Lakeshore Records in partnership 
with Ubisoft are celebrating the digital release today of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora—From The Ashes expansion (Original Game Soundtrack), featuring music by Grammy and Emmy-nominated, BAFTA-winning composer, producer, conductor, and arranger, John Paesano (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes). Paesano’s original orchestral score merges the exhilarating otherworldly spirit of Pandora with the intense vengeance-fueled storyline of the Na’vi warrior So’lek.
Developed by Massive Entertainment – a Ubisoft Studio – in collaboration with Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney, “From the Ashes” expansion takes you on the journey of So’lek, a battle-hardened Na’vi warrior from the Trr’ong clan. Ambushed and left for dead by the RDA and their new allies, the ruthless Ash clan, So’lek awakens to a world in flames and his Sarentu family scattered. Driven by grief and vengeance, he sets out to reunite with and protect his loved ones.
Notes Paesano: “Working on ‘Avatar’ was an incredible opportunity. The franchise has established a strong musical legacy—from James Horner’s original foundation, to Simon Franglen’s work on the films, and Pinar Toprak’s contributions to the games. I’m grateful to have played a small part in that continuum. Ubisoft, Disney, and Lightstorm were outstanding creative partners. I especially appreciated Simon Franglen’s guidance on the very distinct musical language of ‘Avatar’—he made the rules clear, but also pushed us to bend and expand them in the right ways.”
Track List:
- Light of the Forest
- Warning on the Wind
- Welcome Home
- Metal Beasts
- Haven
- Mangkwan Raiders
- Stories of the Sun
- Warband
- Broken Bonds
- Promises
- The Beast
- The Wind Traders
- One Shot
- The Last Sarentu
- Losing Heart
- Rising Fire
- What the Spirit Carries
- The Fall
- Rise From the Ashes
Stream / Purchase the Album: https://orcd.co/afop-fta
ABOUT JOHN PAESANO
John Paesano is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated, BAFTA-winning composer, producer, conductor, and arranger, recognized for his thematic orchestral scores and his rare ability to build immersive musical worlds tailored to each project. Known for his versatility and deep storytelling instincts, Paesano bridges classic film-scoring traditions with cutting-edge electronic sound design—crafting scores that evolve with the narrative rather than adhering to a singular sound.
A classically trained composer who studied under Professor Sally Dow Miller at the Conservatoire de Paris before continuing at Berklee College of Music, Paesano’s work is rooted in melody—his scores are consistently driven by strong thematic material, no matter the style or genre. From large-scale franchises to grounded, character-driven dramas, his music is defined by rich orchestration, bold harmonic choices, and an intricate command of modern synthesis.
Paesano first broke out with The Maze Runner trilogy, where non-Western timbres and rhythmic structures shaped the sonic character of a dystopian universe that grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide. He went on to score Marvel’s Daredevil and The Defenders, blending organic and electronic textures in a way that redefined the sound of superhero television and earned him an Emmy nomination. His themes remain so iconic they continue to be used years later in Disney’s Daredevil: Born Again.
His versatility has since become a hallmark. In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Paesano wove together tribal percussion, vocal textures, and custom instrumentation to evoke a primal, post-human world that feels both ancient and emotionally sophisticated. For Amazon’s acclaimed Invincible, Netflix’s The Boroughs (produced by the Duffer Brothers), and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, he demonstrated his ability to shape unique sonic identities across genres and mediums.
In interactive storytelling, Paesano scored Detroit: Become Human and Mass Effect: Andromeda, pushing into synth-driven, futuristic soundscapes, before becoming a central voice of PlayStation’s Spider-Man franchise. His score for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales earned him a BAFTA Award, while Spider-Man 2 (2024) garnered both Grammy and BAFTA nominations and helped cement the series as one of the most acclaimed and best-selling video game franchises in history.
Paesano’s range also includes nontraditional orchestration, as in Tesla (starring Ethan Hawke), where inventive sonic palettes redefined the role of music in period storytelling. His thematic storytelling has earned him an Annie Award for DreamWorks’ Dragons: Riders of Berk and a World Soundtrack Award for The Maze Runner.
With each new project, Paesano reaffirms his reputation as a composer who doesn’t just score to picture—he builds sonic worlds from the ground up, always guided by melody, emotion, and narrative integrity. His body of work has contributed to projects generating more than $4 billion in global revenue, cementing his place as one of the defining musical voices of contemporary storytelling.
ABOUT UBISOFT
Ubisoft is a creator of worlds, committed to enriching players’ lives with original and memorable entertainment experiences. Ubisoft’s global teams create and develop a deep and diverse portfolio of games, featuring brands such as Assassin’s Creed®, Brawlhalla®, For Honor®, Far Cry®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon®, Just Dance®, Rabbids®, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®, The Crew® and Tom Clancy’s The Division®. Through Ubisoft Connect, players can enjoy an ecosystem of services to enhance their gaming experience, get rewards and connect with friends across platforms. With Ubisoft+, the subscription service, they can access a growing catalog of more than 100 Ubisoft games and DLC. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €1.74 billion. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com.
ABOUT UBISOFT MUSIC
Ubisoft Music, an entity within Ubisoft, a leader in the videogame industry, leads all activities linked to music within and around the games and creations, including music supervision of original soundtracks, music licensing, and music Partnerships & amplification. The team’s goal is to enrich players’ lives through strong and varied musical experiences – be it original soundtracks from renowned composers such as Jesper Kyd, Pedro Bromfman, Yoko Shimomura, The Flight, Christophe Héral, Stephanie Economou, etc.; hits created in collaboration with artists such as Aurora, Møme, Tech Thieves, etc.; or marketing collaborations like were leveraged for Just Dance® with Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, and Ava Max.
The Ubisoft Music catalog, linked to iconic brands like Assassin’s Creed®, Just Dance, Far Cry® and many more, has achieved hundreds of millions of streams across all music platforms and is available in over 110 countries worldwide. For the latest news on Ubisoft Music, please follow @ubisoft.music on Instagram and “Ubisoft Music” on YouTube.
ABOUT LAKESHORE RECORDS
Lakeshore Records is a GRAMMY-winning record label, and the soundtrack arm of the Cutting Edge Group. Lakeshore Records is the global independent leader in top line soundtrack album releases, including such popular, critically acclaimed and classic soundtracks as Bridgerton, Stranger Things, Wednesday, Fallout, John Wick, Whiplash, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Drive, Cyberpunk 2077 / Edgerunners, Star Trek: Picard, Bojack Horseman, The Walking Dead, Napoleon Dynamite, Red Dead Redemption 2, the Grammy-winning Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, the Academy Award nominated Lady Bird and Academy Award winners Moonlight, Little Miss Sunshine, American Factory, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Hurt Locker and many, many more.
For more information, contact: www.lakeshorerecords.com
Read Lakeshore’s blog Soundtracks, Scores And More here: https://soundtracksscoresandmore.com
