“This time we would merge with the trees and the flowers, with the dust and the stones, with the whole of the mineral world, happily dissolving ourselves in the sea of light that formed the universe, itself reborn from the souls of the living who have happily returned themselves to its heart.” JG Ballard

Bella Union are pleased to announce the release of The Unlimited Dream Company, an original soundtrack, composed by Steven Dove, for the JG Ballard novel of the same name. Taking inspiration from film compostition, Dove (of Psychic Markers) has interpreted the book as so, using characters and chapters to define the musical arrangements. According to Dove, “a film adaptation did not need to exist when the book was already so visually rich.” Listen to the very dreamy ‘Blake III’ ahead of the album’s release on May 17th below…

Musically the soundtrack takes influence from contemporary film and television composers like Geoff Barrow (Annihilation, Black Mirror), Michael Nyman (A Zed And Two Noughts) and the late Johann Johannsson (Mandy). Written and recorded in Dove’s London studio, The Unlimited Dream Company features fuzzy, blissed out arpeggiators and analog synthesizers alongside melancholic piano melodies and soundscapes. Dove adds that, “by restricting myself to a select choice of instruments and recording techniques, I could build a cohesive and hopefully beautiful world – sonically speaking – for the book to live in. Conceptually it would only work this way.”

Having spent 2018 releasing an album and touring with his band Psychic Markers, this is the first solo outing from Steven Dove and is a project that he wishes to expand on. “Breathing new life into something you love, be it a book or a painting is extremely rewarding and my dream has always been to compose music for film. To me this was the next logical step. 

The Unlimited Dream Company will be released 17th May via Bella Union.