Mariusz Duda is no longer the same person that he was on Easter Monday 2014 though. How could he? One of his best friends passed away. At 44. Asleep. The sensitive artist dealt with the loss among other things with the ballad "Towards The Blue Horizon", for which his band Riverside recently won a prog award. Last February, Piotr Grudzińskis's death shook the group to its foundations, and in May Duda also lost his father. Excerpts from a very personal conversation.
eclipsed: Mariusz, you've had an extremely difficult time. I find it very courageous that you have already agreed to interviews again.
Mariusz Duda: I must look to the future. If there's one thing I've learned from all these tragedies, it's this: Life can be over very quickly. And I can't drown in silence. That would be the worst thing I could do. I'm not made for it, music is my calling. And we've decided: The story of Riverside isn't over yet. Let's go! Of course, we're not the same band we were before. We are now a trio and we will be working in the studio and - if we decide to do so - on tour with session guitarists who are our friends, close to us. There are many examples of bands that have stepped through a similar valley and come out strengthened. Surrender is not an option in life, and we want to lead by example with this attitude. Piotr will always be with us, we will never forget him. For this reason alone we must continue: to preserve his memory. Now we have the strength again.
eclipsed: I remember talking to you last year at the Night Of The Prog. One sentence from you in particular made me sit up and take notice: "I don't know whether this is the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning".
Duda: Look at the back of "Love, Fear And The Time Machine" again. I was really at a turning point then. I was tired, wanted to rethink my priorities, and had seriously thought about a Riverside break. But life writes its own script.
