Mariusz Duda's Lunatic Soul project started in 2008 as a counterweight to his work in Riverside, exploring darker, more ritualistic terrain. This four-track collection pulls together instrumental pieces from the seventh album sessions in 2020, newly mixed and remastered, plus one freshly completed track. The title piece is a slow-building suite that layers acoustic guitar, frame drums and wordless vocals into something that recalls early Dead Can Dance without the operatic weight. "Hylophobia" moves through fingerpicked patterns and distant percussion, while "Vyraj" adds flutes and what sounds like hurdy-gurdy over a repeated bass figure.
"Realm Of The Weeping Willows" sat unfinished for six years before Duda wrapped it earlier this year. It shares the same folk-rooted textures as the rest, though the production is slightly sharper. The whole thing runs under thirty minutes and works as background or close listening. Duda describes it as a bridge between the eight-album cycle he just closed and whatever comes next, which explains the reflective tone. If you know the Mike Oldfield records from the seventies, or the more grounded Lunatic Soul albums before the project leaned harder into electronics, this sits in that zone.
