Mike Patton’s Score for ‘The Solitude of Prime Numbers’ to Drop on 11/1/11

It's a "prime" release date for Mike Patton's original score for 'The Solitude of Prime Numbers.' It'll drop on Nov. 1, 2011, which is 11.1.11. That's a rarefied release date and it's suited to the always eclectic Patton.

The album, titled 'Music From the Film and Inspired by the Book the Solitude of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi),' relates to a personal passion for Patton. The Faith No More frontman was moved by Paolo Giordano novel 'The Solitude of Prime Numbers' and he contributed music to the film of the same name. Now, he has created a companion 16-track release that he is calling a "sonic departure." It's always a departure with Mr. Patton, since you can never predict what the eclectic artist will do next. You can only strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

Here, Patton allowed the music to adopt a cinematic feel, so that the instruments developed individual voices. He emphasized isolated notes and subtly transitioned from piece to piece, acutely capturing the introspective and reflective feel of the novel. It's not easy to translate these two mediums, but this is Mike Patton we're talking about. He can bend time and space!

The album's intricate packaging further conveys the singer's equally dramatic and minimalistic approach, with a multi-panel digipak featuring a leaf cut out, embossed with a locking mechanism.

Now about that book and film. A quote from the book illustrates why Patton became so enamored by the book. "Prime numbers are divisible only by one and by themselves. They stand in their place defiantly in the infinite series of natural numbers, squashed in between two others, but a step further on than the rest... suspicious and solitary."

When 'The Solitude of Prime Numbers' was released in 2008, it became a quick growing sensation, moving one million copies before it was translated into 30 languages worldwide. What's it about? Well, the novel tells the story of two individuals, Mattia and Alice, whose lives parallel each other in uncanny ways, like twin primes: both are lonely but close to each other, separated by an even number. In 2010, a movie based upon the book, starring Isabella Rossellini was released.

'Music From the Film and Inspired by the Book the Solitude of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi)' features a unique arrangement with each track sequentially numbered with the first 16 prime numbers. That track listing is below:

2. Twin Primes

3. Identity Matrix

5. Method of Infinite Descent

7. Contrapositive

11. Cicatrix

13. Abscissa

17. Isolated Primes

19. Radius of Convergence

23. Separatrix

29. The Snow Angel

31. Apnoea

37. Supersingular Primes

41. Quadratix

43. Calculus of Finite Differences

47. Zeroth

53. Weight of Consequences