Music of Dune (2021 film)

[4] Though initially approached by longtime collaborator Christopher Nolan to compose for Tenet, Zimmer ultimately chose to work on Dune, as the book was a "favorite" of his during his childhood and teen years.

[11] Villeneuve chose British rock band Pink Floyd's "Eclipse", from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, as the "key musical element" in the first theatrical trailer released on September 9, 2020. Zimmer subsequently rearranged the track and recorded a cover version performed by a 32-piece ensemble of session singers from Los Angeles.

[12][13] Variety called the choice a "surprising" one, given that "trailers are not usually scored by the film's actual composer, much less a specially tailored cover of a classic rock song".

"[14] Recording sessions for the track were conducted in full compliance with COVID-19 protocols at the composer's Remote Control Productions studio in Santa Monica.

Under the direction of Edie Lehmann Boddicker, the singers gathered four at a time, in "separate cubicles, divided by glass", over the course of eight sessions held earlier in the summer.

[18] Classic FM described the seven-minute long piece as "begin[ning] with whisperings and soft vocals, before building to a spine-tingling, imposing climax".

[11] A limited pressing of 3,000 copies of a special triple-vinyl edition of the sketchbook soundtrack, featuring artwork by Greg Ruth, was released on October 13.

[21] Zimmer was inspired to look at the film's music "in a different way", "to take the audience on [a] journey beyond the movie", and felt it "must be available via an immersive technology that utilizes spatial audio" in order "to fully showcase" the "unique sounds" of the soundtrack.

[23] After a special IMAX previewing of the first ten minutes of Dune, Slashfilm's Vanessa Armstrong wrote that the score "brought home" the "alienness" of Arrakis as much as "the landscape and the costuming".

[10] Rafael Motamayor, in his film review for Inverse, commented that "Zimmer delivers yet another rousing score that mixes grandiose and operatic sounds with a surprising rock style, lending Dune a unique sonic palette to match its visuals".

It contains "uniquely crafted versions of the film's main themes curated by Zimmer"[4] to accompany a behind-the-scenes companion book written by executive producer Tanya Lapointe, titled Insight Editions' The Art and Soul of Dune.