Whenever I see that a director has brought on Hans Zimmer to score a film, I inevitably give the soundtrack a listen, regardless of whether or not I enjoy (or even see) the film. When Warner Bros. announced that he’d be scoring Dune, it immediately became one of the components that I’ve been looking forward to the most.
Now, we can get a listen to what’s in store: WaterTower Music has released two tracks from the film that give us a sense of what Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation will sound like.
Yesterday, we got a new trailer for the film, but those who attended a special IMAX event earlier this week got to see some additional footage, and some insight into the film’s music from Zimmer himself.
Those who attended the event, like Susana Polo of Polygon, reported that Zimmer discussed wanting to get away from the bombastic horns that you hear in something like Star Wars or Star Trek: “I’m thinking, ‘Wow, there are all these amazing civilizations in different galaxies, places, and in different times, and they have the same instruments as we do!’”
Zimmer noted that “the one thing that I felt would hold true to any civilization on any world was the human voice.” That’s apparent from the two tracks that WaterTower released. The first is a track called “Paul’s Dream,” a droning piece of music that starts off softly, before crescendoing with a vocalist towards the end.
The second is “Ripples in the Sand,” an intense, pulsing piece of music that evokes the feeling of steady movement, interspersed with more ethereal vocals.
You can listen to both tracks on YouTube (and combined as a one hour loop if you want to throw it on in the background), but you can also purchase them on iTunes. (As well as the Pink Floyd song from last year’s trailer.) Dune is set to hit theaters on October 22nd—presumably when the full soundtrack will also get released.
