Hans Zimmer Scored a Scenic Drive Down a California Highway for Land Rover

Car brands have always had a natural affinity for music. From the earliest days of radio and automobiles, people have driven to the sound of their favorite music. And countless classic advertising campaigns for cars have grooved to iconic soundtracks, from Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” for Chevrolet to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” for Chrysler. 

Now, Land Rover takes the love affair a step further with “Scoring the Drive,” a branded content play with The Atlantic in which Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer was commissioned to write a musical track attempting to capture the feeling of driving the winding Angeles Crest Highway through the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County. 

“Everything I do, I always hear music in my head,” Zimmer, 60, says in voiceover in the above. “So, I score everything. The curves. The landscape. The smell. I order my world into some sense of harmony. Every film takes me on an adventure. This adventure starts on the Angeles Crest Highway, just outside the city of Los Angeles—this highway into the heavens that’s ancient and rugged and slightly dangerous.” 

The German composer, who was the recipient of a Clio honorary award in 2013, worked with The Atlantic’s Re:think creative team on the project. Listen to his full track in the video below, and check out the “Scoring the Drive” landing page for more, including a gallery of photos.