This is a pretty far reaching concept, because documentaries, culture and art can be of pretty much anything at all, but we've tried to put music in this area that you would expect to hear in documentaries about real world issues, as well as art and culture. The music in this area will be -background- music; music that is meant to just stay in the background, almost unnoticed, to provide a subtle atmosphere while the viewer concentrates on the matter discussed. Often used behind voiceover / narration and interviews, this music will not have any outstanding, loud, or attention grabbing melodies or effects. The music you find here should also go well with historical and cultural subjects.
Chopin Etude #12 in C-minor, also called "Revolutionary" (Piano). Classical music track. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
This track is hard to categorize, as it combines elements of Ambient, Jazz, Lounge and Chill-out. An exotic fusion of styles and influences, this track has a sense of something busy, bustling, stirring. People on the move, perhaps timelapse, bustling cities etc. [Tempo: Medium / 99 BPM]
This track is hard to categorize, as it combines elements of World, Jazz, Lounge and Chill-out. It has a sense of wonder and mystery and could perhaps be used for oceans, underwater, exotic city life. World / Travel / Discovery / Culture. [Tempo: Medium / 91 BPM]
Emotional and Dramatic solo piano composition with heroic and glorious feel. Performed on a grand piano in a classical cinematic style. Great for trailers, movies, commercials and more. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
Authentic opera music sung by a soprano. Could work just as well for a comedy scene. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 84 BPM]
Picture a sleepy town in Mexico, it’s hot, the sun is high in the sky, and the Spanish girl walking by is beautiful, romance is in the air. Nylon Guitars strum, piano melody plays, percussion elements glide in the background. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 112 BPM]
This track is created in documentary style. It features Acoustic Guitars, flute, indian percussion, mandolin, gamelan bells, strings, organ and drums. Suspense and mystery lead to a feeling of hopefulness and positive Himalayan Spirituality. Section three feels upbeat, positive and a feeling of finality. Plenty of underscore to work with. [Tempo: Slow, Medium, Fast / 110 BPM]
Fine harps and bamboo flutes take us to an inner harmony. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 70 BPM]
Emotional drama music with strings and steel guitar. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 65 BPM]
An epic track with an ancient sound, exposing a solo violin as main line, works well with trailers. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 91 BPM]
A mysterious tune for acoustic guitar, minimalistic and suspenseful. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 63 BPM]
Dark American drama music with strings, guitars and drums with a menacing and foreboding mood. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 125 BPM]
An emotional, passionate, classical / soundtrack piece performed live with piano, violin, orchestra and subtle vocals (No words). The track starts out with a tender and poignant theme, before growing in a crescendo to a more heavenly, angelic sound of amazement and wonder. An alternative version with acoustic guitar is also available. Amazement / Real Orchestra/ Emotional Music. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 99 BPM]
An ethereal, arpeggiated synth line floats over an electro baseline and gives a feeling of confidence and assertiveness. Great for use in communications technology or to give any corporate presentation a lively soundtrack. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
Acoustic guitar, piano and ethereal pads. Textural, reflective, dreamy, melancholic and fragile. Available with or without 'oooh' type vocal. Good for film / drama, nature and poignant footage. Beautiful and sad. The piano part is performed on an old upright piano for a nice and nostalgic sound. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
Slow, dreamy Americana / Acoustica with a haunting, solemn, sound. Beautiful and introspective, melancholic and nostalgic. Acoustic guitar, mellotron, and an old upright piano with a very nostalgic sound. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 47 BPM]
A deep, ambient, slowly moving, textural track. Nostalgic, flowing, hazey. Reflective / Thoughtful. Somewhat similar to the sound of Sigur Ros. Perhaps a slight Scandinavian / Nordic feel. Melancholic and haunting. [Tempo: Slow / 80 BPM]
Hopeful and with a touch of melancholy, this marimba-based piece flows into a light rhythm with a whistled melody. The accompaniment includes acoustic guitar, electric bass, piano, small percussion and light pads. Great for sensitive and hopeful family, relationship, and friendship dramas, even commercials and travel documentaries. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 71 BPM]
Calm and pleasant Chinese folk with a modern, cinematic twist. Features Guzheng, strings, piano, synth bass and electronic percussion. Great background music for movies and documentaries. [Tempo: Slow / 64 BPM]
Oriental / Far East inspired new age music. Beauty / Ambiance. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 116 BPM]
Atmospheric soundscape. Enlightened and peaceful. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 53 BPM]
A very happy, upbeat song combining the sounds of indie rock and African highlife music. The jangly guitars are supported by deep bass, a simple beat, trumpets, flutes, and groovy percussion (shakers, congas, bongos, woodblocks, etc.). Sounds like Paul Simon, The Talking Heads, and Vampire Weekend. Nice for positive / uplifting / happy scenes. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 120 BPM]
A neo-classical piece with a sense of dignity, history and timeless elegance. Equally suitable as music for current-day affairs and drama, as for historical / period dramas. Great as a main theme for a series or a one-off presentation. Classy and elegant, with a waltz rhythm. Available with or without an opera type, live soprano vocal. [Tempo: Medium / 146 BPM]
A grand and passionate, orchestral / epic track which starts with a sombre and melancholic tone and gradually builds from there, into an emotional and soaring piece, and then reaches a climax at 2 minutes. Full orchestral sound with choir -- also available without the choir. Suitable for dramatic trailers, presentations of awe and wonderment, amazing feats and discoveries. [Tempo: Medium / 133 BPM]
A neo-classical piece with a sense of reflection, dignity, history and timeless elegance. An underlying sorrow or sadness balanced with an angelic beauty. Fragile and delicate, with a solo soprano vocal and a solo violin. [Tempo: Medium / 100 BPM]
Uplifting and inspiring modern cinematic track featuring orchestral strings, piano, different percussion, energetic drums, arpeggiated synths and bass guitar. [Tempo: Medium / 105 BPM]
Inspiring, emotional and reflective music track with a dreamy and ethereal feel. Imaginative and creative composition that brings a a feeling of wonder and excitement. Thoughtful and wonderful music that creates a magical atmosphere. [Tempo: Medium / 125 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. "Bata" means duck, and this music piece is inspired by ducks. [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 0 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. "Bugobogobo fusion" is a dance music for digging from the tribe called Sukuma. [Tempo: Medium / 110 BPM]
All live performed, genuine musical African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. In the Makonde tribe, they have a small animal, about the size of a cat, which they "Bwea". This animal feels they are stronger than the other animals, even though it is small. This rhythm is inspired by them. [Tempo: Medium / 109 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. "Ikibwenga" means strong men. The tribes men have dance competitions, for example to get a wife, or as other competitions between men in that tribe. Music inspired by the Nyakyusa tribe from Songea, in the Southern part of Tanzania. [Tempo: Medium / 103 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. This music track is inspired by "Kuchanganyuikiwa", which means Confusion. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 170 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. "Lipango" is a hunting dance music from the Pangwa tribe. [Tempo: Fast / 161 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. This music composition is inspired by a street in Dar es Salaam called "Mtaa Kongo". A very busy street with a lot of people. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 166 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. This music is inspired by the Dance for the Zalamo tribe from coast area, what boys dance to after iniciations (a traditional tribal "coming of age" ritual). [Tempo: Medium, Fast / 174 BPM]
All live performed, genuine African drum ensemble. Recorded live in one take by the Shabani Jabiri Bakari ensemble from Bagamoyo, Tanzania. "Tembea" means Walk, and this music is inspired by the sound and feel of walking. [Tempo: Fast, Very fast / 175 BPM]
A dark and poignant underscore for film / drama. Gloomy, but with hints of hope. Touching, personal and introspective. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Ethnic soundtrack in an electronic ambient style and mix genres featuring synth, SFX, bayan, balalayka, authentic Russian woman vocal in a middle part. Will work well as video background for travel, expeditions to a desert places, documentary film. Spatial, flowing, pensive, ethnic. [Tempo: Medium / 96 BPM]
An eerie voice calls from a distance, drum hits keep us on our toes. A shadowy figure moves through the desert like a ghost; forsaken, alone. Would work great leading up to a military conflict in a middle east setting. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 72 BPM]
A dramatic track featuring string orchestra, piano, choir, percussion, electric bass synth, and pads. Beginning with a flourished opening, the track is reflective and then builds with brighter harmonies and faster tempos. [Tempo: Slow / 70 BPM]
Unsettling atmospherics under gentling plucking acoustic guitar and a sprinkling of western style electric guitar. Reminiscent of movies like Babel and Traffic. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 0 BPM]
Modern trance groove features authentic African percussion, kalimba and ram's horn. [Tempo: Fast / 126 BPM]
Travel back to ancient Japan with this mesmerizing piece. [Tempo: Medium / 120 BPM]
Inspired by Ludovico Einaudi and Yann Tiersen, this emotional piano solo music track is suited for drama and deep storytelling. The arpeggiated movement throughout the piece evokes a sense of purpose and achievement. And the classical simetry of the main melody brings a sense of order to things. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 120 BPM]
Majestic, hopeful & grand. Regal like guitar lines and short string accents invoke the mood of some kind of fanfare or intergalactic wedding march. Positive, magical, ethereal, echanted & beautiful. Contains guitars, strings and harp. [Tempo: Slow / 81 BPM]
Spacious, ethereal, airy, cinematic, thoughtful & dreamy “ambient rock” style. Plucked strings combine with a steady, hypnotic beat to make mesmerising music that would suit dramatic / mystery / detective / documentary type projects. Emotive, introspective, reflective, serious & repetitive. Float off into the sky. [Tempo: Very slow, Slow / 113 BPM]
A somewhat dreamy and melancholic, but also hopeful and heartening, ambient/acoustic track. Acoustic guitar, piano and resonant, ethereal pads made with echoey electric guitars. Homey, simple, thoughtful and honest. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 130 BPM]
Buonasera. Italian mafia, sicilian gangsters and prohibition are all images evoked by this pastiche piece. [Tempo: Slow / 107 BPM]
Soft, light and gentle music with an Oriental / Far East influence. Soothing and pretty; suitable for relaxation, yoga, chilled-out background music, travel and documentary, etc. Piano and oriental Koto instrument. Available with or without the choir and 'Agnus Dei' phrases. [Tempo: Slow / 65 BPM]
Mysterious and exotic Indian slide guitar over a bed of provocative synths. Gives a sense of space and peace, exalted and spiritual. [Tempo: Slow, Medium / 0 BPM]
