Deus Arrakis
2022 studio album by Klaus Schulze
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Deus Arrakis is the forty-seventh album by Klaus Schulze.[1][2] It was released on 1 July 2022. It is the final album Schulze made before he died of renal failure in April 2022.[3][4] Taking in consideration the previously released multi-disc box sets (Silver Edition, Historic Edition, Jubilee Edition, Contemporary Works I, and Contemporary Works II), it could be viewed as Schulze's one hundred and eighth album.
| Deus Arrakis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 July 2022 | |||
| Recorded | 2021–2022 | |||
| Studio | Moldau Studio, Hambühren, Germany | |||
| Length | 77:23 | |||
| Label | SPV | |||
| Producer | Tom Dams | |||
| Klaus Schulze chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was inspired by the 1965 Frank Herbert science-fiction novel Dune and instigated by Schulze's recent collaboration[citation needed] with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for Denis Villeneuve'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".[5][4]
Reception
Steve Krakow of the Chicago Reader 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."[4]
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times wrote that the album's "three lengthy instrumentals are a masterclass in old-fashioned cosmic music".[5]
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."[6]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Klaus Schulze.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Osiris (Part 1–4)" | 18:28 |
| 2. | "Seth (Part 1–7)" | 31:47 |
| 3. | "Der Hauch des Lebens (Part 1–5)" | 27:08 |
Personnel
- Klaus Schulze – electronics
- Tom Dams – electronics
- Wolfgang Tiepold – cello on "Seth"
- Eva-Maria Kagermann – voice noises on "Der Hauch des Lebens"
Charts
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] | 168 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] | 2 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[9] | 44 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] | 21 |