Talking Soundtracks: Interview With Simon Franglen

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 to our Patreon supporters: Matt DeWater, David Ballantyne, Joe Wiles, Maxime, William Welch, Alan Rogers, Dave Williams, Max Hamulyák, Jeffrey Graebner, Don Mase, Victor Field, Jochen Stolz, Emily Mason, Eric Skroch, Alexander Schiebel, Alphonse Brown, John Link, Matt Berretta, Eldaly Morningstar, Jim Wilson, Glenn McDorman, Chris Malone, Steve Karpicz, Deniz Çağlar, Brent Osterberg, Jérôme Flick, Alex Brouns, Randall Derchan, Angela Rabatin, Larry Reese, Rudy Amaya, Stacy Livitsanis, Carl Wonders, Lee Wileman, Nathan Blumenfeld, Daniel Herrin, Scott Bordelon, James Alexander, Brett French, Ian Clark, Andy Gray, Joel Nichols, Steve Daniel, Corey O'Brien, John Leggett, Mim Williams, Grace Hamilton, Rob Kemp. —— Cinematic Sound Radio is fully licensed to play music by SOCAN. Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cinematicsoundradio Check out our NEW Cinematic Sound Radio TeePublic Store! https://www.teepublic.com/stores/cinematic-sound-radio Cinematic Sound Radio Web: http://www.cinematicsound.net Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cinsoundradio Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cinematicsound Cinematic Sound Radio Fanfare and Theme by David Coscina https://soundcloud.com/user-970634922 Bumper voice artist: Tim Burden http://www.timburden.com