New Woman. Luisa

Slowly but surely it is dawning on me that pop artists can come from anywhere. Where the first decades of my musical forming years the U.K. was certainly dominant, followed by the U.S. and my own country, all other countries were at best footnotes in my private discotheque. Over the past 10 years this has changed. Take Luisa, I have to listen closer to discern an accent in her singing. Musically this music could have been made anywhere, in this case Germany.

With New Music Luisa releases her third album. The music balances between modern pop, Sade soul, R&B and indie pop. It results in an album that is always pleasant to listen to, never offensive, where one song is closer to my liking than the other, an effect more modern albums have on me.

Reading her own words, I take this album has to be seen as a kind of liberation. Liberation from her past, liberation from being seen as a woman alone working in a male dominated music world, reverberating in the album title. Together with producer Tobias Siebert she crafted a wonderful musical world on New Woman. The album is rich in sound, round and full, where pop is an equal part of the more indie side of her songwriting.

At her best she gets close to Swiss but Berlin based singer Sophie Hunger, like in the majestic 'I Forgive You'. A ballad where pop meets a classical regality. This is only one side of New Woman. Just as easily Luisa moves over to modern sort of soul that Sade might have made, had she been 30 years younger. Luisa sings with the same longing over songs that are somewhat harder, so less dreamy.

Press photo

Like all good singers, Luisa has a few voices. She can sing in a deeper register, creating a different, more serious vibe, while through singing higher she gives a song a more dreamy quality. It results in a diverse album. On the downside, for me, are 80s synths and a Spandau Ballet rhythm guitar style playing, adorning some songs, e.g 'Walking Home With A Lover', where I am somewhat less pleased. As part of a whole album, I can live with the song though. There's enough to like here.

On stage Luisa may be a one band singer-songwriter on record she is not and the quality of New Woman suggests that her days as a one-woman band ought to be, at least partly, over. With a band her music will bloom further and get her name out further as well. Fact is, that Luisa with New Woman has given off a visiting card that ought to get her name out around the globe. Time will tell just how far the album will reach.

Wout de Natris

 

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g