Lunatic Mauvais Oeil

When in the summer of 2017, Mariusz Duda was finishing the fifth studio album of his solo project, Lunatic Soul, he had already known that it would have a supplement. It was supposed to be a mini album complementing the music journey he had embarked on while creating "Fractured". Soon it turned out that working on a few ideas he had put aside absorbed him so much that, as a result, we are getting a brand new Lunatic Soul album called "Under the Fragmented Sky" mere months after the previous one and exactly 10 years after the project's debut release.

Lunatic Soul is the solo project of Mariusz Duda, the lead singer and creative force behind the Polish band, Riverside. While far removed from Riverside's Progressive Metal it is not difficult to see comparisons and similarities to the parent band in the music contained on the eponymous debut album - not least of all because of Duda's distinctive clean vocals, the occasional guttural growl and, despite the lack of electric guitars, the pounding acoustic guitar riffs that appear on some of the tracks. However, this is not the lighter, unplugged side of Duda, it is a dark brooding mix of eclectic sounds with ethnic instruments and influences evoking eastern/oriental themes, psychedlic-era Pink Floyd-like rhythms, swirling and ethereal keyboards reminiscent of early Porcupine Tree tied together by songs that are surprisingly accessible and melodic.

The mastermind behind Lunatic Soul, Mariusz Duda (also renowned as the front man of the band Riverside) crafted what could well be one of his finest albums to date in last year’s ‘Fractured’, the fifth album in the Lunatic Soul canon. 2018 marks the ten year anniversary of his deeply personal solo project and to mark this occasion, Mariusz announced he would be releasing a sixth companion album with eight new compositions titled ‘Under The Fragmented Sky’…

Lunatic Soul is Mariusz Duda, the talented creator, singer and multi-instrumentalist behind some of the finest and most captivating progressive music coming from Europe, including his output on UK label Kscope and with Poland’s shooting stars Riverside. Duda is now releasing his sixth studio album, the companion to 2017’s Fractured and the pinnacle of the first decade of Lunatic Soul.

Lunatic Soul is the solo studio music project of the multi-talented creator, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mariusz Duda. As the lead singer of the hugely popular prog-rock band Riverside, Lunatic Soul was created in 2008 as an opportunity for Duda to explore musical territories outside the rock domain.

Lennie Wright from Web and Samurai produced Brainchild's first and only album, so it's no surprise that "Healing of the Lunatic Owl" is in a similar style to both "I Spider" and Samurai's self-titled album. That means early 70's progressive rock dominated by horns and organ. Brainchild is a septet that recorded their sole album Healing Of The Lunatic Owl in western London in 1970 on the A&M label. The album contains sizzling brass rock, which must rank among the best of the genre, but also with the much more obscure and even more brilliant Warm Dust and Galliard. Brainchild's line-up was basically your standard prog quartet, plus a three-man wind instrument section, including flute, sax, trumpet and trombone.

Riverside vocalist and bassist Mariusz Duda has announced that his Lunatic Soul project will release their fifth album later this year. It will be titled Fractured and will arrive on October 6 via Kscope. It's the follow-up to 2014’s Walking On A Flashlight Beam.