Lunatic Soul: "Progressive rock fans mostly have a really conservative approach"

Most people know Mariusz Duda because of the great music he’s offered for more than 20 years with his main band Riverside, establishing them as a household name in progressive rock music. However, his solo project is nothing new as he reaches album #8, seventeen years since he launched Lunatic Soul.

"The World Under Unsun" seems to be a really important album in the trajectory of this project and in Mariusz’s career overall. Not only it’s a grandiose offering, with 90 minutes of music, but it also concludes the story that’s been going on in the Lunatic Soul since the very beginning, marking the end of a cycle and possibly the opening of a new chapter.

We let Mariusz himself explain if it’s indeed a very pivotal album, why he decided to release a double, 90minute long album, which are the fundamental differences between Lunatic Soul and Riverside, what bothers him in the progressive rock genre and why some of his fans fail to understand what this solo project is about. And much more.

And, as always, he proves that he’s not just a great and creative musician, but a very genuine and lovely guy.

It's been a while, Chris…

Yeah, it's been. Really, do you remember the last time we conducted an interview?

No!

It was in a tiny room, in the venue that you played in Athens during the "Wasteland" tour, only a couple of days before the world was sat down for the COVID lockdown. And we were already worried about that thing that was going on…

So that was the tour when the COVID was chasing us…

It was that you showed me for the first time the artwork of the new then Lunatic Soul album "Through Shaded Woods" and you told me about its concept and stuff that wasn't released yet. And five and a half years later, after all of us have gone through some things that we couldn't have imagined, here we are to talk about another new Lunatic Soul album.

When you take a look at the passing time, it's kind of scary, right? Those five years went away like that. But it's good to sustain some relationships, musical ones, like this one. And from what I see, you're still taking care of physical products. We're not talking in front of the big Spotify logo, which is great…

(laughs) I do love the physical product and just imagine that I'm a vinyl lover and these are just a small portion of the CDs that I own. In fact, I have a storage problem right now in my house that I have to take care of...

I can imagine. I'm not a collector like some famous musicians, I have to tell you. From time to time I buy something, but not constantly like some people. It's just like I don't have space at my home, unfortunately… It's a privilege for me when people have us in their own rooms, in their musical rooms.

Well, as I already said, it's always a pleasure to have the chance to talk with you, because I love all more or less of your works for more than 20 years now. So, it's still a pleasure. And you won’t be surprised that this new one is no exception… I really love the new Lunatic Soul album and I was eager to have a chance to talk with you about it.

My pleasure!

This album is something like the "best of" Lunatic Soul work. I just wanted to sum up all the genres that Lunatic Soul is in. And I think I made it

So, I have the feeling that it's quite an important album for you, judging from what I read on the press release. And also from the fact that it's so grandiose. Is it really important for you and why?

This is the final chapter of the "Circle of Life and Death" story, that’s the beginning. This is my very first double album in my career…. (laughs). 90 minutes of music, it's a lot. And we are not talking about the release and the bonus tracks. We're talking about the proper classic double release. And it tells about important things. I chose important things. And I believe that, for me, this album is something like the "best of" Lunatic Soul work. I just wanted to sum up all the genres that Lunatic Soul is in. And I think I made it. I mean, this is something like the visit car. If you want to show someone what Lunatic Soul is, if someone says "Okay, I would like to check this Lunatic Soul project. What could you recommend me?", I think the recent album would be a great entrance to this world, because it contains all the characteristic elements.

Yeah, I agree with that. And I have a question down the line about this. But firstly, let’s talk about the recordings and the mastering of the album, because they lasted from 2021 to 2025, which seems way too long a period, especially in this day of age that everything seems to be done so quickly. So is this the most you've worked on an album? And why did it take so long?

Five years! Well, let's remember that, unfortunately, I had to take a break from one Lunatic Soul to another, mostly because of the band Riverside… (laughs). I made the album with them and went on a tour and played around a hundred of shows. Unfortunately, we didn't we couldn't reach Greece this time, right?

You did you came here for "ID.Entity"…

Oh we came? Okay, but you didn't come! (laughs)

Of course, I was there!

Okay! But we didn't talk!

I wasn't lying on the bed playing the video games. I did something for these five years

That wasn’t up to me…

Okay gotcha… I don't remember that. I'm sorry! (laughs)

I mean, that was this. Plus, I was very into electronic music since the COVID pandemia lockdown. I went back to my roots and kind of felt excited to create something different. And this whole electronic world also was in my head for a long time. I did like four electronic albums... (laughs). So I was a bit busy. However, I started thinking about this album around 2021. But, of course, then I had to take a break for Riverside work. And then I returned in the midst of 2023 and tried to continue this.

I think this was the longest album. I mean, the recording process was the longest one for me. Maybe that is why I said to myself "Yeah, sure! A double album, why not?". Maybe it will be the reward for some fans who's been waiting for this forever. I just want to say that I wasn't lying on the bed playing the video games. I did something for these five years.

Yeah, of course…

I was kind of busy. But hey, I had a plan to release this album in 2024, but it was a dark period of time for me. I couldn't make it. Actually, 2024 was the year when I didn't release anything. That's funny, because since I started doing this professionally and since 2003, every year I release something. I had a break only in 2012 and now in 2024. Yeah, but we've got a double album. It's like two... (laughs)

I prefer to use this comparison to the work of a director. It's just like I'm working on the script, and then I go and direct this

Yeah, it counts for two! Did you have the concept of the album and the storyline before you started working on this album, or was it morphed along the way while you were writing the music?

I always start from the plot, the story, the title, the album cover, the idea for the sound, and then I compose. I just write lyrics at the end when all musical lines are done. Then I just fill the gaps with the lyrics. I prefer to use this comparison to the work of a director. It's just like I'm working on the script, and then I go and direct this. It's not like I'm doing random scenes and then I collect and just say "okay, so this is the movie now". I just plan this! But not like plan from the very beginning to the end. I'm just collecting the ideas, just which idea should be the first one, which idea should be the last one and collect them. And of course, if in the studio I have a time and a space for that, I fill the gaps with something new. So, that's also I'm open to all these spontaneous reactions of my brain.

I prefer to enjoy the music in a way that it's like the therapeutic kind of approach. Eyes closed, lights out, and I'm listening to the music and I'm just using my imagination. It's harder and harder these days to do that. People don't have time and conditions

Yeah! It makes sense, if you listen to the music that it's well orchestrated, not only musically orchestrated, but in many levels, in many layers.

Lunatic Soul is… we talked about it before... I grew up on Vangelis music, right? And so you can hear that. The cinematic approach is everywhere. I'm not the rock kind of guy. I'm more like a guy who prefers, since the very beginning, to enjoy the music in a way that it's like the therapeutic kind of approach. Eyes closed, lights out, and I'm listening to the music and I'm just using my imagination. It's harder and harder these days to do that. People don't have time and conditions. But, I do music for that kind of people, because I did that from the very beginning. I still remember enjoying that kind of music.

The music filled with the cinematic sounds, this approach that I could hear at the very beginning in Vangelis's music, Jean Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield's music… that kind of stuff are connected with rock music that came to me later on. Plus oriental folk. I believe that Lunatic Soul has a really wide spectrum of genres, if I can say that. And this album had to be the double album as well, because I wanted to show everything there. If that would be a bit shorter, then that would be too intense to listen to. So, I made these intros, outros, instrumental parts…

I've noticed that progressive rock fans mostly have a really conservative approach

Yeah, I get it. As you said that you're not that rock guy, but I guess you have a rocking audience, because you come from a progressive rock world where you were introduced with Riverside. Do you somehow feel that you struggle to educate or to maybe convince your fans to broaden their musical taste, their musical world, their sonic world with the albums you make with Lunatic Soul?

I don't know. This is the way of the algorithm. This is my bubble. I'm there. This is not like I don't listen to rock music. But, the fact is that I didn't grow up on AC/DC music or Led Zeppelin music, the powerful rock music. No, these were just later on. And that's the thing. I was not enjoying the classics that everyone with this rock approach were enjoying. I preferred electronic music from Tangerine Dream. The rock music for me was like "boom, boom, boom" [editor: makes the sound of a synthesizer electronic music], rather that kind of "gang, gang, gang" [editor: makes the sound of a guitar riff with distortion] stuff mostly then. I just discovered this later on and I tried to combine these musical worlds.

But, I know that I'm in the bubble in the algorithm of progressive rock fans. And mostly, unfortunately or fortunately I don't know, these fans have this classic rock approach. I believe that they want to have specific kind of roles in music that they listen to. I mean, I've noticed that progressive rock fans mostly have a really conservative approach. For them, the five basic instruments should belong to this genre, like keyboards, bass, guitar, drums, and vocals. And when something doesn't sound like one of these instruments, it's weird. I mean, they are accepting electronic music, of course. Especially, the new modern bands, they're using electronic sounds really often. And the same goes with those djent guitars, with the low tune. That's just like the modern era. A lot of bands prefer that much more than the classic approach. The new guys, the new guitar players prefer to have guitars that have like seven strings or eight strings than six. But that's the matter of time. This is the new era of music. You need to accept that and don't complain!

The thing is that Lunatic Soul is one of these projects that it's really hard to say what kind of instrument is that. And your approach should be different. I'm not a bass player. This is not "the bass player project". It's more like a project with weird instruments or different kind of instruments. As I said, I am more like a director. And I know that lots of my fans wants to see me mostly as a bass player who just creates something on the side. And that's sort of a burden for me, because I guess that kind of people don't realize what Lunatic Solo is and what I actually do in this project.

Maybe, it's changing. Maybe after this album, people will realize "Okay, so who's playing on these instruments? This guy! Oh, really? So it's actually his solo project here". That's the solo project that I really love. I know that there are lots of solo artists that they're just using different musicians and the writers, and they just only play on or sing and that's it. Just compare this to the albums that someone just plays almost everything. That is the fact why I always enjoyed Mike Oldfield, I always respected Prince and I always respected Lenny Kravitz. These guys were doing everything by themselves and then later on, on the shows, different musicians were playing. This is cool!

The first Riverside trilogy contained Lunatic Soul music inside of it. And then after "Rapid Eye Movement", I split these musical worlds into Lunatic Soul and Riverside

Lyrically, Lunatic Soul have almost always dealt with darkness and heavy issues, and this album is no exception as it's the story of a man trying to break free from toxic relationships and repetitive partners. And to be honest, sometimes its vibe took me back to something like "Second Life Syndrome" or maybe "Rapid Eye Movement", but of course, through different lens. Could I be right in this parallel that I draw?

Probably, yes. This is my way of writing. You know, lyrics for me, the whole stories, the albums that I do, this is something like auto-therapy for me. I use this when I want to feel better instead of taking pills. So if I struggle with something, I write about it. And I transform this into a song and later into the whole album. So I guess there are some parallels… maybe every decade I struggle with the similar stuff… (laughs)

But, the thing is also that I believe that this new album has this vibe, because I believe that this is the most rock Lunatic Soul album. This is the most alternative album. Not as electronic as "Fractured", not as organic folk as "Through Shaded Woods", not as oriental as "Lunatic Soul Part I". It has this kind of rock approach. And maybe that is why the similarities to the earliest Riverside albums are quite real.

Also, let's remember that the first Riverside trilogy contained Lunatic Soul music inside of it. And then after "Rapid Eye Movement", I split these musical worlds into Lunatic Soul and Riverside. That is why some people who adore first three albums, they said "Something has changed. I don't know what!". Yeah, the soul was somewhere else… (laughs). Mind and heart just stayed, but soul was somewhere else, in a different kind of project. And maybe now, when I wanted to use more piccolo bass that sounds like the guitar, I also didn't want to say "I'll keep something for later for Riverside" or something. I just played what I wanted to. That is why a song like "Hands Made of Lead" could be on Riverside's album as well. But I just said "this has "Lunatic Soul" soul. So why should I wait for something else?" I wanted to use it now.

Maybe it's a prequel to "Second Life Syndrome" subconsciously

I get it. To add a bit more to it, the closing track "The New End" - that is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and the latest single - is about breaking up with someone, but being more mature and trying to find peace with that. While the whole "Second Life Syndrome" album was about something like breaking up and getting over it…

Yeah, exactly… "Second Life Syndrome", as far as I remember, was about trying to recover after ending the relationship. And here, it's also like ending something, ending a relationship. But it's still in the process. We are in the middle of that. And the main character tries to escape. And he doesn't know what to do, because he’s been for such a long time in this place. He is just turning round and round in a vicious circle and he wants to leave it. So, it's like in the present time, while "Second Life Syndrome" was in past time. So, yeah, maybe it's a prequel to "Second Life Syndrome" subconsciously…

I believe that there are people who have time for listening to music. I recorded this album for THAT kind of people, not for these who don't have time

The obvious question that I guess many people ask you is if at some point you were reluctant to release it as one album with 90 minutes of music. Because in this ADHD age, I doubt many people even listen to single albums anymore. Or was it no question for you, because you wanted to tell the whole story?

First and foremost, as I said, music for me is auto-therapy. And I also believe that there are people who listen to music and have time for listening to music. I recorded this album for THAT kind of people, not for these who don't have time. And plus, let's remember that previous Lunatic Soul albums had 39 minutes only. So this is not like I just do only long albums. I can deliver something shorter. That's no problem. "Under The Fragmented Sky" has 36 minutes of music. So if you're busy with your life, don't listen to the new one, listen to something else, get to the previous ones… (laughs). Also, I wanted to also all the gaps, because this is the last part of the story and I wanted to answer all questions.

There’s this life that's going on, on the Lunatic Soul story, which was a fictional life and my personal private life. And those two worlds are inspired by each other

Also, this is the first Lunatic Soul album that’s being released through Inside Out, the label that has released all Riverside music so far. And even though you were on a great label like K Scope, how come this is the first time that you collaborate with Inside Out for this project?

I wanted to move on. I wanted to change something. It was also connected probably with the story, like the main character wanted to change something. And I wanted to change something in my personal life. And that also helped me to do something. You know, there's this life that's going on, on the Lunatic Soul story, which was a fictional life and my personal private life. And those two worlds are inspired by each other… (laughs). So, I wanted to do something to boost it, like spark something. Let's try it. Let's do something in a different place.

I'm at this particular age where I have to think more about myself than the others. And I want to spend more time on the creative process. Not on earning money process

Really, how difficult is it to keep viable musical project that doesn't perform live shows in this day and age, where mostly all income for musicians comes from playing live?

Well, as I said again, I don't do music because I have to earn money. I do music mostly because it's my pure love and I need it. Of course, it's great when I can earn some money as well, but the fact is that this first option is really-really important for me. If the money would be the most important factor, I would probably play different kind of music and would be on the road all the time. But I prefer to play that kind of music and be in the studio much often than playing live shows. The studio project, that was something important for me. I did it in between Riverside live shows, but now I want to focus on that much more, especially that I'm at this particular age where I have to think more about myself than the others. And what I want for myself… I want to spend more time on creative process. Not on earning money process.

Yeah, I get it. And it shows on the artistic side. You know, it may not be obvious always, but it shows on the artistic side when you do something out of love and not of because of necessity.

I earn some money, I have some savings, so I don't have to chase every last day of the month to pay the bills. So, I am allowed to do that in this way. It's fine.

I never wanted to have the house with the pool. I never wanted to have my own private studio in the basement or something. And do what? Have all these equipment and be alone there and die alone? No, it's fine

Well, people are greedy. Especially in this industry…

I know, but I never had that kind of urge, you know. I never wanted to have the house with the pool. I never wanted to have my own private studio in the basement or something. And do what? Have all these equipment and be alone there and die alone? No, it's fine. I can still visit the studio of my friends. I can live my own average life. It's fine. The only thing that I need is the fact that from time to time, I really need to have the opportunities to create something, because it helps me to keep my inner balance.

Now, I have some questions about the songs, cause we run out of time and we haven't talked about the songs so far. So, I’ll start by making a comparison that may sound somehow funny to you. Because whenever I'm listening to the album and "Confession" comes in, I can imagine it turning into an alternative rock song of the early 00s. You know, starting with this melody and then the guitars come in, bands like 3 Doors Down or Creed. Of course, it's nothing like that, but it's there to show how broad music can be sometimes...

Yeah, that is true. This is really alternative sound. And it definitely has a rock approach. It's totally different than something from "Fractured", for instance. Yeah, I agree. I like this song. It should be the next single.

I believe that this album is not only the best Lunatic Soul, but also the best of Mariusz Duda

Yeah, it could be. And also, I have to say that on one side you have the piano ballads that close the two parts/CDs in a great way, they are among my favorites. And on the other side of spectrum, my favorite track is "Hands Made of Lead". So, maybe, that showcases that this album is about everything from piano ballads up to more challenging tunes, with a lot of information in them...

I believe that this album is not only the best Lunatic Soul, but also the best of Mariusz Duda. Because I asked myself a question "In what I'm good at?" at the beginning of composing. And then I just realized "Melodies… I should focus on the melodies". And then I thought "I should also focus on some cool riffs that I also love to invent from time to time". So, on this album, you've got cool riffs. And cool pianos. Because, I was very into electronic music, so I spent much more time with keyboards, and so you also hear a lot of pianos. I think this is the biggest amount of pianos and the keyboards so far with Lunatic Soul. But with a more organic approach, of course. So, yeah, I'm happy that-- I think if someone asks me the question about my favorite songs, probably these four ballads that I did are the most memorable and cool.

That is what progressive rock has made with people when they just listen to music, which is like scrolling TikTok

About the electronic stuff, I know almost nothing about electronic music, but I love the electronic elements in "Game Called Life. I don't know... Maybe I should start listening to that kind of music… (laughs)

I'm not sure if you can that kind of music. I believe that this is pretty original… (laughs). That kind of elements you can find on your Riverside or Lunatic Soul music.

However, it's very important, because this particular song shows the biggest difference between, for instance, Lunatic Soul and Riverside, or Lunatic Soul approach and the classic progressive rock approach. Lunatic Soul is based on repetitives. You know, there's lots of repetitions and some people can find it pretty boring, because this is just like one big intro and waiting for something. That is what progressive rock has made with people when they just listen to music, which is like scrolling TikTok. All the time new elements, multiple riffs in one song, and all the time delivering changing time signatures and the harmonies. And this is something more like meditation kind of stuff. It's just like all the time you hear one fragment and it’s a repetition, but new layers are adding up all the time. And that's the beauty of this. Probably I was always inspired by electronic music, techno music, when it just starts from nothing to something. I love building the atmosphere, building the tension in music. And Lunatic Soul is full of that, as it starts calmed down. I play one fragment over and over, but I'm adding new layers to that, adding new layers, a break and new layers again. And "Game Called Life" is that kind of music. So that’s the main difference, you know. Some people can say "Okay, nothing's happening here". It's okay! This is not the music for you. And just imagine that there are people that don’t want to listen to music only to have constant changes with that. That's the biggest difference, I believe.

Maybe it will be the time one day to bring Lunatic Soul back to the stage

And just to close and not waste any more time, what are your future plans, now that the story is ending? What does the future hold for Lunatic Soul?

I don't know! Maybe I should just release the book about the story to help people to understand how complicated is that and what is the story about. Maybe I should do something with… you know, in Poland I'm doing promotional shows… not shows, but meetings. But I also will perform acoustically a few Lunatic songs. Maybe that will be the transition to something. I don't know. Maybe it will be the time one day to bring Lunatic Soul back to the stage.

That would be marvelous.

We will see, we'll see. I turned 50 this year so now I can do everything that I want. It's like, I don't know if I have 10 years of my life left or maybe 20. Let's have some fun...

As a longtime fan I can only demand just 20 more years of great music and that should be okay… (laughs)

Thank you.

It's always a pleasure Mariusz! Congrats for another great album. I hope to have the chance to see you again in Greece soon or wherever. It would be a pleasure to talk again when we meet…

I do hope that it will be not before another crisis in the world!

I hope that for that too!