The viral fingerstyle and percussive acoustic virtuoso Marcin Patrzalek (AKA Marcin) will release his long-awaited debut album, Dragon in Harmony on September 13, showcasing the acoustic guitar exploits that convinced us to describe him as “one of the most talented guitarists of his generation.”
Not many guitarists can boast of having a signature Ibanez guitar and the fascination of Steve Vai before the release of their debut album, but Marcin Patrzalek is no ordinary guitar player.
The big news around the announcement is undoubtedly the appearance of another generational talent, in the form of Polyphia’s Tim Henson, on the album’s first single, Classical Dragon.
Landing Henson is a considerable coup in itself, and the sparring of their highly melodic but incendiary chops offers an impressive introduction to the record – and forms a spiritual partner to Polyphia’s own internet-breaking acoustic statement, Playing God, in its spider-handed prowess.
(The video is set to debut today, but if it’s not yet live you can already stream it on Spotify below.)
The 24-year-old rose to fame on TikTok, with Tom Morello, Paul Stanley, and Jack Black as early champions of his talents.
He brought his genre-melding chops to mainstream audiences during a run to the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent at just 18 years old and continues to stretch the boundaries of acoustic playing.
Speaking to Guitar World in 2021, in the wake of huge viral success with his knockout take of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, Marcin said that his goal was “to show the world that percussive acoustic guitar should be the next big thing” – Dragon in Harmony aims to do just that.
A mix of original songs and his lavishly stylized cover versions, including reinterpretations of Cry Me A River, Smooth Operator, and Heart Shaped Box, it features guest appearances from Ichika Nito (who is honored with the only electric guitar passage of the album), Delaney Bailey and Portugal. The Man's John Gourley, as well as the aforementioned Henson.
Covers have been a staple of the guitarist’s career. His frighteningly dexterous reinventions of Moonlight Sonata, Kashmir, and System of a Down's Toxicity have racked up over 20 million views on YouTube alone.
However, while Marcin’s success has come via one-off covers and viral videos, Dragon in Harmony offers an interesting opportunity to represent his vision for his instrument in an extended setting.
“In recent years, I’ve been doing so many things but not necessarily fusing them into a whole — everything was in bits,” he says. “Now I’m finally making an artistic statement that is cohesive rather than fractured. The dragon is in harmony.”
Opening track, Guitar is Dead, Marcin says “is my response to guitar purists. It’s me saying: ‘Yeah, you’re right. Guitar is dead. Just keep doing everything that’s been done before.’ My goal has always been to show a wide-open audience that my style of performing is just another way of playing the guitar – there’s no barrier to entry.”
Marcin will play a free concert in New York, as part of the TSQ Live summer events series. on July 19, with the record releasing on September 13 via Sony Music.
Head to Marcin to pre-order the album.
