Through Shaded Woods

Through Shaded Woods is the seventh studio album by Lunatic Soul, the side project of Riverside bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Mariusz Duda, released on November 13, 2020. The album was described by Duda as 'more folky' than previous releases, with more influence from Scandinavian and Slavic folk and fewer electronic elements. In Poland, Through Shaded Woods peaked at number 5 on OLiS (Oficjalna Lista Sprzedaży, Official Sales Chart). Mariusz Duda composed all the songs and, for the first time in Lunatic Soul's history, played all the instruments on the album.

On Through Shaded Woods Duda maintains the melancholy and darkness characteristic of his music, but this time he focuses also on "light and hope." There is no electronics on the album, which dominated earlier Lunatic Soul albums. The release is based on organic sounds of acoustic guitars, bass and keyboard instruments. The songs contain the use of various sounds inscribed in folk - whispered choirs, pulsating rhythmic drums or delicate keyboards.

Reviewers noted that Through Shaded Woods is the most positive album from Lunatic Soul. As the portal rockserwis.fm stated: “In this difficult time of covid-19, full of challenges and anxiety during the pandemic, Mariusz Duda invites us on a walk into the forest to seek harmony and peace, and to forget, even for a moment, about the depressing everyday life."

In the extended version of the album, the second disc features the suite “Transition II,” a nearly 28-minute-long piece which is the longest composition in Mariusz Duda's career.