The music is composed by
James Horner and features vocals by
Pakistani singer
Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and English musician
Terry Edwards. The
Apocalypto soundtrack is Horner's third time collaborating with Gibson. Horner had previously composed the score for Gibson's 1993
The Man Without a Face and his 1995 epic film
Braveheart. Straying away from his repertoire of
orchestral music, Horner's mainly improvised
Apocalypto soundtrack makes use of a large array of exotic instruments, such as the
Tromba Marina,
Swedish bark trumpets and the usage of Ugandan wildebeest
horns in addition to
synth pads. The soundtrack was recorded at
London's
Abbey Road Studios over the course of several weeks during the fall of 2006.
Woodwind specialist Tony Hinnigan also contributed to the film score, borrowing numerous instruments from the
New Globe Theatre and assembling the music crew. Gibson described
Khan’s vocal contribution to the score: “He’s a valuable asset to our soundtrack. His dulcet tones add emotion and drama, and we have a very narrow palette as far as
orchestra. We don’t have an orchestra so he is fulfilling a lot of the functions that would usually be supplied by the use of a full orchestra. Just all in one man; he’s a
one-man band.” ==Track listing==