Justyna Jablonska - Unforeseen

​Justyna Jablonska

Unforeseen
Alumni Records; 2026

TOP ALBUM

By Jamie Funk
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For most of her career, cellist Justyna Jablonska worked primarily as an interpreter, performing contemporary classical music while gradually expanding into improvisation, electronics and cross-cultural collaboration. During lockdown, with performance work suddenly disappearing, she began concentrating more seriously on composition. Unforeseen, her debut solo album, brings those different parts of her musical background together while drawing on childhood memories, field recordings and conversations with Polish, Ukrainian and Roma migrants.

The record explores displacement, adaptation and the idea of home, but those themes never overwhelm the music. Improvisation remains central, with Jablonska moving between processed cello, electronics, vocals, field recordings and more structured arrangements. Despite the conceptual framework, Unforeseen feels surprisingly immediate.

The title track is the simplest introduction, essentially a beautifully recorded cello performance given some extra space through reverb. It sounds great, but “If You Can Hear This” immediately changes direction. A beat somewhere between DJ Shadow and Aphex Twin moves underneath the cello, giving the track an ethereal quality that also feels distinctly ’90s. “9 Daughters,” featuring Monika Niemczynowicz, shifts again, with cascading voices creating a very different feel while retaining some of that same atmosphere.

Elsewhere, deeper electronic pulses recall Jon Hopkins and Björk, while Jablonska’s cello supplies much of the album’s melodic beauty. “Wayward” had an Eastern European folk quality to my ears, while “Fabryka” leans into dense and complicated cello arrangements. “The Pact,” again featuring Niemczynowicz, is more direct, built around a clear lead vocal, while “Procession” simplifies things and allows the strings to carry most of the piece.

“Bloki” is one of the more cinematic moments on the record, while “Shchedryk,” featuring Sofiia Fylypiv, feels almost like its culmination, gradually building into something larger and more dramatic. “Skye Boat Song” is an excellent closer. The sound of waves could easily have felt obvious, but here it fits, giving the album a natural endpoint after so much movement between acoustic and electronic textures.
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Unforeseen is a very strong album. The recording is excellent, the performances are exceptional, and the production is detailed without becoming cluttered. Most importantly, Jablonska manages to make an ambitious, high-concept record without making it feel pretentious. I’d especially recommend it to listeners who enjoy the atmospheric electronic music of Björk, Jon Hopkins, Aphex Twin or DJ Shadow.

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