Environmental campaigns seem to go hand-in-hand with music events. Live Earth is a fine example. Many bands are using their tours as platforms for environmental education and recycling programs, like Linkin Park, Cheryl Crow and the Beastie Boys. But nothing sings about environmental doom and destruction like a carefully chosen documentary soundtrack. Finally, someone has matched planetary doom with the perfect soundtrack of doom metal and dark ambient electronica! I feel I have finally found a single category of music to describe many of my favorite bands - a class of music that I haven’t been able to summarize with a single name until today - Music For Environmental Doom! It’s perfect! What other category could so perfectly link Khanate with Gas, Brian Eno with Arve Henriksen, and Mogwai with Sigur Ros or Lamb? I’d love to own a soundtrack with this music, especially if it were on gatefold double vinyl!
Doom metal By Khanate - “Pieces of Quiet” from their live DVD:
11th Hour Soundtrack
And here it is - a single soundtrack, each band carefully hand-picked for its ability to communicate atmospheres of doom and upheaval! I think the tracklist is in order of appearance in the 11th Hour film:
“Torching Koroviev”
Performed by Khanate
Courtesy of Southern Lord Recordings
“Chiaro”
Performed by Arve Henriksen
Courtesy of Rune Grammofon
“Charred”
Written and performed by Toadliquor
Courtesy of Southern Lord Recordings
“Continental”
Written and performed by Robin Guthrie
“No. 5” from Zauberberg
Written by Wolfgang Voigt
Performed by Gas
Courtesy of Kompakt Germany
“Lullabye For Christie”
Performed by Dirty Three
Courtesy of Touch an Go Records
“White Lake”
Performed by Deaf Center
Courtesy of Type Recordings Ltd.
“A Stream With Bright Fish”
Written by Brian Eno and Harold Budd
“Svefn G Englar”
Performed by Sigur Rós
Courtesy of Geffen Records
“No. 3” from Zauberberg
Written by Wolfgang Voigt
Performed by Gas
Courtesy of Kompakt Germany
“Avalon”
Performed by Sigur Rós
Courtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS
“The White Arcades”
Written and performed by Harold Budd
Courtesy of Rykodisc
“Flugufrelsarinn”
Performed by Sigur Rós
Courtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS
“Sigur 3”
Performed by Sigur Rós
Courtesy of Geffen Records
“Ny Batteri”
Performed by Sigur Rós
Courtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS/Smekkleysa SM ehf
“Otterley”
Performed by Cocteau Twins
“Mondlied”
Performed by Triola
Courtesy of Kompakt Germany
“Wasted Years”
Written and performed by Ulf Lohmann
Courtesy of Kompakt Germany
“Mogwai Fear Satan”
Performed by Mogwai
Courtesy of Chemikal Underground Records
“Soft Mistake”
Performed by Lamb
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited
“Auto Rock”
Performed by Mogwai
Courtesy of Matador Records/PIAS Recordings
“Politik”
Performed by Coldplay
Courtesy of Capitol Records
11th Hour
What bizarre indie-noir film would compile such a ghastly selection you ask? None. This is the soundtrack for the new Leonardo DiCaprio film that opens in LA and NYC on August 17th! It’s a documentary called The 11th Hour…. DUN DUN DUNNNN!
According to the 11th Hour website:
Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The 11th Hour” is a feature length documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and their impact on the planet. The 11th Hour documents the cumulative impact of these actions upon the planet’s life systems and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.
Here is the super scary trailer for 11th Hour:
An All-Star Cast
The official synopsis of the movie including credits:
“The 11th Hour” is the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people.
Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, and written and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour is produced by Leila Conners Petersen, Brian Gerber and Chuck Castleberry.
Shepard Fairy (creator of the OBEY Giant) also got involved and designed a great poster for the campaign to help raise funds and awareness. A print far superior to his Zeitgeist artwork.
Music For Environmental Doom
Yep, this is an excellent category of music here. This music would ideally suit the doom and destruction of any environment, from the planet all the way down to the solitary environment of the human heart. This soundtrack is going to give me chills long after the effects of the movie are forgotten. Khanate is amazing. Khanate is the band that Steven O’Malley pioneered before joining forces with Greg Andersen to form Sunn O))). Gas is the musical guise of Wolfgang Voigt who co-founded Kompakt Records in Germany. He is an experimental electronic musician who creates dense, hypnotic soundscapes with layers and layers of pulsing ambient noise. I left the record label info on the tracklist intact to make it easy to look up any bands that you are not familiar with. Kompakt is such a fantastic label for experimental electronica and minimal techno where Southern Lord is the label for experimental metal…
11th Hour Links
For more info about the movie or the environmental causes that it champions/sponsors, visit the 11th Hour Action website - great site, way better than anything I saw linked to Live Earth…
The Warner Bros 11th Hour Movie website
Leonardo DiCaprio’s youTube Channel for the 11th Hour has a bunch of super informative videos and interviews
Wolfgang Voigt wiki
I guess this makes Leo the top eco-celebrity right now. Just in time too, Al Gore was already fading in the collective conscious, while Cheryl Crow and Daryl Hannah are so beyond keeping up with.
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