Radiohead and Hans Zimmer are teaming up to create a new track for Blue Planet II.

The BBC One natural history programme, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, is known for its classical arrangements.

The collaborative piece will be a orchestral reworking of Radiohead’s ‘Bloom’. Thom Yorke will be re-recording the vocals and the track is produced by Russell Emanuel of Bleeding Fingers Music, who gained a BAFTA & Emmy-nomination for his work on BBC’s Planet Earth II.


Titled ‘(ocean) bloom’, the track will premiere at midday on September 27 and will also feature in the five-minute prequel for the series. The prequel will debut at the World Premiere of Blue Planet II at London’s BFI Imax on September 27.

“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,” Thom Yorke said of the project.

“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.”

Hans Zimmer added: “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.”

:[‘(ocean) bloom] is an incredibly powerful companion to the scenes we’ve spent years capturing,” Blue Planet II’s Executive Producer James Honeyborne said. “What a great curtain-raiser to the upcoming series that we just can’t wait to share with everyone.”


Blue Planet II will air later on this year.