Lunatic Soul is the solo outfit of the creator, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Mariusz Duda. Duda is best known as the frontman of the Polish progressive rock band Riverside, where he is the main composer, lyricist, vocalist, and bassist. In 2008, he launched a separate outlet in which, as he says himself, he wanted to create something different and uncompromising.

Lunatic Soul is inspired by artists such as Dead Can Dance, Peter Gabriel (especially his “Passion” album), Mike Oldfield, Clannad, Hedningarna and Depeche Mode. It’s an attempt to blend ambient music and electronic music with folk and rock influences. Duda plays almost all the instruments himself, with occasional guest appearances from invited musicians.

While the artist doesn’t reject the label of progressive rock, he believes that “Lunatic Soul gives me more room for musical originality than Riverside”. For this reason, he doesn’t like Lunatic Soul being referred to as a “side project”. “To me, there’s nothing secondary about Lunatic Soul. Musically and conceptually, it’s an equally important musical world – if not more important. Here, I can do literally anything.”

Since its inception in 2008, Lunatic Soul have released seven full-length albums and 2025 will see the release of the 8^th album “The World Under Unsun” via Inside Out Music internationally and Mystic Production in Poland. All eight albums form what is known as the “The Circle of Life and Death”, a cohesive story in which a solitary artist-traveller journeys between life and death.