I love the BBC’s hallmark series Planet Earth. I do. And Planet Earth II which dropped late last year made an already incredibly-gripping show about the natural world even better. So, as an ocean-loving person, imagine my excitement upon learning that the BBC will soon release a beautifully reinvigorated version of the classic nature series Blue Planet in 2018, calling it Planet Earth: Blue Planet II. Oh, man.
The original Blue Planet won multiple Emmy awards after its 2001 release, and you can bet Blue Planet II will try to up the ante – starting with a collaboration between Radiohead and Hans Zimmer.
Here’s what the BBC had to say about the collab:
“Radiohead, one of the world’s most acclaimed rock bands, and Hans Zimmer, one of the planet’s most successful movie and TV composers, have joined forces to produce an exclusive track for BBC America’s upcoming natural history series, Planet Earth: Blue Planet II, coming to BBC Ameria in early 2018.
“Radiohead and Hans Zimmer’s orchestrally reimagined version of the Radiohead song ‘(ocean) bloom’ from their 2011 album sees Radiohead’s Thom Yorke rerecord the vocals and produced by Russell Emanuel of Bleeding Fingers Music, the company which also crafted the BAFTA & Emmy-nominated score to BBC America’s Planet Earth II.
“Thom Yorke of Radiohead shares our excitement for the project: ‘Bloom was inspired by the original Blue Planet series so it’s great to be able to come full circle with the song and reimagine it for this incredible landmark’s sequel. Hans is a prodigious composer who effortlessly straddles several musical genres so it was liberating for us all to work with such a talent and see how he wove the sound of the series’ and Bloom together.’
“In turn, Hans Zimmer says: ‘Bloom appears to have been written ahead of its time as it beautifully reflects the jaw-dropping lifeforms and seascapes viewers are introduced to in Blue Planet II. Working with Thom, Jonny and the boys has been a wonderful diversion and it’s given me an interesting peek into their musical world. They’ve been incredible to work with and I hope everyone likes the track.'”
And here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration:
