'Sacred Journey of Heart' combines Lightphaser's last three two-song EPs ('Instincts of Future, ''Serenade,' and 'Stay With Me'), plus extra tracks into a 12-track album. It relies heavily on the Hatsune Miku vocaloid software program (which sounds as cute as the Manga cover images created by ALYCESON for these Lightphaser releases) which some people can't get enough of (as evidenced by Hatsune Miku's huge online fanbase), and others really can't stand. Most Hatsune Miku content you'll find on YouTube consists of huge live events with glowstick waving audiences in the rock and dance pop vein with song lyrics primarily in an Asian language. Lightphaser shows the softer side of Hatsune Miku (in English, thankfully); more dreamy space pop (I guess space pop is a genre now, since Echozone thinks so) than anything else. Two of the tracks I've heard and reviewed previously ("Play With Me" and "Serenade"), but the rest is newer material. Although the other shorter (EP) songs ("Stay With Me," "Brighter Than The Sun," "What I Have Been Looking For," "Beautiful") are nice enough, the real magic here is smack dab in the middle, with a couple of longer tracks ("Dream," Heartbeat") which uses wordless Hatsune Miuku vocals over extended synth instrumentals. Not only does this keep Hatsune from wearing out her welcome, but it adds an extra dimension to the album as a whole. The one thing you may notice about the vocaloid program is that the words aren't always easy to understand unless they're very simple phrases.

The last couple of tracks are more varied and interesting as well. "Final Determination" is a bit longer than Lightphaser's average Hatsune Miku track with lyrics, at over six minutes, with a more serious tone and somewhat progressive. The closer, "Wish," is sort of melancholic, but a fitting end to 'Sacred Journey of Heart.' Joseph Gogh may well carve out his own Hatsune Miku niche with what Lighphaser has been doing lately, but I wonder if it won't eventually become clichéd. Still, very enjoyable in the here and now.

In the age of continuing Covid I really haven't felt much like reviewing new music, so I'm a little behind on some things. In this case, a whole year behind, misreading this album's release date as Feb. 20, 2021 when it was actually released Feb. 20, 2020. Oh well...sorry about that. It doesn't change the fact that I'm still a little on the fence about it, but we'll get to that later. This seems to be the first (solo) release from Chorea Minor who had a couple of albums back in the '90s with a band called Hekate back in the '90s on the German Krokodil Records label. Haven't heard them, as they're pretty obscure and scarce now. The man behind Chorea Minor also calls himself Chorea Minor which I'm sure isn't his real name. (Chorea Minor is another name for the neurologic disorder, St. Vitus Dance, which I certainly hope he does not have.) 'Black White Moon' is a double CD album with the "Black" half having more vocals than the "White" half. As for the music, Echozone categorizes it as "Space Pop," but I think that's just a genre recently made up. A good chunk of this album sounds more along the lines of Futurepop, which is a recognized genre. Just don't get your hope up that Chorea Minor is going to sound anything like VNV Nation, Covenant or Apoptygma Berzerk.

Beginning with the Black disc, the six songs on it are carried out spritely, with spoken and sung vocals. The sung vocals are definitely understated, which isn't really a good thing and contributes to the overall generic tone. To some degree it compares to Kraftwerk, but Kraftwerk's beat intensity is much more pronounced that what we have here. The music is good but unexceptional and nothing stayed with me even after multiple plays. The last thing you really want your music described as is electro wallpaper, but that's how it came off.

Moving on to Disc 2, the White CD which is also 6 tracks (clocking in at about 32 minutes as opposed to Black's 30 minutes), you'll notice the difference right away with the heavier, more organic drum sounds (as opposed to Black's standard electro programmed drum machine sounds), giving more of a tribal vibe with richer, more evocative synthwork. The vocals are well in line with this too, even though they still seem to be in the background. The novelty continues with "A New Daylight" with forcefully bowed strings and a relentless rhythm track. Vocals are wordless but effective; the cinematic impression I got was one of primitives running through the jungle, but you can let your imagination run wild. The pace is kept up with the title track ("Black White Moon") which reverts back a little to electro but doesn't sacrifice any urgency. Things are more relaxed on "Another Kind," which offers a bit of a breather as the vocals in it cross into a dreamy kind of World Music. "Question Mark" heads back to '80's style electro terrain, albeit more modernized. Once again vocals seem to swirl around in the ambience (and some female vocals as well I believe), with some spoken word as well which seemed superfluous. Musically, "Health" is a apt closer in its wind-down spirit, although it's the least interesting composition on the White Disc.

Perhaps the reason for the disparity between the two album halves is that there was a different producer for each disc- the BLACK-CD by Krischan J. E. Wesenberg (Rotesand) and the WHITE CD by Patrick Damiani (ex-Rome). Considering what I thought was the failure of the Black portion and the success of the White portion, I could offer Chorea Minor some advice: get a really good vocalist and cut out (or at least drastically cut down on) the spoken word bits. Your synth skills are good but you really need to work on some catchy hooks that will make your music memorable. Maybe put a real band together and benefit from the input of your members. There are just too many people out there trying to make it in this genre, and merely good just isn't good enough anymore. On the positive side, the package for this release is attractive, and it's a limited edition (500), hand-signed and had-numbered by Chorea Minor. I'd be curious to hear what this project has to offer in the future.

The title of this release landed in my mailbox immediately surmised the one of a recent album by Lawrence English. If the optimism according to that title by the appreciated Australian producer was cruel, the optimism by this young techno-forger hailing from Frankfurt is radical. Getting influenced in her own words by her brother's records orbiting around the big planets of New York and Chicago House (she quotes Kerri Chandler and Larry Heard in particular) and the glorious culture of Detroit techno and all the other "electronic" extensions of house music, but I would also file under Luz1e's sources for inspiration and sonic influences by the interesting sonic entourage of Frankfurt, site of pretty famous venues like Sven Vath's Cocoon, pre and post Dorian Grey clubbing scenes, Andreas Thomalla's pollination, Robert Johnson, Tanzhaus West and many more as well as the electro techno bridging many more or less independent producers from Nortern Europe and Northern America (I could quote labels like Satamile, Planet Mu, Rotters Golf Club or producers like Andrew Weatherall, Alan O'Boyle or Larry McCormick, just to render a frame). After a careful listening to the four tracks of this EP (in particular the opener "Transition" and the harshest follow-up on the same side "Electronic Warfare"), I would say that its geometric electronic cuts, the robotic mumbling and the sudden storms of metallic clangours could be considered a revision of the perfectionist electro revival of another talented "frankfurter", Anthony Rother, in particular all the workouts that were like bricks of Psi49Net. On the B-side, she gets closer to the dynamics of legendary producers like Drexciya and Basic Channel by means of melodies, gradually hacked by electro basslines and funny breaks both on "Emotional Intelligence" and the title-track "Radical Optimism", lighter (or maybe just more daydreaming) face of the moody duality of this nice sonic trinket.

Eric Random has a strong CV with Manchester and Sheffield connections, with connections to Cabaret Voltaire and the Buzzcocks, and a rich track record of releases, fairly prolific over the last few years. It’s Cabaret Voltaire that I would use as a starting point to describe the dark synthpop sound- light electronic beats, vocoded brooding vocals, crisp analogue synth bass with bleeps and beeps.

However despite the punk credentials, there’s surprisingly little attitude at play here. The production is generally quite lightweight, eschewing modern more-is-more mastering and EQ in favour of a more authentic, thinner, 80’s synthpop sound. Kraftwerk comparisons are obvious and inevitable but relevant in the sonic palette of tracks like “Fundamental Phenomena”.

It’s a genre that’s quite well stocked for new, old-sounding releases, and as with other releases, it’s elements such as songwriting strength that would make it stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, while some of the songs here are catchy and nicely written, there’s a shortage of inspirational moments- earworm hooks, or lyrical wizardry- to elevate this release. Certainly much of it is not bad, but many of the melodies are a bit too one-note, and lyrics like “keep on running to the other side”, in “Compulsion”, do feel like songwriting-by-numbers.

“The Familiar” is one of the brighter-sounding tracks, and probably the track most likely to draw people in if it were to get playlisted. “Sinuous Seduction”, with its spoken word samples and more rubbery electro bass, also stands out as a highlight, as does “Acyetalene Dream Pt. II” which hints at what a more driving and industrial attitude would’ve infused into this release.

“I’m open to ideas” is a lyric in the track “Fundamental Phenomena”. Harshly, it does feel like ideas is what “No-Go” is a little short of, as though we’re going through the workmanlike process of churning out electronic tunes hoping that inspiration or uniqueness would magically appear, and for the most part it doesn’t. But that being said, there is still an undeniable quality to the production, and some strong tracks, and as dark synthpop to work to rather than idolise, this is worth a listen.

Pushing the definition of an ‘EP’ in all senses, “Think About Me” is a pair of two radio-length house tunes. The title track, with its understated and faintly Timberlake-ish soul-pop vocal mantra and strong synthwave-ish bass, has a slightly retro feel about it but is very accessible.

Instrumental B-side “Lost” is less retro, and has a nice dynamic to it, languid in the groove but with some more energetic fills and builds that form a nice substitute verse-chorus structure, and a vocal noise that gives a nice character.

It’s a sweet little pair of radio-friendly tunes, gentle enough for daytime and clubbable too. More tracks or some extended mixes to make this release an *actual* EP would have been nice though.