Talking Soundtracks: Interview With Simon Franglen

About this episode

The episode features an interview with composer Simon Franglen discussing his work on the AVATAR franchise and his collaboration with James Horner.

Simon Franglen is a multi-award-winning British composer and record producer whose music has been included in some of the most critically acclaimed films of recent decades. Franglen composed the acclaimed score for James Cameron's AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER in 2023, after his collaboration with the late James Horner on the original film in 2009. He received a 2023 World Soundtrack Award and a 2022 IFMCA Award for his efforts. His score was praised for expanding the sonic world of Pandora with both epic scale and profound intimacy and was a global hit, with the soundtrack album surpassing 750 million global streams. Over the past two years, he has continued his collaboration with Cameron on AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, released in December 2025, a score that introduced major new themes, textures, and innovative electronica to the AVATAR musical universe. In January 2026, for TALKING SOUNDTRACKS, Jason Drury had the pleasure of talking to Simon via Zoom at his home in Los Angeles. During the interview, they talked about Simon's work on the AVATAR franchise, how he became involved in film music and his relationship and collaboration with the late great James Horner. Enjoy! —— Special thanks…

People in this episode

Guest: Simon Franglen

Topics covered

• soundtracks
• film music
• AVATAR
• composition
• interview

Keywords

• James Cameron
• World Soundtrack Award
• IFMCA Award
• film scores

Mentioned in this episode

Products: AVATAR

Books & works: Talking Soundtracks: Interview With Simon Franglen, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, World Soundtrack Award, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, TALKING SOUNDTRACKS

Places: Los Angeles

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