There are records that document a period of time, and others that seem to absorb it, letting geography, memory and circumstance leave a physical trace in the sound. Wanderlust, the new album by LUISA, clearly belongs to the second category. Framed as a journey stretching from the Adriatic to the Caucasus between 2019 and 2025, the album unfolds as a sequence of lived moments translated into electronic and experimental language, without ever feeling illustrative or didactic.
LUISA’s background as a composer, pianist and producer is evident from the opening minutes. Classical training quietly underpins the record, not as a dominant aesthetic but as a structural force. Piano motifs recur throughout Wanderlust, sometimes foregrounded, sometimes fragmented or submerged beneath layers of texture. Rhythm, meanwhile, is handled with restraint. Beats are rarely imposed; they emerge organically, shaped by field recordings, folk patterns and environmental sounds collected across multiple countries. The result is an album that breathes at its own pace, resisting the urgency typical of much contemporary electronica.
“Heart,” the opening track, sets the tone with a delicate balance between melodic clarity and ambient drift. Built around piano phrases that feel almost conversational, it integrates sound recordings from different countries without drawing attention to the technique itself. The rhythm is subtle, more implied than stated, allowing the piece to function as an emotional map rather than a fixed destination. This sense of movement continues into “Spring,” a track rooted in memories of Ukraine before 2022. Its rhythmic pulse is gentle, circular, evoking continuity and calm, while soft synth layers create an atmosphere that feels suspended in time.
As the album progresses, LUISA leans more decisively into experimental territory. “Enchant” introduces polyphonic chant from the Caucasus alongside Georgian drumming patterns, weaving traditional elements into electronic processing that preserves their rawness. The synth work here is textural rather than melodic, acting as a connective tissue between voices and percussion. On “Distance,” inspired by Slavic pipes heard in a Belarusian bar, improvisation plays a central role. The track’s rhythm is uneven by design, reflecting displacement and the experience of living between cultures.
The album’s title track, “Wanderlust,” functions as a thematic pivot. Its layered synths expand and contract, while rhythmic fragments appear and dissolve, reinforcing the idea of travel not as a straight line but as a series of overlapping impressions. “Isolate,” shaped by the experience of being overseas during COVID lockdowns, is more inward-looking. Sparse beats, filtered drones and muted piano lines create a sense of enclosure, with silence used as an active compositional element.
One of the most striking moments arrives with “Rise,” constructed primarily from protest recordings made during the 2020 uprising in Minsk. Rather than dramatizing the source material, LUISA integrates it into a measured, almost meditative framework. The rhythm remains controlled, allowing the weight of the recordings to speak through repetition and texture. “Storm,” built from a thunderstorm recorded in Georgia, follows a similar approach, transforming natural sound into a dynamic rhythmic presence without losing its original unpredictability.
The closing stretch of the album offers release. “Sail” carries a lighter atmosphere, shaped by flowing synth lines and a steady, calming pulse inspired by time spent in Greece. “Soar,” influenced by street clarinets in Tirana, introduces brighter tonal colors and a more open rhythmic feel. The final track, “Heart (Piano),” strips the album back to its core, closing the journey where it began, with piano alone.
Wanderlust stands as a carefully crafted work of electronic and experimental music, one that prioritizes atmosphere, texture and narrative over immediacy. Its high production quality, mastered by Bob Ellis, supports an album that feels cohesive despite its geographic and emotional range. It is a release shaped by movement, observation and listening, and one we are genuinely pleased to host on our webzine with this review.