“We needed that ultimate technique – and that’s Marcin”: Percussive fingerstyle reaches the masses as acoustic virtuoso Marcin is revealed to be the blockbuster guitarist on Netflix’s One Piece soundtrack
Since bursting onto the scene with a winning performance on Poland’s Must Be The Music talent show in 2015, it’s been a whirlwind ride for Polish acoustic guitar virtuoso Marcin.
After reaching the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent in 2017, Marcin later attracted plaudits from the likes of Tom Morello, Vernon Reid and Paul Stanley for an internet-breaking cover of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir back in 2021, which showcased his expansive approach to percussive fingerstyle guitar.
Then, following a string of spell-binding performances of covers and original material alike, Marcin further expanded his influence across 2022 and 2023, uniting with names such as Ichika Nito, Matt Heafy and more for various jams.
Earlier this year, Marcin was cemented as one the most talented guitarists of his generation was cemented with the arrival of his first signature guitar, the Ibanez MRC10.
It’s an impressive resume for a young player, but now Marcin has another credit to add: a feature on the soundtrack of the smash hit Netflix series, One Piece.
The live action reboot of the popular manga series debuted late last month, and Marcin’s trademark approach to percussive fingerstyle playing was tapped for the theme of Mihawk – a key character considered to be the world’s greatest swordsman.
In a short documentary posted to the Netflix: Behind the Streams YouTube channel, Marcin sat down with show composers Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli to discuss his role in injecting experimental acoustics into the Netflix show – and for a full performance of the theme.
“We needed that ultimate passion, ultimate energy, ultimate drive, ultimate technique – that’s Marcin,” says Belousova of Marcin's role. “He does so much on the guitar, whether it’s the melody, the chords, the strums, the grooves, the percussive elements… he can do all of that at the same time.”
From his own perspective, Marcin adds, “For Mihawk, flamenco works really well as the musical language because he’s such a fiery character, such a hotblooded character, but also very classy.”
The performance itself is quintessential Marcin, smothered with the classical and flamenco motifs that nod to his early roots, all while upping the ante with behind-the-nut strums, off-the-cuff tuning peg divebombs and (of course) a healthy dose of body knocks for additional percussive flair.
The fact Marcin has featured on one of Netflix’s most heavily anticipated reboots – in the process introducing new audiences to his unorthodox virtuosic acoustic flair – comes as no surprise, really. After all, he once told Guitar World that his ultimate objective was to do exactly that.
“My goal is to show the world – not only musicians and guitarists – that percussive acoustic should be the next big thing,” he said. “It deserves attention from the mainstream and the average Joe, because it’s something many still haven’t seen or heard.
“I love experimental and niche music, but I want everyone to know that you can put percussive guitar into anything you want,” he continued. “Using these different sounds and approaches will help the general public understand this will be the next big thing.”
It's not the first time Netflix has tapped a big guitar name for its projects. Scott Ian, Corey Taylor and Lzzy Hale joined forces to create the theme for Thunder Force in 2021, while Tom Morello served as executive music producer on Metal Lords.
