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Musician re-tunes, re-tools for next 'Survivor

Russ Landau
Russ Landau wrote the theme song for the original "Survivor" and music for the second  

(CNN) -- Outwit? Outplay? Sure, sure, but outlast? That was the kicker for composer Russ Landau, who made the long trip from his Southern California studio to the playground of "Survivor II: The Australian Outback."

Thanks to a pair of plane rides and a couple of car jaunts, it took him two days to arrive in Australia. "The good news is, when you come back you arrive about an hour after you leave," he explains with a laugh.

Landau, who composed the theme "Ancient Voices" for last season's "Survivor" debut and scored the weekly episode with partner David Vanacore, wouldn't have it any other way. "Working in the Outback was incredible," Landau says now that he's safely back home.

Landau, 46, has been working as a Hollywood television and film music composer for more than a decade. In addition to his work on "Survivor," he's composed music for the documentary film "Racehoss," the television show "Eco Challenge" and the IMAX feature "Avalanche Hunter."

The contestants for
The contestants for "Survivor: The Australian Outback" shortly after arriving in the outback  

"Survivor II: The Australian Outback" has been an interesting challenge for Landau, and a remunerative one, too. Thanks to a hefty nondisclosure agreement he's not at liberty to say much.

His Australian adventure began with Aboriginal musician David Hudson, who acted as Landau's musical collaborator and guide through the Outback. "He definitely introduced me to his culture in the best way possible," Landau says.

After getting permission from the Aboriginal tribal elders to record in the Undara Lava Tubes, a renowned tourist attraction, the duo captured Hudson's didgeridoo performance, which will replace the original theme song's signature conch call. (Landau reports that he and CBS are planning to auction the conch shell to benefit the Children's Hospital.)

Herd of kangaroos

That evening the crew camped outside the lava tubes, and Landau happened upon a handful of kangaroos. He sat right in the middle of them.

"I'm like the typical daft American, looking around with my hand over my eyes and saying, 'I've traveled over 10,000 miles and I haven't seen one kangaroo,'" he recalls. "It was fun."

  AUDIO

The original 'Survivor' theme song by Russ Landau

256K WAV sound
 

His trip went from fun to frantic the next day when a guide came to take him to Camp Survivor. "We went through security gate after security gate down all these fantastically etched-out dirt roads," he says. "Then we came over this knoll and saw this sea of high-tech tents -- there must have been 300 tents. It was like a moonscape."

It was there where Landau got right to work, reshaping the "Survivor" theme and then writing music for the weekly episodes that start after Super Bowl XXXV.

Musician re-tunes, re-tools for next 'Survivor

His first night on location he had a chance to witness one of the show's tribal councils.

"That was the most incredible set I've ever seen," he says. "It's just so beautiful. It's like Stonehenge on this outcropping over a gorgeous river with these huge waterfalls. It's outstanding. Talk about inspiration."

Things went smoothly, though Landau reports they had trouble getting permission to use any of the local Aboriginal chants.

"They all have religious significance and they are very protective of them," he explains. "So, one night we got all the editors drunk and got them all chanting. We knew some of the Aboriginal chants and we had them mimic them, but it sounded like a bunch of drunken editors. Look for it on the next CD."



RELATED SITES:
Russ Landau
Survivor II: The Australian Outback

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