Visions of Dune

Listening to Faust’s Nosferatu this morning I began thinking of other music that sought inspiration from films and that notion led me to French electronic composer Bernard Szajner and his 1979 album, Visions of Dune which was inspired by Frank Herbert’s novel. This is a terrific album of bubbly analogue electronica, the 12 short tracks segue into one another to create two side long pieces and are all named after elements of Herbert’s novel such as Shai-Hulud, the Fremen name for the giant sandworms found on Arrakis or Sardaukar, the name of the Emperor’s fearsome storm troopers. The obvious comparison Szajner’s music would be Tangerine Dream, and ironically I read huge chunks of Dune to a soundtrack of Zeit, Phaedra, Rubycon and Alpha Centauri - this was long before I discovered the Visions of Dune album. Should I make a return journey to Arrakis, I’ll bring Szajner’s music along with me… Visions of Dune was re-issued last year and augmented with two excellent bonus tracks that didn’t make the original album. Check it out here