Riverside and Lunatic Soul maestro Mariusz Duda returns with his fourth solo album ‘AFR AI D’ this month.
Mariusz Duda has always been fascinated by the telling of a story, idea, or concept and on his previous album ‘Lockdown Trilogy’, he wanted to capture a snapshot of life during the pandemic. This time he explores the concept of AI as disruptor, which looks at the growing commercialisation of AI and specifically with artificial intelligence entering the mainstream. He uses the notion of ChatGPT and the increasing use of deep fakes as a springboard.
The album opens with `Taming Nightmares` which kind of wakes up or emerges as if from a hypnagogic transition between wakefulness and sleep. It may allude to a machinelike or robotic entity coming to life and understanding it`s abilities. I felt it had a kind of Blade Runner ambience to it as it emerged. There`s a rolling underlying electronic percussive rhythm to `Good Morning Fearmongering` as other sounds seem to float in and out along with a sub Kraftwerk synthesised vocal.
`Fake Me Deep, Murf` is initially fairly dreamy then moves to a drum n bass texture with guitar riffs added intermittently towards the latter part. It had an otherworldly or intergalactic texture at times throughout. A dreamlike atmosphere permeates `Bot`s Party` which I read was inspired by Duda`s love of French electronic music and video games that feature robots.
`I Love To Chat With You` for some reason brought to mind the eighties science fiction film Android, maybe it was the feeling of isolation I felt on listening to it. `Why So Serious, Cassandra` follows and strangely, there`s an android or automaton character named Cassandra in the film Android. The number has an almost fight or flight mode about it possibly mirroring the film narrative.
`Mid Jorney To Freedom` had a fairly potent electronic mood and a sense of underlying power about it. This release closes out with `Embracing The Unknown` which is maybe something we should all consider. The number itself has a fairly absorbing contemplative feel about it as if considering our importance in this much bigger universe.
‘AFR AI D’ is a thoroughly engrossing listen and the time spent listening for me brought to mind a number of thoughts, deliberations, and mediations on a number of themes and subjects.
Mariusz Duda executed on all the instruments throughout the album except for the guitar solos which were performed by Mateusz Owczarek. An album that may influence you to reflect on your inner thoughts and fears.
Rating 8.5 /10
