Foundation: Bear McCreary reveals Apple series' title theme, which is 'virtually impossible' for humans to play

Apple TV+’s Foundation — the epic, centuries-spanning sci-fi series —  is set to premiere on Sept. 24, bringing the sci-fi epic to television. A story that big will need an intro to match, right?

While we count down the few remaining days until then, SYFY WIRE has an exclusive first listen to the show’s main title soundtrack. The score, created by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning composer Bear McCreary, is as expansive as the show based on Isaac Asimov’s timeless trilogy. 

This piece will not only play at the beginning of each episode, getting us in a proper Foundation mood — it will also be in the series’ soundtrack released by Lakeshore Records.

Check it out below:

"When showrunner David S. Goyer invited me to join him on his adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s seminal science fiction novel Foundation for Apple TV+, my imagination immediately went into overdrive,” McCreary says. “Inspired by the ‘psychohistory’ of the source material, I wanted to incorporate mathematics into the score. Using custom computer software, I crafted an ‘orchestra’ of sampled instruments playing dazzling patterns of algorithmically generated musical notes that would be virtually impossible for human beings to play.”

Credit: Apple TV+

Here’s the complete tracklist for the series’ soundtrack:

1. "Foundation Main Title"
2. "The Only Story"
3. "Gaal Leaves Synnax"
4. "Journey to Trantor"
5. "The Imperial Library"
6. "Visions and Arrest"
7. "The Trial of Hari Seldon"
8. "Star Bridge"
9. "Over the Horizon"
10. "The Promise of the Imperium"
11. "Escape Pod"
12. "The Dream of Cleon the First (feat. Raya Yarbrough)"
13. "Anacreon"
14. "The Chant of the Luminous"
15. "Foundation End Credits"

The first two episodes of Foundation premiere on Apple TV+ on Sept. 24. The remaining seven episodes will drop one per week on the following Fridays. Foundation — Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack will be available digitally on Sept. 24 as well. You can pre-save it on Spotify here.