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The impact of Dune, a work of science fiction and fantasy, on popular music cannot be denied. While the Wizarding World of Harry Potter has “wrock”, Doctor Who fans have “trock” and Star Wars fans have “jizz” (although we won’t get into what that entails), it can be argued that Dune fans have had the most significant influence on the music world. Since the novel was published in 1965, many popular artists, such as Iron Maiden and Grimes, have been inspired by Frank Herbert’s epic story of war, colonialism, and morality. While the book has been a source of inspiration for 70s and 80s progressive musicians, its impact can be seen across various genres from underground pop to Fatboy Slim’s chart-topping hit “Weapon of Choice” in 2001. With each generation, new interpretations of Herbert’s vivid depictions of giant sandworms, blue-eyed rebels, and powerful nuns continue to be incorporated into music.
When Steve Harris, the bassist of Iron Maiden, was a teenager, he first encountered the novel Dune. Initially, he found the first 20 pages to be strange due to the author’s unique terms, but he ended up becoming a fan of the series and even read several of its sequels. More than 10 years after reading the original book, Harris included elements of Dune in one of his songs. The 1983 album Piece of Mind closes with an intense track inspired by the series’ main character, Paul Atreides, who is seen as a messianic figure. The lyrics include references to the character’s birthplace, Caladan, and the Gom Jabbar ritual.
“I initially believed that Dune would be the perfect material for a spectacular film,” Harris remembers. “The music’s rhythm almost evokes the image of a desert, which sparked the idea for it to be inspired by the book.”
The original name for “To Tame a Land” was Dune, but the band faced difficulties in obtaining clearance from Herbert. Harris explains, “We only discovered that it was during the same time when the movie was being created. Looking back, it would have been beneficial if we had gone with Dune as our title – it could have generated more interest in the original film.”
Harris discusses David Lynch’s widely criticized 1984 Dune film, which was later disavowed by Lynch. Despite its initial failure, the film has garnered a cult following and contributed to the notion that Herbert’s novel is too difficult to adapt. This perception continued until Denis Villeneuve’s successful 2021 version. The book’s perceived unfilmability may explain why many musicians have been inspired to reinterpret it, as they have the freedom to create a musical landscape without being bound by visual and budget constraints.
Lynch’s adaptation of Dune also contributed to the Dunecore canon by featuring an impressive soundtrack composed by Toto, two years after their successful hit “Africa” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their soundtrack for Dune differed greatly from their well-known song, as they worked closely with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra to create a moody and grandiose sound that was far from the carefree and romantic tones of “Africa” or their Grammy-winning track “Rosanna.” When explaining his creative vision to the members of Toto, Lynch played them symphonies by Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich. According to Toto’s keyboardist David Paich, Lynch was striving to make an anti-Star Wars film and requested that the soundtrack avoid anything that was uplifting, happy, or compelling.
Herbert’s novel presented a new perspective on the conflicts of his time: the struggles of the oppressed Fremen tribe were influenced by the Algerian FLN resistance fighters who fought against French colonial rule, while the book also addressed evolving perspectives on ecology and gender roles within society. The more serious tone of Dunecore differentiates it from wrock and trock, genres often known for their humorous take on science fiction and fantasy concepts.
Since the release of Harris’s novel To Tame a Land, it has served as a source of inspiration for numerous metal musicians, including the iconic band Sleep who created the song “Giza Butler” in 2018 and trap-metal artist Zheani who has incorporated the book’s “Litany Against Fear” prayer in their work. The book has also had a significant impact on electronic and progressive musicians, as seen in Canadian pop musician Grimes’s debut album Geidi Primes which takes its name from a planet in the novel, and features songs that reference characters and locations from the book. In a 2020 interview with Pitchfork, Grimes shared that her intention with the album was to create a sound that would emulate the world of Dune, a beloved film of hers. She even had aspirations of directing the film and saw the album as a potential soundtrack for it.
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Grimes’ interest in reimagining Dune becomes clear when considering the book’s setting in a world without modern technology, which challenges any attempt to capture its unique sound. Despite its serious tone, Dune also has a certain absurdity to it, making it a one-of-a-kind sci-fi property with a dedicated fan base that can seriously discuss topics like sandworm politics and superhuman nun cults without a hint of irony. The only Dunecore track that has successfully twisted the original material is Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice, which transforms the Fremen’s “sandwalk” and the Bene Gesserit’s “the voice” into calls for the dancefloor.
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Renowned French experimentalist Richard Pinhas believes that the book’s grandeur has united the realms of prog and sci-fi. In fact, he was so fascinated by Dune that he wrote an entire album inspired by it. In Pinhas’ 1978 song cycle “Chronolyse”, he delves into themes such as time, repetition, and events, which align with the philosophical concepts present in Herbert’s work. According to Pinhas, there is a direct connection between sci-fi, philosophy, and having an open mind.
Alain Neffe and Nadine Bal, a married couple from Belgium, formed a musical duo in the 1980s known as Bene Gesserit. Their minimalist wave music drew direct inspiration from Herbert’s book, as the fictional group, Bene Gesserit, possess the ability to kill through vocal modulation. Bal explains, “It’s similar to what we aim to do with our music. We have a fondness for science fiction, and our compositions are a form of exploration into fantastical and imaginary worlds. I often incorporate singing in made-up languages, and our goal is to invent and create a whole new world rather than just tell our own personal stories.”
Bal and Neffe, similar to all the musicians interviewed for this article, were unimpressed by David Lynch’s 1980s version of Dune – and none of them had watched Villeneuve’s recent films. However, unlike film adaptations, music provides limitless possibilities to explore and interpret Herbert’s world. Bal remembers, “Dune was one of the first books I finished reading in one night, from the very first page to the very last. The world feels so realistic – you can completely immerse yourself in it and it’s just…amazing.”
Source: theguardian.com
