Netflix's American Primeval is set in 1857 and serves as a fictionalized dramatization of the violent collision between culture, religion and community. Peace and compassion are the exception in a time where life is driven by survival.
The show is directed and executive produced by Pete Berg, and stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Derek Hinkey, Joe Tippett, Jai Courtney, Preston Mota, Shawnee Pourier and Shea Whigham. Anne Jimkes-Root serves as co-supervising sound editor/music editor on the series, which began streaming in January.
"Our goal for American Primeval was to craft a soundscape that felt authentic, raw and emotionally grounded for the time period - an honest contributor in service to the greater story," notes Jimkes-Root (pictured). "Director Peter Berg, who is also a writer, producer and actor, values the energy of a mix that keeps the narrative alive and engaging. That philosophy marks a key difference between American Primeval and the more polished aesthetic of traditional Westerns."
Jimkes-Root says the sound team embraced rough edges and imperfections with intention, using them to create something visceral, pulsing, unfiltered and honest. The music by Explosions in the Sky doesn’t follow the conventions of a sweeping ‘Big Sky’ Western score, she adds.
"Instead, it’s rooted in their distinct voice, bringing a driving pulse to the series, a sense of constant movement and unrelenting anxiety."
The show is set during a time of hardship, in a place that is both stark and unforgiving.
"The team and I aimed to capture that reality through sound design and music," she reveals.
Jimkes-Root and sound designer Wylie Stateman joined the project early in production, just as filming began. Director Berg had already envisioned Explosions in the Sky as the composers, having become fond of their work since collaborating on Friday Night Lights.
"From the outset, one of my key roles was to serve as a bridge between the band and the picture editors — Hugo Diaz, Jon Otazua and Art Jones — ensuring that music and picture could evolve together creatively," Jimkes-Root explains. "Explosions in the Sky composed a series of musical suites inspired by the script and early conversations with Pete, centered around themes like 'pulse,' 'propulsion,' 'haunting tension,' and 'real violence.' As sequences began to take shape, I was able to lay in these suites against picture, allowing sound and story to develop in tandem."
In the chaos of fight scenes or even a crowded walk through Fort Bridger, the audience is hit with a select barrage of sound and images. Visually, the viewer can choose where to focus.
"In the mix, we shape that focus by constantly adjusting the balance of dialogue, music and effects, Jimkes-Root explains. "Beyond riding faders, we relied on 'unshading' tools — algorithmic processes that analyze sound and shape specific frequencies in realtime with surgical precision. Plug-ins like Fabfilter Pro-Q and Oeksound's Soothe helped carve space in busy soundscapes, revealing detail without overpowering the whole."
While the technology was essential, one distinctive music element came from a far more analog source. Among the more experimental instruments used in the score was a weathered, three-string baritone guitar, played with a violin bow. It became one of several recurring textures in the sound palette. Tapping the bow on the strings in rhythm with the original kick drum pattern gave the pulse motive a new timbre and kept it evolving.
For Jimkes-Root, Episode 6 stands out for its explosive release of long-simmering tensions — most notably in the Shoshone ambush.
"The sound build of this sequence relied on fluid handoffs between dialogue, music and effects — sometimes jarring, sometimes seamless,” she explains. “At the start of the sequence, the lines between sound design and score are blurred as wind bellows through an empty Shoshone village, blending with musical textures, and meticulously crafted effects by Trevor Cress. Austin Roth’s mix carries the wind into the rumble of a horse stampede, building tension until it breaks with the first arrow strike. Chaos erupts — gunfire, screams and yells, captured by production sound mixer Jason Pinney and interwoven with additional voices designed by co-supervising sound editor Elliot Hartley — yet there’s clarity amid the noise. Music fades, letting raw violence take focus, before slowly returning as Red Feather and Wolsey face off."
A shifting guitar suite then frames Abish and Jacob in a sonic bubble, zeroing in on Jacob’s breaths and final reunion with his wife. The hymn he has hummed since the Meadows massacre returns now as gentle-yet-mournful tones of Explosions in the Sky’s guitar play, carrying the viewer to Sara and Isaac’s journey forward.