I have never scored the music for a wildlife documentary before, so working on the soundtrack for a new TV series starring meerkats was a career first for me, and I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous.
I was really keen to create a bold sound for the stars – three meerkat families… But where would I start? There were so many questions in my head about how I should approach this project musically. Little did I know then, but this was to be the beginning of a wonderful journey into the amazing world that is Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty.
I had no idea there would be fierce battles and family politics at play as the new series chronicles the survival of the three families of meerkats, first revealed in the original Animal Planet’s MeerKat Manor series in 2005. As the New York Times TV critic Margaret Lyons aptly describes it in her column: ‘Think “Game of Thrones”-level fraught sagas of familial responsibility and the scamps that subvert it, but without the drudgery.’
Scoring this soundtrack has been an incredible adventure for me into the fascinating world of these highly intelligent Kalahari desert animals. Over the coming weeks I plan to share my experience of creating the soundtrack for this delightful series, featuring unseen film from my recording sessions as well as music from the show itself, which I hope you enjoy.
Meerkat Manor : Rise of the Dynasty streams from today on AMC+ and begins on BBC America on June 5.