Semuta Music and Semuta.

[TMA_1]

It is talked about briefly in certain places. The music uses atonal tones, which means probably that it breaks the mold of the normal tonal range. For example many songs in the 60s and 70s that were written for those that use music enhancing drugs were very very different from normal western style music.

At one point the baron comes to nefud, and descovers him listening to the "twangy" and "eerie" sounds of semuta music. apparently on semuta you can break out of exstacy to perform normally, it is just hard to break yourself from it. Nefud had to at times. It also turns the skin yellow, semuta that is. From what it sounds like, it has a slightly psychadelic effect, as well as an extreme euphoric effect, like potent haroin. You can tell this by how spaced out nefud is, and how he looks with the eyes, like in another world. It seems to have no real visual hellucinations, but it does cause extreme audio hellucinations, and adds to the sensitivity of rythem in sound, or lack thereof. It seems that the extraction of the chemical into a crystalline form means that semuta is a freebase form of the roots.

Often my friend Matt, who probably knows more than anybody I know about Dune, would say that he wished he could try it.lol he was a drug user, and he and I actually came up with a list (semi fan-fictional) about the drugs in the dune universe and their effects.

We also tried to come up with an idea of what this eerie and out of place music sounded like. It must be extremely different, because though it does contain extreme rythem (in a sense that it breaks all musical rules, and often is arythmic, seemingly no rythem and complete chaos). it breaks the rules so much that it says that it is barely tolerable by those not on semuta.

Any info you guys have on either semuta or semuta music? Your own interpritations and ideas are very welcome. Ill post in a bit on my exact opinions on it.

[Andrew]

The only Semuta part I remember is in the novel CoD several times.

possible spoilers...

The youth took up his rebec, drew the bow across it. Semuta music wailed from the strings. As though drawn by the sound, a young woman in a blue robe emerged from a doorway behind the musician. Narcotic dullness filled her eyes which were the total blue of the Ibad. She was a Fremen, addicted to the spice, and now caught by an offworld vice. Her awareness lay deep within the semuta, lost somewhere and riding the ecstasy of the music.

"Otheym's daughter," Farok said. "My son gave her the narcotic in the hope of winning a woman of the People for himself despite his blindness. As you can see, his victory is empty. Semuta has taken what he hoped to gain."

[Mahdi]

That's Messiah, not CoD. And the Barons head gaurd is also addicted to it.

[Andrew]

Whoops, yeah I knew that, but for some reason put CoD. ???

And the barons head guard, is this in the prequels, or in Dune novel.

[Mahdi]

Dune.

You were probably thinking of the miniseries, they show Lichna useing it.

[Vanguard3000]

Nefud is the Baron's head guard. I think that was a neat aspect of Dune. The Baron, as we know, was a control freak. I think having his number two man (Piter being number one, who had addictions of his own) addicted to expensive drugs was a very good way of controlling him. Same with piter, who was addicted to the Spice, and later... (Spoiler from Dune)

[hide]Thufir, who was "addicted" to the antidote for the Residual Poison.[/hide]

[Emperor Harkonnen]

what is semuta?

[Andrew]

From the Dune Novel:

SEMUTA: the second narcotic derivative (by crystal extraction) from burned residue of elacca wood. The effect (described as timeless, sustained ecstasy) is

elicited by certain atonal vibrations referred to as semuta music.

I am really getting old with my dune stuff. I need to read "Dune" sometime soon. hopefully a christmas present.

[nemafakei]

Every substance can be associated with certain frequencies in a phenomenon known as 'resonance'. Microwave ovens use a resonance frequency of water, I believe, to excite water particles. Semuta music appeals to the resonances associated with the molecules found in the Ecazi drug, to enhance its effect; further frequencies combined with it can select which other substances in the body the drug-enzyme interacts with by exciting them at various points in the music. The music may also reform the Semuta molecule's active site for interface with different hormones.

Just a thought or two.

[TMA_1]

good idea, I always thought it had to do with the saturation of body chemicals that altered states of mind, and that it is a work on audio hellucinations.

[mechadragon]

In the scene where the Baron flies around Feyd in the steam bath in Lynch's version, isn't Nefud using semuta in the background there? I always assumed that the squealing contraption he was holding was generating the semuta music. He did seem rather into it, yet out of it. :-