Hear Radiohead & Hans Zimmer’s collaboration for Blue Planet

Radiohead have unveiled their new collaboration with Hans Zimmer, “(Ocean) Bloom”, for the upcoming BBC documentary Blue Planet II, as Rolling Stone report.

The track is a rework of “Bloom”, the opening track of their 2011 album The King of Limbs. The new version is a more pared down and atmospheric affair than the original, slowly opening up from singer Thom Yorke’s vocal into something more cinematic courtesy of Zimmer’s orchestrations.

In an interview with the BBC about the track, Yorke revealed that the original Blue Planet was one of the main inspirations for “Bloom”. “It sort of seeped into my subconscious,” he said. “I found myself dreaming of these creatures quite a lot.”

Zimmer added: “I was trying to be respectful... If somebody hands you somebody else’s work, there’s responsibility and respect that comes with it.”

Yorke additionally explained that he hoped the series would reconnect people with the oceans and their own relationship to them. “This is bigger than you,” he said.

The song accompanies a prequel video for the series, which shows footage that won’t appear when Blue Planet II premieres later this year. Watch that preview and the interview below.