Season 5 of The Crown returned to Netflix earlier this month with an incredible new cast including Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana. This season signals a new era for the Royal Family, as they enter the 90’s and follow the events that unfolded within the period of 1991 – 1997. To mark the relevance of this culturally defining era, The Crown has partnered with 90’s powerhouse Faithless to remix Hans Zimmer’s iconic theme tune. To accompany the track, video producer Alice Isaac creates an accompanying music video featuring iconic 90s imagery in her signature style of collage and animation.
The 90s signified a huge turning point for sentiments surrounding the Royal Family. From scandal to defiance, the 90s were iconic, carrying a rebel spirit with Princess Diana as its leading lady. At the same time, the hypnotic beats and hedonistic culture of electronic music had burst into the scene, injecting a level of abandon and intensity across the country. From warehouses to abandoned factories, car parks and airfields, the counter cultural energy was spreading just as fast as the scandals that surrounded the story of the Royals.
It’s impossible to ignore some of the similarities we’re going through in the country right now, particularly in regards to the questioning of long established leadership and power, the integral role the media has come to play in this and the influence this has on the perceived counterculture. When authority is weakened, we see a rise in anti-establishment views that are expressed through new voices, movements and art forms that have previously been held down.
The 90s were revolutionary across the board – whether royal or rebel. So who better to enlist to soundtrack “The Nasty 90s” than the pioneers that were often central to the sound of this revolutionary time. Enter Faithless. Pioneers of the scene.
Faithless’ Sister Bliss commented:
“I could hear in my head how this mix could work around Hans Zimmer’s iconic and dramatic strings. I dug around in the vaults and found lots of sounds and samples we actually saved from the 1990s when we were making our albums. I thought “these are genuinely good”, so I loaded them up for this remix of Hans Zimmer’s score.”
“We wanted this to be unapologetically Faithless and use some of the very original sounds that myself and Rollo made together.”
