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Wanderlust goes Electronic with "experiment 8"
"We actually recorded sober," says Nilsson
Sulari, Duchy of Suldanor
November 12, 5533


Alt-Pop Wanderlust takes a dark turn on new album for ARC

"We actually recorded this record sober," said singer Elga Nilsson of the band Wanderlust.  Long known for sugar sweet lounge pop that employs unique instrumentation and poppy fun melodies, paired with dolorous lyrics, the band has decided to follow up their alt-rock foray First Band in Spencer with a much more electronic heavy entry called experiment 8.

"Fame kind of set in, and we started using a lot of drugs," said Nilsson. "Mostly mushrooms and acid, and that kind of opened our minds to newer sounds and different ways to actually make music that allows us to try new things." Nilsson brings her buttery smooth vocals to the record, of course, but she and composer Peer Markinsson went for a sharper edge, both in terms of chord progressions and production tone.

"We went with a lot of minor key music this time around," said Markinsson. "The thing is, I think we were all in a very good place, and we were in more of an exploratory mode when writing this music. And one of the cooler things is that the whole band wrote this record: everyone brought new ideas into the sessions. Lindy (Bassist Thomas Lindberg) has been listening to more industrial music down here in Sulari. And Elga has been doing more with the musicians up in Vrassa. It was really kind of a new experience, and I think it is the start of a more experimental phase for our music."

There is not really any sophistipop on this record at all. The drums are very sharp and electronic, the guitars are quite fuzzy, the keyboards are more like synths than organs, and the bass is definitely thicker and is more reminiscent of RF type music than the pop of earlier albums. Nilsson's voice even is a little grittier. And they brought in a new production team, with Markinsson and Lindy serving as co-producers alongside electronica producer Todd Ax. "Ax let us do a lot of stuff, but his ear was very valuable," said Markinsson. "He would say 'try this' or 'let's add this effect.' and it always seemed to work out, because it was usually what we were also thinking too. We definitely learned a lot."

"It sounds like she finally got tired of smiling all the time," said critic Ron Davis. "Elga's voice is certainly one of a kind. She normally sounds like what a ray of sunshine would sound like if it was a sound. On this album, it feels a bit more like a death beam, like a sun burn rather than something kind. Its definitely a darker tone for the whole band."

But there are also tender moments on the album as well that hearken back to earlier Wanderlust pop. One particular song, the "We'll Make it Out of Here" is sparsely arranged on the surface, but after listening deeper to the song, one can feel the emotion and the gentleness pouring out of the speakers. It's not pop in this sense. It transcends pop and verges on progressive music.

"This band has really grown up here in Kalistan," said Davis. "Experiment 8 is a very mature album, for a fanbase who has grown with the band. Can we say they have transformed into an alternative act after all? That would be fair, but it also ignores the fact that they have been an alternative band the entire time. Sophistipop isn't exactly top 40 stuff. There is a lot of stuff going on on this album that is as strange and as out of the ordinary as anything else that they have done, and their willingness to try new stuff shows not only their true virtuosity, but also their professionalism, that kind of puts complaints about their recreational activates to rest. If they make music like this on drugs, like who cares?"

The first single, "Another Round" is probably their hardest rocking song from the record. This is a mix of electronic and analog instrumentation, and there is nothing sweet about it. Markinsson uses the break at the end to shread on his guitar. "Its about as far from 'I Will Never Know' as we can get," said Markinsson.

"We were aiming at grit," said Nilsson. "There was a lot of really loud music in that whole scene, and we pretty much missed it all, so this was kind of our ode to those bands. Stuff I've been listening to in Vrassa City, that kind of stuff. Getting the guys to go up there and check it out, I think they were really impressed. This music is our ode to the Port Swedes Sound. I don't know if we will do more of that, though. Who knows."

Check out experiment 8, the full album, by Wanderlust, released by ARC Records, and then check out the video for the first single "Another Round" right here or on M7.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46EwecvbGp8]

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