Overview

Twinkle Link is an album published by Dear Stage Records in collaboration with Ge-On-Dan. Featuring Mirin Furukawa as a vocalist and TECHNOuchi as a composer, it is, in essence, idol music. However, does TECHNOuchi's style manage to bring anything new to offer?

Body

The album opens with "etropica..." This theme is very ethereal in nature and features some bell-like synthesizers and heavenly choral vocals to provide a very mystifying atmosphere. However, there are also references to the title theme, "Twinkle Link", as well, which help foreshadow a bit of the pop influence heard in the album.

The title theme, "Twinkle Link," is an infectiously catchy theme. Featuring TECHNOuchi's house beats with a pop twist and some wonderful electronic harmonies, it manages to portray a very futuristic, yet earthly, tone through its strong melodies. I really enjoy the vocalist as well. Her voice definitely has some filters applied to it at times, such as vocoder, but her natural voice isn't extremely kawaii, like some of the vocalists who do idol music. The instrumental bridge is also quite ethereal and stunning and provides a warm atmosphere.

The other vocal theme, "Moonlight Rhapsody," is a pop ballad. Featuring warm vocals and accompaniment, it almost has a Christmassy tone to it. I particularly enjoy how the ethereal accompaniment and chimes manage to give off the feeling of a starry sky. It's a truly exquisite theme with some beautiful passages. There are also instrumental versions of these two themes for those who want to do karaoke or aren't fans of the vocals.

The last theme on the album is "fairytale". Similar in approach to "etropica...", it also references "Twinkle Link" in its melody and also features some wordless vocal sections that mirror the melody as well. It closes the album quite well as it helps tie together the different tones heard in the single.

Summary

In the end, I think TECHNOuchi's Twinkle Link is a very enjoyable album. He provides wonderful electronic melodies and harmonies that play to his strengths in terms of electronic music. The vocalist does a fantastic job of bringing TECHNOuchi's melodies to life as well and her voice isn't overbearing like some Japanese vocalists. If you can, I do recommend this album, but I wish it was longer as well. When I finished listening to it, I felt that the dreamscape that I was cast into seemed to end too quickly.