Loida Liuzzi: Between Strings, Destiny, and Transformation

By Young N’ Loud Magazine

The First Spark of Sound

Every artist has an origin story, but some beginnings feel less like a decision and more like a calling whispered early in life. For Loi, music entered quietly, almost innocently, through the sound of her father’s guitar echoing through their home in Paraguay. Paraguayan melodies and familiar songs filled the air, played on classical guitars that rested casually yet powerfully in the household. One evening, watching her father shred with effortless confidence, something shifted. At nine years old, she did not see a hobby or a pastime. She saw the possibility.

Those first lessons were brief and imperfect. A moment of impatience ended them, leaving behind a silence that lingered longer than expected. Yet absence has a way of sharpening desire. Years later, at fourteen, Loi encountered Jennifer Batten on a DVD, performing the iconic Beat It solo. The experience struck her with the force of revelation. It was not admiration alone. It was recognition. She saw herself in that moment, not as a spectator but as a future participant in the language of guitar.

Persistence became her earliest discipline. Nearly a year of pleading followed before her parents enrolled her in music school. Classical guitar came first out of necessity rather than choice, but dedication never wavered. One day, recognizing her commitment, her father took her to buy her first electric guitar. That moment did not simply mark an upgrade in instruments. It marked the beginning of identity.

Roots That Refuse to Fade

Born in Asuncion, Paraguay, Loi carries the complexity of a small country with a powerful cultural heartbeat. Paraguayan folk music and boleros formed her earliest musical vocabulary, shaping her sense of rhythm and melody before rebellion inevitably arrived. With adolescence and internet access came rock and metal, genres that reshaped her musical direction and challenged inherited traditions.

Her Italian surname hints at another layer of cultural inheritance, one that adds depth rather than contradiction. Over time, distance from her homeland sharpened her connection to it. Living in the United States brought clarity, allowing her to recognize the beauty in what once felt ordinary. That reconnection now quietly informs her artistic future, with ideas already forming for work that honors those origins without nostalgia or constraint.

Choosing the Guitar Over Certainty

Loi’s path was not without detours. After school, she entered university to study chemistry, committing herself fully to a life that promised structure and stability. Yet something essential was missing. Her guitar waited silently in the corner of her room, a constant reminder of what was being ignored.

One night, exhaustion overtook discipline. She picked up the guitar and played until sleep arrived naturally, the instrument still in her arms. The clarity that followed was undeniable. Ten minutes of music brought more joy than eight hours of equations and lectures. The following day, she passed her exam, but the realization had already settled. She was living against herself. That moment did not end her education immediately, but it marked a turning point that continues to echo through her work.

A Name That Became a Statement

Names often arrive with stories attached, but Loi’s emerged from simplicity and instinct. Her given name, Loida, was frequently mispronounced and misunderstood. Shortening it to Loi felt natural, direct, and unburdened. It became a name people could remember and a name that left room for association. For some, it subtly recalls the spirit of Pink Floyd. For her, it represents clarity. No excess. No disguise.

Music as Movement and Narrative

Describing Loi’s music through conventional genre labels feels limiting. Her sound is best understood as fresh, rebellious rock shaped into narrative form. Riffs speak where words fall short. Melodies trace emotional landscapes rather than chase trends. Each piece feels like a journey rather than a destination, inviting listeners to follow rather than consume. The emotion she seeks to evoke is escape without denial. Her music offers a temporary departure from reality, not to avoid it, but to return with perspective. She believes deeply in the enduring power of authenticity and in the quiet community of listeners who still seek what is genuine.

Where Instinct Meets Craft

Loi’s creative process is rooted in nourishment. Travel, art, food, silence, and listening to the greats all play equal roles. The influence of musicians like Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, and even the emotional directness of Adele informs her approach without overshadowing her voice.

Winter, solitude, and uninterrupted time often become sacred conditions for creation. In these moments, melodies flow effortlessly from mind to fingers, bypassing overthinking. This was not always the case. Early playing was mechanical, bound by muscle memory and limitation. Over time, intuition replaced effort. Today, she begins with a central melody, builds structure through contrast, and always returns to the riff as the emotional anchor. Rhythm, more than key, defines the mood. The result is music that breathes.

Influences Beyond Sound

Travel has become one of Loi’s most profound influences. She rarely hesitates when an opportunity arises. The Dominican Republic offered healing at a moment of exhaustion, its sea a reminder to breathe and slow down. Italy brought romance, warmth, and a reverence for life through food, light, and human connection. Her relationship with sadness is equally honest. She embraces the beauty of tragedy through literature and allows space for melancholy through classical music and reflective songs. Tears are not a weakness in her world. They are part of balance. Sadness is acknowledged, then released, making room again for joy.

Passion as a Signature

Asked to define her signature, Loi hesitates. Artists often struggle to name what others see clearly. Audiences, however, are consistent. They speak of her passion, her visible joy on stage, the way her body moves with the guitar, and the undeniable sense that she is having fun. That joy is not performative. It is contagious.

Moments That Shaped the Path

Her journey is marked by moments that feel almost cinematic. Meeting Jennifer Batten in Paraguay closed a circle that began years earlier in front of a DVD screen. Touring Italy while performing The Journey for the first time in a power trio setting expanded her sense of possibility. Playing in New York tested her courage and confirmed her readiness. The stage, once a looming presence, transformed into a place of command.

Equally influential are the people she has met along the way. Supportive and difficult alike, they have shaped her understanding of resilience and self trust.

Learning to Let Go

Perfectionism once slowed her progress. Years passed with unfinished demos, ideas trapped by overthinking. Creating The Journey taught her a crucial lesson. Art requires care, but it also requires release. Too much control stifles truth. Today, she focuses on essentials and trusts her instincts more than ever. Her evolution has been technical, musical, and deeply personal. With experience came discernment. Noise fell away. Intuition emerged as the most reliable guide. The continuation of The Journey promises further growth rooted in that trust.

Music That Still Gives Chills

Certain moments remain untouchable. Little Big Things stands as the composition closest to her heart. Its tenderness carries intention, and hearing Greg Howe’s guitar tracks for the first time moved her to tears. She knew instantly that the song would connect deeply. Live performance holds its own memories. Sharing a stage with Maná in front of forty five thousand people delivered pure adrenaline and affirmation in equal measure.

Beyond Assumptions

First impressions can mislead. Some see a guitarist and assume surface before substance. The difference reveals itself when listeners engage with her original work. Those who connect often explore further, discovering stories and emotional layers that defy assumptions. The challenge lies not in depth, but in inviting people to listen long enough to hear it.

Solitude, Strength, and Ritual

At this stage, Loi stands alone with her guitar, supported by collaborators and a co producer shaping the next chapter. Nature grounds her. Moving to a cabin near the mountains was not an aesthetic choice but a necessity. Physical training keeps her connected to discipline and balance. Before performances, there is no elaborate ritual. Only a quiet prayer and a simple affirmation. She reminds herself that she was born for this, and that joy remains central. If her music had a flavor, it would be wild berries. Varied, vibrant, and drawn from the same untamed source.

Meaning Beyond the Notes

More than applause, Loi seeks connection. She wants listeners to leave feeling something real, perhaps a little closer to themselves. Authenticity, intuition, and growth define her recurring themes. Her work carries a voice shaped by lived experience, informed by her perspective as a Paraguayan woman, without leaning on labels. Her next chapter promises maturity and vulnerability. Instrumental music has always allowed space for interpretation, but she now feels ready to be more direct, more open, and more exposed.

The Road Ahead

Loi is currently writing entirely new material, shaped by a year of transformation. Old demos are giving way to fresh ideas that reflect who she has become. Blues, funk, and rock will all find their place, offered as a gift to her audience and herself. Dream collaborations remain on the horizon, including work with Lari Basilio and touring alongside Marco Minnemann. Success, however, is not measured in scale alone. Each sincere reaction matters. Fulfillment and happiness remain the true markers. What keeps her Young N Loud is simple and profound. Music is not her profession. It is her identity. The journey continues, unpredictable and demanding, but filled with moments she knows she will never regret.