DreamWorks Animation has unveiled the complete 37-track soundtrack for its upcoming film "Forgotten Island," with SB19, BINI and Lea Salonga leading a lineup that also includes H.E.R. and Katseye's Sophia Laforteza. The soundtrack arrives Sept. 18, a week ahead of the film's Sept. 25 theatrical release.
"Forgotten Island" follows Jo and Raissa, two best friends voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, as they set out on one last adventure together. Their night takes an unexpected turn when they encounter shapeshifters, demons and witches, and their friendship is put to the test as they try to escape a magical portal and find their way home.
The soundtrack draws on 1980s and '90s influences, with a particular emphasis on Filipino and Filipino-American musical culture. H.E.R. and Soberano perform the film's title track, "BRB," while SB19 covers Francis M.'s classic "Mga Kababayan." Ruby Ibarra and Carl Angelo team up on "Salbahe Ako," and Sophia Laforteza delivers a remixed version of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" for what's described as an emotional moment between the two friends.
Composer Nathan Matthew David scored the film using analog synths from the era. "There are elements of '80s pop and hip-hop," David said. "But when the girls stumble into the mystical portal and end up on the island of Nakali, the story evolves, and so does the sound." David also incorporated music and instruments from indigenous Filipino tribes, including chanters, the Las Piñas bamboo pipe organ, and a Filipino choir singing Tagalog phrases. For Salonga's mythical creature character, he used the gandingan, a traditional talking gong from the southern Philippines.
Directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado revealed how they landed Salonga for the villain role, known as the Manananggal. "We heard from her team right away" after sending a pitch, Crawford said. Though Salonga agreed immediately, the directors initially worried the part wouldn't be substantial enough for her. Mercado said Salonga understood from the start that "the Manananggal didn't need to speak a lot to be scary," adding, "She elevated the material." According to Mercado, Salonga developed her voice for the role after listening to H.E.R. and Soberano's performances, telling the filmmakers, "I'll change my voice so that it complements theirs. If they're a little higher, then I'll make the Manananggal deeper and speak from the gut." Her vocals appear throughout David's score.
The album is available for preorder now.
Photo: Bradley Griffin, CC BY 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
