I have long been a fan of the Dune series. As a youngster it drew me into the strange world of Arakis and the legacy of the great houses, but it was as an adult that I came to appreciate the depth of Herbert's writings. So when I stumbled onto the original DUNEWAVE E.P. back in 2018 it became an instant favorite of mine. This initial collaboration between Akira the Don and DanikaXIX captured a number of critical moments and ideas of the first book in a way I'd never considered before.

This album was integrated into a full audio book for Dune, which can be found in two large volumes here and here. I recommend them wholeheartedly for anyone who has enjoyed the Dune series, they highlight and bring forth experiences not apparent in a traditional reading. For those who are not familiar with Akira the Don's body of work, which he describes as Meaningwave, I suggest you check out the interview I did earlier this year. Simply put, Meaning wave takes spoken word excerpts and blends them with music. In his own words:

Meaningwave is a lot of things to a lot of people. It's music. It's more than music. It's a psycho-technology, is another way of thinking about it. A way of integrating information using the most powerful delivery mechanism we know about, which is music.
- Akira the Don

The DUNEWAVE E.P. and audio book adaptation adhere closely to the first book, an anomaly in the broader Meaningwave catalog. However, DUNEWAVE: ODYSSEY draws from the entire series to condense and impart the higher level concepts which Frank Herbert elucidated through his characters. Released five years after the EP, the full album captures a broad range of principles that have been touched on in many other Meaningwave albums, from different collaborations. Combined with the visuals and art by DanikaXIX, the DUNEWAVE: ODYSSEY album provides a fantastic musical experience, a wonderful introduction to Dune, and a look into the wisdom of Meaningwave.