Anyone who knows the solo catalogue only through the Lockdown Trilogy will find this a surprise. There are no synthesisers on it. It is a song, sung, with acoustic instruments and a string quartet, and it belongs to a strand Duda calls the Subcutaneous songs.
He has explained the name directly: the most intimate, “subcutaneous” compositions have always been the ones with calm, subdued vocals performed with acoustic guitar or piano accompaniment. This one deals with loss and with memory as it fades.
At a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Artist | Mariusz Duda |
| Title | The Song of a Dying Memory |
| Release date | 20 March 2020 |
| Series | Subcutaneous songs |
| Style | Acoustic, song-based, with string quartet |
| Recorded | December 2019 – January 2020, Serakos Studio, Warsaw |
| Strings recorded at | Floodland Studio, Sopot |
| Music and lyrics | Mariusz Duda |
Credits
- Mariusz Duda — music and lyrics; vocals, guitar, bass, ukulele and melodica.
- Maciek Gołyźniak — drums and percussion, recorded at his own studio.
- Przemysław Mazur — first violin.
- Magdalena Szczypińska — second violin.
- Krzysztof Jakub Szwarc — viola.
- Weronika Kulpa — cello.
- Michał Mierzejewski — string arrangement.
- Magda and Robert Srzedniccy — recording, mixing and mastering at Serakos Studio, Warsaw, December 2019 to January 2020.
- Łukasz Kumański — string quartet recording at Floodland Studio, Sopot.
Why the string quartet matters
The credit list is the story here. Booking a four-piece string section into a separate studio in another city, with a dedicated arranger, is a substantial undertaking for a standalone song release, and it tells you how seriously the Subcutaneous strand was taken.
It also dates the recording precisely: the sessions ran from December 2019 into January 2020, which means this was finished immediately before the circumstances that produced Lockdown Spaces that June. The two releases are three months apart and could hardly sound less alike.
Where it sits
This is the earlier of the two Subcutaneous songs currently on the official Bandcamp page; Are You Ready For The Sun followed in August 2020 and is explicitly described as the second in the series. Between them came the first of the electronic albums, which is why the solo catalogue can look inconsistent until you know that two separate strands were running at once.
Where to listen
The track is on the official Bandcamp page and the major streaming services. The Kscope artist page carries the wider catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Subcutaneous songs?
A series of standalone song releases, separate from the electronic albums. Duda has described the most intimate, “subcutaneous” compositions as the ones with calm, subdued vocals over acoustic guitar or piano.
When was it released?
On 20 March 2020, recorded between December 2019 and January 2020 at Serakos Studio in Warsaw.
Who plays on it?
Duda sings and plays guitar, bass, ukulele and melodica. Maciek Gołyźniak plays drums and percussion, and a string quartet performs an arrangement by Michał Mierzejewski. Full credits are above.
Is it electronic like the albums?
No. It is acoustic and song-based with a live string quartet — closer in spirit to Lunatic Soul than to the Lockdown Trilogy that followed months later.
Sources
- Official Bandcamp release page — release date, full credits and the artist’s description of the Subcutaneous series.
- Kscope artist page — catalogue context.
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