three self-titled albums. The hits “Shock the Monkey,” “Biko,” and “Games Without Frontiers” enhanced Fast’s standing as the go-to specialist for that modern electronic palette. Even as he completed three additional Synergy albums in the late 1970s, he continued collaborating with numerous artists and joined Gabriel on tour. He also composed the score for the original Laserium planetarium presentation and later scored films such as About Last Night and Planes, Trains and Automobiles during the 1980s.