And so “the big day” is getting nearer. I am really pleased to announce that the new, seventh (!) Lunatic Soul album titled “Through Shaded Woods” is coming out on 13th November 2020.
“Shaded Woods” are our worst traumas and nightmares. Going through these woods symbolises facing them. It’s a test of courage. Musically, we’re going on a journey inspired by dark Scandinavian and Slavic folk.

“Through Shaded Woods” will be released as a single LP, a single CD and a special extended double CD version containing, among others, a suite “Transition II”. It will also be available on all streaming services and digital platforms.

Here is the tracklist of the new album:

Lunatic Soul – “Through Shaded Woods”

1. Navvie 04:03
2. The Passage 08:57
3. Through Shaded Woods 05:51
4. Oblivion 05:03
5. Summoning Dance 09:52
6. The Fountain 06:04

Bonus disc:

1. Vyraj 05:32
2. Hylophobia 03:20
3. Transition II 27:45

The first single from the album will be out on September 25th.

Preorder: https://lunaticsoul.lnk.to/ThroughShadedWoods

I remember coming back home tired and happy after the first leg of the “Wasteland Tour” in the autumn of 2018. Right then, as a part of recovering, I started thinking about… a new album.

“It’s time for Lunatic Soul”, I thought. “This one, why don’t I make it… green.”

I sat down comfortably with a notebook I had just bought in order to plan out the new album, like I always do. I was a bit annoyed because I couldn’t find one with clear pages and a green cover. I went for an odd grey one. But there was an element of a forest on the cover, an owl, so I thought my inner balance might be alright after all, in spite of the lack of green.

A green Lunatic, and so this time… sylvan, viking, slavic in nature…

That would obviously call for something free of electronics – because the forest, because we’re going back to the roots. There would have to be only live instruments, just like on the first two albums, but maybe without wastelandy-oriental moods for a change. This time, it would have to be more Scandinavian. I would have to create something viking, dark folk, a little slavic, but, naturally, in my own way.

I liked the idea, especially that I myself come from the land of forests and lakes, and I love dark folk music. Besides, damn it, Lunatic Soul was conceived, among others, because, apart from Peter Gabriel and Dead Can Dance, I had always liked bands like Hedningarna or Garmarna.

At that time, I was playing Skyrim for yet another time on Playstation, and I had just finished the “Blood and Wine” expansion for The Witcher 3. I had also just heard about Netflix plans to do the series. Yes, it was another sign.

“OK then, let’s create a ‘Lunatic soundtrack for The Witcher’,” I thought to myself and opened the notebook.

***

Before I picked up my acoustic guitar, I remembered what it’s like when I have completely nothing, not a single sound for a new album, and how much I want in such moments to travel into the future to the time when the album has just been finished. Wouldn’t it be great to go to the exact day, and sit down on a couch, put your headphones on and close your eyes…

***

Let me tell you something, travelling in time is a truly incredible experience.

MD

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all safe and sound, and that you’re taking a good care of yourselves, both physically and mentally. These are tough times, filled with fear of what the future might bring us, of how our lives will change, because they surely will. But I also believe that together we can cope with everything.

I’m thinking that Lunatic Soul fans deserve to finally receive some news. I haven’t posted anything here for quite a while and I hope you can forgive me for that. Let me start by saying ‘thank you’ for supporting my new project, which is individual songs released under “Mariusz Duda”. But don’t be deceived by “The Song of the Dying Memory”, my “subcutaneous songs” will come in different shapes and forms :)

A month ago, I started up a new internet website, mariuszduda.md, where I gathered and graphically organised all the musical endeavours I have taken part in, leaving free spaces for future plans. In the Lunatic Soul section, there are two empty slots. One of them is for this year’s album, which will be released in the autumn of 2020.

Many of you already know that I have been working on the seventh Lunatic Soul release. There have been occasional news from the studio, some short clips, pictures from a forest ;) and bits of information in various interviews. I must say it wasn’t easy to find sufficient time during the intense “Wasteland tour” with Riverside, but, somehow, 75% of the new Lunatic Soul album is ready.

These days I’m finishing working on the lyrics. The final recordings, vocals and overdubs, will be planned in May and June, and the seventh Lunatic Soul album will be released in October.

***

Lunatic Soul has its cycle, and all the albums have their timeline (let me refer you again to mariuszduda.md). The seventh album will be a musical continuation of the black and white albums, the third release “on the side of death”, and the “opposite” album to “Walking on a Flashlight Beam”, where there was a transition from life to death. Here, we will have a transition from death to life. I know it may all sound a little complicated and I promise to explain it all better one day, in a visual form ;)

What’s important and what I can already share with you is that:

– it will be a dark folk, organic, Slavic-Scandinavian album. Exactly what you have always expected from Lunatic Soul :)
– the colour palette of the album and its cover will be connected with… a dark forest :)
– there will be 6 tracks on the album, about 40 minutes in total.
– there will also be a double disc edition with additional… 40 minutes of music, mainly instrumental, including a 26-minute suite called “Transition 2”. That gives us nearly 80 minutes of new material.

***

I think before the summer arrives, I will reveal more information, both audio and visual, about this release. It will be a melodious, dense and coherent album. Very close to nature and to my heart. I come from the Masurian land of forests and lakes, that’s where I was born, that’s where I grew up, and thus “sylvan and Slavic moods” have always been and will remain a part of my life.

I don’t know yet what will happen with this year’s concerts of Riverside but I can promise you now that in the autumn of this year you can expect the new Lunatic Soul release.
I hope that it will bring you a lot of intense emotions and perhaps make going through this incredibly difficult time at least a little bit more bearable.

Be well!
MD

Before I know it, January 2020 has almost ended and I promised myself and you that I would share some reflections for 2020. Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio, which wasn’t easy because Riverside are touring like crazy, but, against all odds, I managed to find some time for thinking through and recording some new ideas.

As you will remember, when I was 33, I started a music project. On a whim. Out of necessity. Lunatic Soul has done pretty well because I managed to create music which is different from what I do in Riverside.

Recently, I turned 44, so I think it’s high time for another music world.

One might ask, why do I need another solo project if I have Lunatic Soul? Well. And why did I need Lunatic Soul if I had Riverside? You might not know it but the artists who have not fulfilled their desires, dreams and ambitions are the most frustrated people out there. Some of them end up really badly – for instance, as journalists. So if one has a chance to fulfil one’s plans on multiple levels, then, as long as one’s wellbeing and climate changes allow, one should enjoy the possibilities. This time, however, I’m not going to play with any nicknames and I’ll simply sign my work with my own name and surname.

***

I am most of all a creator of complete entities, at least that’s how I feel. I make albums, recordings, I tell stories. I always begin with a title, a cover, a colour, and then I fill that framework with sounds composed alone or with the help of my friends. That’s how it works in Riverside, that’s how it works in Lunatic Soul. When I’m making music, I want the listener to feel as if they are watching a film at the cinema. Experiencing something that has a beginning, a twist, a climax, and an ending.

Well… in the case of “MD” it’s not going to be this way.

At least not yet.

First of all, I don’t want to rain on my own parade, and secondly, I would simply like to try something new.

I’ve decided that as “Mariusz Duda” I will release only singles, individual songs recorded with the help of my friends and colleagues. From time to time, in between R and LS. Of course, there will come a time when I will put them all together, add twice as many and release them on an album. But until then, I’ll be showing what’s possibly my greatest strength: being a songwriter. Therefore, the songs will be centered around vocals, acoustic guitars and piano, that is what I started from.

Riverside is a typical rock band which, no matter how much I keep denying it and making fun of it, will always be marked with the stamp of “progressive rock”. And so let’s have long tracks, elaborate guitar solos, concept albums and the like. Naturally, there will still be some experimenting, but.. some things simply cannot be changed. Lunatic Soul is my love for ambient, darkness, folk and electronics. It’s a strange style but let’s allow the strangeness to grow and develop. “Mariusz Duda” will, in turn, play songs. Those, that have always worked out best for him. Those that sound pretty and go under your skin. And so each of the music worlds will have its character, its law and order. Soon, there will be a website where I will put all my music endeavours to date in one place. It might help some of you, but mostly myself, wrap my head around how it’s all developed over the years.

***

And in mid March I will share with you the first song.

***

Finally, let me say a few things about the new plans for Riverside and Lunatic Soul. Thinking about the future solo “MD” songs has allowed me to look more objectively at what has been happening with Riverside and Lunatic Soul. Two separate worlds have come dangerously close together. “A Thousand Shards of Heaven” or “Untamed” could easily be Riverside songs. “Wasteland” is, in turn, really saturated with the essence of Lunatic Soul. And although it turned out fine, I know that I will have to keep both worlds furhter apart for the respective future releases.

That’s why the new Lunatic Soul is turning back towards the first two albums and it will be more folk than ever before, and Riverside will go back to playing the kind of music you know from the first four releases, but in a refreshed form forged in the last decade.

I have spoken.

***

It seemed to me some time ago that I have already experienced the best in life, but now I fee that everything is only about to begin. I’m really glad that in these difficult and troubled times I can still count on your trust and support. Thank you for being there. Thank you for letting me be who I want to be.

With warmest regards,
MD

***

photo by Nicole Shade