A prequel to the blockbuster nature documentary series will feature (ocean) Bloom, an orchestral reworking of Radiohead’s song Bloom

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Radiohead have teamed with Hans Zimmer, the Oscar-winning composer for The Dark Knight, The Lion King and Gladiator, on a new piece of music – called ocean (Bloom) – that will appear on a prequel to the BBC’s flagship nature documentary series Blue Planet II.

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The track is an orchestral reworking of Bloom, Radiohead’s song from their 2011 album The King of Limbs, with Thom Yorke rerecording his vocals for the new version. “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,” Yorke said.

The popular natural history series will again be narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and will be scored by Zimmer.

Zimmer, who also created the music for Planet Earth II, will also compose the theme and score for the new BBC series alongside Jacob Shea and Dave Fleming, his co-composers in music production company Bleeding Fingers.

“[Zimmer] 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,” Yorke added.

Zimmer said: “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.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Blue Planet II will mark 16 years since the channel’s natural history unit first set out to explore never-before-seen parts of the world’s oceans Photograph: Dan Beecham/BBC

“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.”

The prequel video, spearheaded by BBC Worldwide and produced by BBC Studios’ natural history unit, will feature exclusive footage that will not be shown when Blue Planet II is aired.

The video will be simulcast globally on 27 September to coincide with the show’s world premiere.

James Honeyborne, Blue Planet II’s executive producer, added: “This collaboration between an iconic Grammy-winning band and an Oscar-winning orchestral composer is simply mouthwatering – and (ocean) Bloom doesn’t disappoint.

“It’s an incredibly powerful companion to the scenes we’ve spent years capturing. What a great curtain-raiser to the upcoming series that we just can’t wait to share with everyone.”

The new seven-part series will be broadcast later this year on BBC1.

Blue Planet II will mark 16 years since the channel’s natural history unit first set out to explore never-before-seen wildlife in the deepest and darkest parts of the world’s oceans.