“Ancient Voices” might be better known as the theme song for the hit reality-competition program, “Survivor.” It is composed by Russ Landau, who also composed the theme songs for “Fear Factor,” “Pirate Master,” and “seaQuest 2032.”
The theme song is changed slightly for each season to fit stylistically with the theme of the season; the most obvious examples being of Thailand and China which are styled in the pentatonic scale to have a more oriental sound.
The song is based on a Russian folk song titled “Пойду выйду на” (translation: I’ll go and get outside)– apt for the theme of the show. For “Survivor: China” Landau even commissioned a Chinese choir to sing a version of “Пойду выйду на” translated into Mandarin.
The sweeping instrumentation and chanting vocals make for a theme song that sounds adventurous and captures the nature of the show. Although “Ancient Voices” is no longer featured in the beginning of each episode to focus more time on the show itself, “Ancient Voices” and its choral and orchestral sound will forever be iconic.