Hollywood Records and 20th Century 
Studios announce the release of WHALEFALL Original Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring an original score by award-winning composer and producer Joseph Trapanese (The Greatest Showman, Straight Outta Compton, The Witcher). His third collaboration with director/co-writer/producer Brian Duffield (Spontaneous, No One Will Save You), the score is anchored by a 100-piece orchestra and built out with more unusual textures from tuned glass and water bowls, microtonal violins, and a wordless choir that emerged through experimentation. Rather than heighten the terror on screen, the music was used to pull back from it and focus on the emotional journey of the lead character, Jay, portrayed by Austin Abrams. 20th Century Studios’ and Imagine Entertainment’s WHALEFALL, now playing in theaters. Tickets available at: https://www.fandango.com/whalefall
The score is also available now for pre-order on vinyl and CD at madebymutant.com. The double LP is pressed on 140-gram “Sea Blue” color vinyl with liner notes by Trapanese and WHALEFALL director Brian Duffield.
Notes Trapanese: “Jay’s experience on screen is so intense that the score needed to step back and illuminate his emotional and psychological journey. At its core, the music speaks to universal human truths. The heartbeat of the score is oftentimes a single, purposeful solo instrument set against a sweeping orchestra that gradually envelops it – a direct musical reflection of Jay’s struggle to survive within an immense, indifferent world.”
He adds: “Brian is my favorite kind of collaborator because the conversation starts with, ‘This is the story I’m trying to tell. This is the journey, this is the character and where they are, what they’re experiencing, and their emotional journey.’ You really discover what he’s looking for when you’re sitting down, listening to music, and watching the picture against the score. He’s clear with direction while still allowing room for discovery.”
Track listing
- Nothing Will Be The Same
- Son of Mitt
- Hour of the Pearl
- Mortuary Beach
- Monterey Canyon
- Consumed
- Two Currents Crashing
- Roommate
- It Was Never a Fair Fight
- Breathe Sleepy
- Sphincters
- Beaky
- A New Friend
- Broken, Crushed Stillness
- Pods
- You Are My Remains
- The Ocean Always Provides
- We Will Rise for You
- Son of Whale
- Sleepers, Arise!
- The Whale is Forever
- End Titles and Main Themes from Whalefall
ABOUT WHALEFALL
Following the death of his father (Josh Brolin), Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.
The film, which is directed by Brian Duffield and features a screenplay by Brian Duffield & Daniel Kraus based on the book by Daniel Kraus by the same name, stars Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, Emily Rudd. The producers are Brian Grazer, Brian Duffield, Jeb Brody, Allan Mandelbaum, with Doug Merrifield, Richard Abate, and Will Rowbotham serving as executive producers.
ABOUT JOSEPH TRAPANESE
Joseph Trapanese is an award-winning Hollywood composer, producer, and conductor who is known for building distinct musical worlds through intentional design, bridging organic instrumentation and modern electronics across film, television, and interactive media. His work emphasizes score as a primary storytelling engine, ranging from dialogue-free features like Arctic and No One Will Save You to the sweeping acoustic and choral score for 20th Century Studios and Imagine Entertainment’s Whalefall.
Trapanese first gained international recognition and accolades for his collaborations with major recording artists on Tron: Legacy with Daft Punk; Oblivion with Anthony Gonzalez of M83; and The Raid with Mike Shinoda.
Trapanese’s acclaimed solo film soundtracks include Straight Outta Compton, No One Will Save You, Arctic, two installments of the Divergent series, G20, and the animated musical David, for which he composed the score and produced the original songs. He co-composed the score for the musical drama The Greatest Showman with John Debney and produced several chart-topping songs written by Academy Award-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for the film’s multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning soundtrack.
Recent film projects include Whalefall, Animal Friends, Time of the Nice Aunties, The Helpers, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, and The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep.
Trapanese’s television credits include Netflix’s The Witcher and Shadow and Bone; NBC’s Brilliant Minds; USA Network’s Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.; the Disney+ NatGeo series America the Beautiful; and ABC’s Quantico, among others. His work in interactive media includes projects for Disney Animation, EA, Lucasfilm, and Ubisoft. Recent commissions include original music for NASA and orchestral arrangements for the Super Bowl national anthem.
As a producer and arranger, Trapanese has collaborated with major artists including Dr. Dre, HAIM, Moby, Janelle Monáe, Zedd, and Kelly Clarkson. His orchestral and choral piece New Collective Consciousness, which addresses climate change, opened Björk’s 2022 West Coast concert tour with a performance by the Los Angeles-based choral group Tonality. As a conductor, he has led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and AUKSO Poland.
Trapanese’s accolades include two World Soundtrack Award nominations: in 2013 for Oblivion (with M83) and in 2015 for his work (with Sohn) on the original song “Carry Me Home” from The Divergent Series: Insurgent. In 2018, Trapanese and John Debney received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Music for The Greatest Showman. He won the 2015 Black Reel Award for Outstanding Score for Straight Outta Compton. In 2012, he was nominated for Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association. Daft Punk’s platinum-selling Tron: Legacy soundtrack album, which was arranged and orchestrated by Trapanese, received a Grammy nomination, while the score won Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film from the International Film Music Critics Association.
Trapanese holds a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a master’s degree in Music for Visual Media from UCLA, where he studied under Giampaolo Bracali, Bruce Broughton, and Paul Chihara. Committed to education and mentorship, Trapanese has presented masterclasses at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, USC’s Thornton School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and NYU. He is a co-founder of The Echo Society, an organization dedicated to immersive, site-specific audiovisual performance in Los Angeles.
ABOUT DISNEY MUSIC GROUP
Disney Music Group (DMG) spearheads The Walt Disney Company’s global music ventures, encompassing recorded music, publishing, and live concerts. As the home of iconic labels like Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, DMG boasts an extensive portfolio that includes soundtracks from some of the most beloved franchises in entertainment—Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, 20th Century Studios, and Disney+.
A trailblazer in the industry, DMG releases award-winning and chart-topping albums, including the Grammy®-winning Encanto, the Oscar®-winning Frozen, and the fan-favorite Guardians of the Galaxy mixtapes. Its rich legacy extends to celebrated compositions from The Mandalorian, iconic scores like Soul (Oscar® and Grammy® winner), Black Panther, Coco, and Moana, as well as hit video games such as Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Grammy® winner), and Star Wars Outlaws.
Recent releases include Whalefall, Camp Rock 3, Toy Story 5, Moana Live Action and Moana: Voices Across the Ocean executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, alongside television soundtracks for Shōgun, Only Murders in the Building, Zombies, Descendants and Camp Rock franchises, as well as the soundtrack to the video game Marvel’s Wolverine Looking ahead, DMG is set to unveil highly anticipated soundtracks for BEHEMOTH!, Avengers: Doomsday, Hexed, and Wild Horse Nine.
With a catalog spanning over eight decades, DMG’s music has become a cornerstone of global pop culture. From timeless classics like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Mary Poppins to modern epics such as Avatar and The Lion King, DMG’s repertoire continues to define cinematic music history.
Through Disney Concerts, DMG enchants audiences worldwide, producing and licensing thousands of live performances such as Descendants/Zombies/Camp Rock: Worlds Collide Tour, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert, Star Wars in Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney on Classic, Pixar in Concert, Waiting to Exhale, and Marvel’s Infinity Saga. These spectacular productions celebrate the music that has shaped storytelling for generations.
DMG also leads in music innovation and discovery with curated playlists, its dedicated SiriusXM station (Channel 133), and the Disney Music Emporium (www.disneymusicemporium.com), an online hub for exclusive vinyl and collector’s editions.
Beyond soundtracks, DMG represents a dynamic roster of artists and songwriters, including Queen (in the U.S. and Canada), Andy Grammer, Sofia Carson, TINI, almost monday, Freya Skye, Joywave, little image, Adrian Lyles, Hudson Stone, Dewain Whitmore, Tony Ferrari, Lenii, Paris Carney, Rose Tan, and others.
Setting the gold standard in music and entertainment, Disney Music Group remains at the heart of the soundtrack to our lives, inspiring and connecting audiences across generations.
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