Short Reviews [Soniq Theater - 2020 - "Fortune Tunes"]

Alfred Mueller is back with his twentieth solo album, and it sees him again performing all the music, which is something of a shame as I enjoyed the additional elements provided on the last album by guitarist Ralph Brandenburger, and it would have been nice to have heard more in the way of outside contributions. I have reviewed all of Alfred’s albums over the years, and this is again what I expect to hear from him, namely Eighties style keyboard music which has been heavily influenced by Tangerine Dream, and to a lesser degree by Keith Emerson. Songs such as “Tarot Cards’ are full of drive, and he continues to produce music which contains a groove and power quite unlike many others within the scene. However, this is pretty interchangeable with many of his other releases, and I do wish he would consider bringing a band back together like Rachel’s Birthday, the group he was in prior to starting the Soniq Theater journey, as in that environment I feel he would thrive and it would allow him to move in different musical directions as opposed to producing music which has rarely changed in the years I have known him. That being said, I have always enjoyed his albums and along with his complete catalogue this has been made available for “name your price” on Bandcamp so if you enjoy keyboard music and have yet to hear any of his material what have you to lose?