23 January 2026
The score is available digitally via Domino Soundtracks, with physical editions scheduled for release on April 3
The original soundtrack for Wilding, the documentary released in 2024, has now been released, with music composed by Jon Hopkins and Icelandic composer Biggi Hilmars. The score is available digitally via Domino Soundtracks, with physical editions scheduled for release on April 3.
Directed by David Allen and written by Isabella Tree, Wilding documents a long-term rewilding initiative at the 400-year-old Knepp Estate in West Sussex. The project is led by Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, and follows the transformation of the land after traditional farming practices were withdrawn in favour of ecological regeneration.
Jon Hopkins’ connection to Wilding predates the film itself. He was first introduced to the concept of rewilding several years earlier through visits to the Knepp Estate with his brother. “A few years ago, my brother Sam told me about the concept of rewilding. He took me to Knepp Estate in Sussex to show me how quickly land can regenerate once human hands stop interfering.” Years later, director David Allen, already familiar with Hopkins’ work, approached him with the idea of scoring the documentary. “Entirely separately from that, years later, director David Allen – who had been a fan of Diamond Mine – thought that kind of organic soundworld might suit his new documentary Wilding, which follows the rewilding of the Knepp Estate.”
The musical direction developed from an existing collaboration before expanding into new material. “We started by developing my collaboration with King Creosote, Immunity, into a new iteration that sat over one particularly beautiful scene explaining the symbiotic relationship between the jay and the oak. With that palette in place, I began composing new material.” One of the central pieces, ‘Wilding Theme’, features Hopkins’ own voice transformed into an unfamiliar timbre. “The lead sound in Wilding Theme is my own voice, processed until it sounded more like a strange kind of ancient woodwind instrument. I wanted my contributions to this film to feel like something old and constant, a kind of memory, something long-held in the land that is finally coming back to life.”
On the other hand, Biggi Hilmars described his response to the project in similar terms: “I was immediately drawn to Wilding. Its message of renewal spoke to me as an environmentalist. I wanted the music to feel alive, organic, and full of quiet transformation. Collaborating with Jon Hopkins was an honour.”
Listen to the 13-track Wilding (Original Soundtrack) album below.
