Hunters: The World of Predators and Prey (released on DVD as Predators) is a nature documentary series directed by Wolfgang Bayer and broadcast on the Discovery Channel from December 1994 to March 1995. It featured an instrumental score by The Residents, which Milan Records released on CD the same year.
The Residents would revisit and rework the 1993-1994 recording sessions, which resulted in the soundtrack for Hunters more than ten years later with the limited two-disc release Night of the Hunters in 2007.
History[]
Steve Rosenthal and Robert Fish produced the series for the Discovery Channel and developed and filmed it throughout early 1994. The Discovery Channel broadcasted all eleven episodes between December 1994 and March 1995. The Residents' soundtrack was released that same year on Milan Records.
Home video release[]
Shortly after the conclusion of the series, an 11x VHS box set was released. Tapes of individual episodes were released on VHS between April 1998 and January 2000.[1][2]
On November 5th 2007, eight of the ten episodes of Hunters were released on DVD, in a box set titled Predators; the opening titles of the episodes on the DVDs retain the original title card reading Hunters. To date, the remaining two episodes have not been released in a digital format; no episodes of the series have been released on Blu-ray or to streaming.
Soundtrack album[]
Hunters (The World Of Predators And Prey) (AKA, Räuber Der Wildnis (Hunters)) is soundtrack to the documentary television series of the same name. It is also, The Residents' twenty-first studio album, as well as their first entirely instrumental release. The album was not as widely available as the groups' earlier releases had been, leading Hunters to fall into relative obscurity.
Writing and recording[]
In 1993 The Residents were working on their album Gingerbread Man when they were approached by Barry and Terry Clark, two Los Angeles television producers who were developing Hunters: The World of Predators and Prey for the Discovery Channel.[3]
With the series having been intended to feature no narration, the Clark brothers asked the group to provide around ten hours of music similar in tone to their 1979 "documentary" album Eskimo. The Residents were unsure of taking on such a monumental task, having never recorded such a large amount of soundtrack music before, but agreed and began work on the project after being offered a "whopping check".[3]
The group finished recording the soundtrack in December 1994, despite their interest in the series waning after receiving a number of rough cut episodes and seeing that the series now included "trite, cliched narration" and none of the violent documentary footage they had been told would feature heavily.
Release[]
Milan Records owned the album, so it was not released by The Residents' main record label at the time, East Side Digital. VOX Records released it in European territories, with the title translated as Räuber Der Wildnis (Predators in The Wilderness).
The album was been out of print for 26 years following its initial release, but was eventually reissued as part of the three-disc Gingerbread Man pREServed edition in May 2021. The set also included outtakes such as the previously unreleased "Fat Boy" demo tape and the 1993 EP Prelude to "The Teds".
Legacy[]
'Hunters' remains one of the more obscure entries in The Residents' vast catalog. Milan Records didn't promote the album that much, outside of the airing of its documentary counterpart; this, added with the fact that it wasn't released through their main label, East Side Digital, meant it would be less known to Residents fans.
The album and its contents have been largely left alone in terms of re-interpretations, with the only example being the complete album re-work titled Night of the Hunters, recorded and released in 2007.
A four-minute concentrated version of the album was released on the 1994 CD box set, Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses. The 2000 CD compilation Dot.Com featured an extended edited version of the album's central theme.
Track listing[]
- Hunters Prelude (0:49)
- The Deadly Game (4:47)
- Tooth & Claw (5:12)
- The Dangerous Sea (4:49)
- Rulers of the Deep (5:06)
- Track of the Cat (5:16)
- The Giant Grizzlies (6:27)
- Dawn of the Dragons (5:50)
- Eye of the Serpent (6:49)
- The Crawling Kingdom (6:30)
- The Savage Pack (6:28)
- Hunters Reprise (1:02)
Liner notes[]
Original release (1995)[]
"Hunters is an extraordinary compilation of music from the 10-part nature documentary series to be broadcast in the United States on The Discovery Channel beginning in December, 1994 (and subsequently in many other territories throughout the world).
Through the lens of Wolfgang Bayer, one of the world-renowned masters of natural history cinematography, the Hunters television series explores the many worlds of creatures that kill, examining their varied lifestyles, their strategies for survival, and the vital role they play in the world's ecosystems.
The original soundtrack for Hunters was composed in its entirety by The Residents, perhaps the most celebrated avant-garde musical group in the world. During the past two decades, The Residents have built a devoted international following for their futuristic projects, and have released nearly twenty albums, while creating numerous performance pieces, conceptual musical works, and ground-breaking scores for MTV.
In addition to their musical exploits, The Residents have been pioneers in the fields of video (two of their works are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art), and, most recently CD-ROM (their initial project, Freak Show has been acclaimed as the most innovative work of its kind).
The original soundtrack album for Hunters is The Residents' latest musical masterpiece." - Milan.
Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997)[]
When The Residents were invited by the Discovery Channel to score a nature series, a great question mark hung over their collective heads. How does one approach composing for a ten-hour series, much less one about nature? The producers assured the group that there was going to be tons of blood and killing, which did ease the group's mind. The series, Hunters, was aired in 1995 to great response. The Residents scored the entire series in an unusual tuning that they devised.
Credits[]
- Music written, performed, & produced by: The Residents
- (C): Telenova Productions, Inc.
- Album Produced and Edited by: Steve Rosenthal at the Magic Shop, New York
- Digital Editing by: Oliver Straus
- Mastered by: Joe Brescio at The Master Cutting Room, New York
- Executive Album Producer: Robert Fish
- HUNTERS the television series is a production of: Telenova Productions, Inc.
- In association with: Discovery Communications, Inc.
- Executive Producers for Telenova: Barry Clark & Terry Tanner
- Executive Producers for The Discovery Channel: Steve Burns & Angus Yates
- Executive in Charge of Production: Clark Bunting
- Special thanks to: Robert N. Gold, Esq.
- Package Supervision: Chris Maguire
- Album Art Direction: Judy Kaganowich
- Milan Executive Producers: Emmanuel Chamboredon & Toby Pieniek
Release History[]
Milan released this album on CD & Cassette in the US & Europe. The European release was titled "Räuber Der Wildnis" which translates to "Predators Of The Wilderness"
| Year | Label | Format | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Milan | CD | USA |
| Cassette | |||
| VOX | CD | Europe | |
| 2021 | Cherry Red, MVD, New Ralph Too | US, Europe |
Buy Or Die![]
See also[]
External links and references[]
- Hunters on The Residents Historical
- Hunters on RZWeb
- Hunters on IMDb
- Hunters on Discogs
- Predators DVD box set at Amazon
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Channel-Hunters-Eye-Serpent/dp/B00004CWE7/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hunters+discovery+channel&qid=1619270426&s=dvd&sr=1-3
- ↑ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Channel-Hunters-Dangerous-Sea/dp/B00004R7DH/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=hunters+discovery+channel&qid=1619270426&s=dvd&sr=1-2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jim Knipfel, "Everybody Feeds The Fat Boy: The Gingerbread Man Goes A-Hunting", Gingerbread Man pREServed edition liner notes, 2021
