Thom Yorke on BBC 6 Music

Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Hans Zimmer talk to Matt Everitt on 6 Music about their music for the BBC's Blue Planet II, which reworks Radiohead's “Bloom”. Yorke wrote the song lying on the sofa at seven in the morning, trying to get back to sleep after a late night up with his small son, while the original Blue Planet drifted in and out of his head. The idea that the series went so deep it found creatures nobody knew existed is still, to him, one of the most profound things there is. His son, five or six at the time, became obsessed and learned the Latin names, and when a letter from Greenpeace came through the door he read it and asked if they could get involved. That, Yorke says, is how his work with Greenpeace began.

This time Yorke enjoyed the lack of pressure, doing the vocal and leaving the rest as Zimmer's problem. Greenwood has film work to finish by the end of the year. Shown the Blue Planet II footage with their music for the first time and asked if it gave them goosebumps, one of them answers: from goosebumps to mild amusement at some of the creatures. Zimmer, who would carry the blame if the music came out overblown, wanted the strings kept from turning too tragic or too bombastic, because that takes away the listener's say in what they feel. “I never want to be the person telling you what to feel,” he says.