''Deus Arrakis'' is the forty-seventh album by
Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers ...
. It was released on 1 July 2022. It is the final album Schulze made before he died of renal failure in April 2022.
Taking in consideration the previously released multi-disc box sets (''
Silver Edition
''Silver Edition'' is a limited edition 10-disc CD box set released by Klaus Schulze in 1993 containing new studio material in addition to unreleased archival recordings. This set was wholly included in Schulze's 50-disc CD box set '' The Ultimate ...
'', ''
Historic Edition
''Historic Edition'' is a limited edition 10-disc CD box set released by Klaus Schulze in 1995 containing unreleased archival recordings. This set was wholly included in Schulze's 50-disc CD box set '' The Ultimate Edition'' released in 2000 (disc ...
'', ''
Jubilee Edition
''Jubilee Edition'' is a limited edition 25-disc CD box set released by Klaus Schulze in 1997 containing unreleased archival recordings in addition to new studio material. This set was wholly included in Schulze's 50-disc CD box set '' The Ultima ...
'', ''
Contemporary Works I
''Contemporary Works I'' is a limited-edition 10-disc CD box set released by Klaus Schulze in 2000 containing new studio material. The CDs are in cardboard sleeves and housed in a wooden box. Two years later Schulze released '' Contemporary Work ...
'', and ''
Contemporary Works II''), it could be viewed as Schulze's one hundred and eighth album.
The album was inspired by the 1965
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, ...
science-fiction novel ''
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
'', and instigated by Schulze's recent collaboration with
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...
on the soundtrack for
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...
's
2021 film adaptation. ''Dune'' was a longtime source of fascination for Schulze; he also made
an album in 1979 inspired by the book, as well as a song for Herbert on his 1978 work ''
X'', a concept album of six "musical biographies."
Reception
Steve Krakow of the
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
said that Schulze sounded "newly energized" on ''Deus Arrakis'', and praised the "pure-synth space daze" of the music, which includes several long, ambient soundscapes including the 32-minute "Seth." He called the album's closing composition, "Der Hauch des Lebens (The Breath of Life)", a "fitting epitaph" for an artist who knew that he was dying while working on this music: "To appreciate the slowly unfolding sonic colors of this visionary, atmospheric piece, you need patience, but your effort is well rewarded. Like any journey, whether in sci-fi or in life, it moves between realms of pure bliss and darker terrain."
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
wrote that the album's "three lengthy instrumentals are a masterclass in old-fashioned cosmic music."
Henry Schneider of the website Exposé Online praised the album highly, calling it Schulze's "best release in decades, if not his entire career. ... ''Deus Arrakis'' is a wonderful posthumous achievement for the father of electronic music."
Track listing
All tracks composed by Klaus Schulze.
Personnel
* Klaus Schulze – electronics
* Tom Dams – electronics
*
Wolfgang Tiepold – cello on "Seth"
*
Eva-Maria Kagermann – voice noises on "Der Hauch des Lebens"
Charts
References
External links
''Deus Arrakis''at the official site of Klaus Schulze
''Deus Arrakis''at
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
AllMusic
{{Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze albums
Ambient albums
Trance albums
Albums published posthumously
2022 albums