African Parrot

Few postwar blues standards have retained the universal appeal of Eddie Boyd's "Five Long Years." Cut in 1951, Boyd's masterpiece has attracted faithful covers by B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy, and too many other bluesmen to recount here. But Boyd's discography is filled with evocative compositions, often full of after-hours ambience.

Filmed in more than 60 locations, the series covers a wide range of animals, including African elephants, polar bears, blacktip sharks, chipmunks, grizzly bears, cheetahs, leatherback turtles, pandas and zebras, among many, many others.
Jasha Klebe comments “On approaching the music for the ITV series, ‘A Year On Planet Earth’ I wanted to create a score that was lyrical, vibrant, and a joyous celebration of the natural world. Using a kaleidoscope of instruments and textures, I crafted soundscapes to be as rich and colorful as the animals and environments they portrayed. Starting with ambient vocal calls, cascading strings, and a jubilant percussive motif – the heartbeat of the series – in the opening suite; to stacked ambient layers of my vocals in Bush Fire; delicate piano and wistful solo cello in Ice Bears; to the sweeping melodic song of Monarch Butterfly; I set out to evoke a wondrous, emotional journey, as we transitioned from each new season over a year on planet earth.”

Hailing from Melbourne, but with a sound stretching from 60s and 70s afrobeat and exotica to Fela Kuti-esque repetition, the proto-garage rhythmic fury of The Monks and the grooves of Os Mutantes, there’s an enticing lost world exoticism to the music of Bananagun.