Commercial music producer Benn Jordan (recording as The Flashbulb) stumbled upon David Attenborough’s 1984 documentary series that was, in the creator’s words, “more in touch with nature than any other.” Along with the BBC he and his crew geared up for the endeavor–and they would risk their lives and careers to do so. The result, a TV series called “The Living Planet.” From Wikipedia:
Among the most difficult places, in terms of logistics, was the Sudan, where the crew had to be flown in — despite there being no runways or indeed roads. Conversely, areas such as the Himalayas permitted no transportation at all, so the only option was to walk. In South America, a shortage of boats led to one cameraman having to push his equipment in a rubber dinghy, while he himself swam behind it.
Some subjects proved even more challenging: the production team had to wait two years for news to arrive of an erupting volcano, and had to suspend all other filming in the hope that it would still be alight when they reached it. Elsewhere, cameraman Hugh Miles had to put himself 25 yards (23 m) away from a polar bear in order to film it in close-up.
Benn loved the concept and the film, but said, “the only thing I’m not in love with about this series is the music. A bit too minimal and synthy when perhaps a more cinematic approach is needed.” Taking it upon himself to re-invision the soundtrack, Benn–along with opener and visualist Polyfuse–will re-create live the score to the the first of The Living Planet series: “The Building Of The Earth.”
For this particular live-scoring Benn will DJ the cues to the movie in Traktor with a cue sheet and SMTPE code in front of him. Next month will involve a higher degree of actual instrumentation involving musicians with strings.
It’s a free show at Sonotheque, 1444 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago. The performance starts at 9:30 and will run for an hour, after which Benn will DJ.
Here’s the original video, so you can hear what Benn is refering to by “minimal and synthy”:
And here’s a clip from Benn showing his version:
Benn Jordan Re-envisions The Living Planet
Benn Jordan Re-envisions The Living Planet