Silva Screen Records release Benji Merrison and Will Slater's score to BBC Earth's innovative documentary series Dynasties. The five part programme follows on from the breathtaking Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II to explore the lives of different tribes from the animal kingdom. Presented by Sir David Attenborough and produced over a period of four years, the big theme of the series is allowing animals space. Throughout the series and in every episode, except the Antarctic, long shots show the encroachment of the human population...

Benji Merrison and Will Slater deliver a diverse, rich collection of themes on their soundtrack for Dynasties. This won't come as a surprise to anyone who has heard previous scores for BBC Earth documentaries. Blue Planet II (Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and David Fleming) and Planet Earth II (Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe) also delivered some impressive music, and Dynasties is no exception.

Because the subject matter in the series is so diverse this helps greatly to give Merrison and Slater a huge canvas to paint their themes on. The album comes as a 2-disc set, containing 47 tracks (1 hr, 59 min, 12 sec) and there really is music for every occasion from powerful, epic themes, to more quiet, beautiful reflective pieces. On balance it's mostly made up of the later, which will please those that like deep, melancholic themes.

It's a beautifully rich and varied score which will be adored by fans of the show, but equally works just as wonderfully as a standalone album of incredible themes.

10

Darren Rea