Soundtrack Review: A Perfect Planet (2021)

Sony Music today released A Perfect Planet (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) with music by composer Ilan Eshkeri (Stardust, The Young Victoria, Ghost of Tsushima). The album features the music from Eshkeri’s fourth collaboration with Sir David Attenborough, the legendary naturalist who will narrate the BBC series.

Regarding the music for A Perfect Planet, composer Ilan Eshkeri had the following to say:

“Creating the music for A Perfect Planet has been a hugely rewarding experience. The series celebrates the extraordinary world we are a part of as well as showing the delicate balance of the systems that support life, and what we need to do to ensure its future stability. It’s a message that’s very important to me and one that I believe we have a responsibility to engage with – in a way that not only educates but inspires the next generation. This influenced my approach to the music, and set me on an unconventional path. Composing the music for A Perfect Planet has also been enormously challenging – not least because of the unprecedented logistical issues of trying to record an orchestra during the lockdown! I’m grateful to everyone at the BBC and [production company] Silverback who supported me and the ideas I threw at them and I hope my music can play a small part in helping to inspire change.”

The music for A Perfect Planet is gorgeous. As you might expect for a soundtrack accompanying a series highlighting the wide variety of life on Earth, Ilan Eshkeri has created a veritable symphony that serves as the perfect complement to the visual elements of the series. This isn’t like some documentaries where the music is meant to fade into the background as much as possible. Here, in a series like A Perfect Planet, the music and the visuals are equals to each other. In this kind of story, it’s okay if the music stands out, as many times we’re left to watch the animals move about in their environment

One thing about this music that jumped out at me was the concept of balance, a very important concept especially when you think about the climate change currently tearing our planet apart. Eshkeri starts the music off with two tracks titled “A Perfect Planet” and “A Perfect Balance” and in each of these pieces the composer creates a feeling of balance by filling the music with arpeggios, chords broken down and spelled out in upward and downward motion. Repeated uses of arpeggios can create a “seesaw” feeling in the music that gives one the sense of something being carefully balanced. What’s more, these arpeggios return throughout the soundtrack, reinforcing the idea that the music is ultimately about balance in life and nature and that’s something I love very much.

I also enjoy the wide range of instruments featured in this soundtrack. It’s all orchestral, but some sections focus more on the strings, some more on the woodwinds, it all shifts based on which animals (or environments) are being highlighted. Honestly, the music is so soothing I would happily listen to this soundtrack all day long, even without seeing the documentary that goes with it. This is the second soundtrack by Ilan Eshkeri that I’ve listened to, and I’ve loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to see what he creates next.

A PERFECT PLANET (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE BBC SERIES) TRACKLISTING –

A Perfect Planet
A Perfect Balance (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Wildebeest (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Flamingos (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Vampire Finches (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Bears (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Volcanoes (Episode 1 – Volcanoes)
Sunlight (Episode 2 – Sunlight)
Gibbons (Episode 2 – Sunlight)
Arctic Foxes (Episode 2 – The Sun)
Silver Ants (Episode 2 – The Sun)
Autumn (Episode 2 – The Sun)
Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Episode 2 – The Sun)
Sooty Shearwaters (Episode 2 – The Sun)
Fire Ants (Episode 3 – Weather)
Giant River Turtles (Episode 3 – Weather)
Red Crabs (Episode 3 – Weather)
Summer (Episode 3 – Weather)
Dry Season Pt. 1 (Episode 3 – Weather)
Dry Season Pt. 2 (Episode 3 – Weather)
A Changing Climate (Episode 3 – Weather)
Marine Iguana (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Cuttlefish (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Mangroves (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Manta Rays (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Spring (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Hardyheads (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Rockhopper Penguins (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Eden’s Whales (Episode 4 – Oceans)
Elephant Orphans (Episode 5 – Humans)
Climate Refugees (Episode 5 – Humans)
The Rainforest (Episode 5 – Humans)
Reforestation (Episode 5 – Humans)
A Changing Planet (Episode 5 – Humans)

A Perfect Planet premiered on January 3, 2021 on BBC One, and will consist of five episodes. Let me know what you think about A Perfect Planet (and its music) in the comments below and have a great day!