New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 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."
Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of
Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. With the new decade in its stride, the
Royal Family are presented with possibly their biggest challenge to date; as the public openly question their role in '90s Britain.
As
Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) approaches the 40th anniversary of her accession, she reflects on a reign that has encompassed nine prime ministers, the advent of mass television and the twilight of the British Empire. Yet new challenges are on the horizon. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong signals a seismic shift in the international order presenting both obstacles and opportunities. Meanwhile, trouble is brewing closer to home.
Prince Charles (Dominic West) pressures his mother to allow him to divorce Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), presenting a constitutional crisis of the monarchy. Rumours circulate as husband and wife are seen to live increasingly separate lives and, as media scrutiny intensifies, Diana decides to take control of her own narrative, breaking with family protocol to publish a book that undermines public support for Charles and exposes the cracks in the House of Windsor.
Tensions are set to rise further as Mohamed Al Fayed (Salim Daw) arrives on the scene. Driven by his desire for acceptance of the highest order, he harnesses his self-made wealth and power to try and earn him and his son Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) a seat at the royal table.
In a history that stretches back over 25 years,
Faithless have long occupied a pivotal position in the world of British electronica, marrying elements of house, trip-hop, dub and a songwriting flair into arena-filling, explosive, euphoric dance floor classics.
Their accomplishments tell their own story: seven Top 10 singles, six Top 10 albums (three at Number 1), a Mercury Prize nomination for their brilliant sophomore album, 1998's 'Sunday 8PM' and their impressive four times Platinum certified 'Forever
Faithless - The Greatest Hits' adding to a career total in excess of 15 million sales worldwide, and after their catalogue was uploaded to streaming sites in 2018, they average over 400,000 streams a day.
Faithless' records have charted at number 1 in numerous countries, and they were voted 4th greatest dance band of all time by Mixmag, with their lyrics being quoted in both the US Senate and the
Houses of Parliament.
Alice Isaac is a collage artist, image-maker and animator based in London. Her style is the result of her varied experience across different creative disciplines and her love for surrealism, irreverent fashion and beauty imagery, old magazines and the resulting chaos it produces when you combine these aesthetics.
Originally trained as an editorial and SFX make-up artist. She has also worked as a producer at leading animation and design studios. After years of needing to pursue a more creative outlet for herself she made a dramatic career U turn, started making collages and taught herself to animate.
Over the past few years she has created visuals for the likes of Nike, Prada, Hulu, Converse,
Two Door Cinema Club and Vogue to name a few. More recently she has taken the natural progression towards filmmaking and direction.
