Driftsways by Lauré Lussier

Driftsways by Lauré Lussier

When a composer like Lauré Lussier releases a new work, one does not approach it lightly. His previous compositions, haunting, intricate, often cinematic, have already established him as a contemporary voice who blurs the lines between orchestration, sound design, and storytelling. Driftsways by Lussier takes another bold step forward. This two-part electroacoustic work, comprised of “Themes & Variations” and “Rondo,” is less a collection of pieces than it is a sonic architecture—alive, shifting, and emotionally immersive. It challenges our expectations not only of form but of what music can do in relation to time and memory.

Electroacoustic Language and Narrative Depth

In Driftsways by Lauré Lussier, the shift toward a more pronounced electroacoustic language is unmistakable. While Lussier has always walked the line between acoustic and electronic textures, this release delves more deeply into that fusion than ever before. If we are to label it, perhaps the most accurate, though still incomplete, description would be: experimental contemporary electroacoustic classical music. It’s a long tag, but anything shorter wouldn’t do justice to the album’s complexity.

The opening movement, Themes & Variations, immediately sets a distinctive tone with a main theme built on augmented seconds—a melodic interval often associated with Middle Eastern modalities. This subtle choice imbues the work with an unusual coloration, evoking cultural echoes while remaining fully original. It brought to mind the music of Iranian avant-garde composer Alireza Mashayekhi, whose electroacoustic explorations similarly treat folk-like motifs with radical experimentalism. Despite living on opposite sides of the world, both artists arrive at strikingly similar emotional and structural territories.

Deconstructing Form: Variations and the Illusion of Return

While the titles Themes & Variations and Rondo suggest adherence to classical forms, Lussier treats these forms more as conceptual frameworks than rigid structures. Yes, both works retain aspects of their titular models, but their true power lies in how they manipulate listener expectation.

In Themes & Variations, the music departs so far from its opening theme that the connection feels spectral, lingering only in gesture or harmonic shape. Yet, at some point, the theme returns, not in a traditional sense, but refracted, like a memory recalled from a dream. In this way, the piece sometimes behaves more like a rondo, with recurring passages emerging from and disappearing into soundscapes that are constantly evolving.

This fluid play with musical architecture is part of what makes Lussier's work so affecting. As Roland Torres from SilenceAndSound magazine, aptly puts it,

“Lauré Lussier never stops playing with time, stretching and compressing it, diluting it and making it rise from its ashes.” 

The album doesn't just explore form; it explodes it, then reassembles it into something deeply personal and unpredictable.

Instrumentation, Orchestration, and the Live Performance

One of the most remarkable aspects of Driftsways is the orchestration. In the first movement especially, the melodic lines unfold with narrative clarity, each variation sculpting the theme anew. Lussier doesn’t merely orchestrate; he narrates with instruments.

That said, a minor critique is warranted: some instruments—particularly the flute in the first movement—sound noticeably sample-based. While not disruptive, it does momentarily break the immersive illusion. Still, this is a production limitation, not a compositional one.

In fact, this raises a broader question: why aren’t pieces like Driftsways performed live more often? The work begs to be experienced in a concert setting. Some time ago, I wrote about how concert halls too often become museums of the dead, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven and so on. Don't get me wrong, I love them all and enjoy listening to their music in concert halls, but at the same time living composers have remained underrepresented. Lussier’s work, emotionally and intellectually rich, proves that contemporary music is not only relevant but essential. Driftsways deserves to resonate through the architecture of a hall, not just a pair of headphones.

Final Thoughts on Driftsways by Lauré Lussier

Driftsways by Lauré Lussier is not an easy listen. The album challenges form, bends time, and paints with sound rather than melody. It continues the composer’s journey toward something wholly his own: a kind of alchemical music-making that’s less about style and more about transformation.

With Driftsways, Lussier offers us not just compositions, but experiences, episodes where musical ideas evolve, fracture, and return changed. This is music that mutates. Music that remembers. Music that refuses to be still, and I hope, I really hope to hear it one day live in a concert hall.

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This review was written as part of a promotional service provided by Tunitemusic, based on information submitted by the artist.