Greenwood shot to fame in the composition world after his inventive score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood was released in 2007. The new work was commissioned after Greenwood worked with the ensemble in December 2012, when he made a surprise appearance with them. Describing the new composition, Greenwood commented: “I’m so used to closely recorded sounds, it’s always a jolt to realise that the ‘in the room’ sound of an orchestra is a different animal from a recording.” ‘Water’ takes influence from Greenwood’s time in Australia at the end of a Radiohead tour in 2012 and, he says, some time spent in India when he learned about the traditions of Indian classical music. “The space in Indian classical music and the textures were a big influence on the commission,” he added.