DEUS ARRAKIS

With Deus Arrakis, Klaus Schulze was steering back his music to a former source of inspiration located in the Dune sci-fi saga. In effect, he had already released in 1979 the album Dune, and in 1978 a track named Frank Herbert, after the author of the novels. Even Hans Zimmer took its bass line for the soundtrack of the new screen version.

And the return trip ocurred at a sonic level too, since the familiar soundscape of scintillating sequencers plagued with mutating rhythmic patterns, drowned under droning and flowing synths slowly and majestically posing layers upon more layers, is still in place here. Of course, that soundscape suits perfectly to, lets say, an endless succession of sunrises and sunsets in Arrakis, the mysthic planet inhabited by mysterious people and gigantic worms going underground like express trains.

The first suite, Osiris, fortunately sounds more like the calm and extatic contemplation of that beauty, than like a struggle with worms.

The second one, Seth, seems to be devoted to a more "terrestrial" view, with a touch of human emotion added by the cello part, played by Wolfgang Tiepold. An oriental (mid-eastern?) mood pervades the piece.

The third one, Der Hauch des Lebens (the breath of life), features a more organic feel, with sounds reminiscent of air, water and earth, imprinted like watermarks in the instrumental (and now also vocal) sonic textures.