Creating the score for ‘Retrieval’ felt as much like making a record as it did writing a film score. With this grant, I was able to hire an excellent team of top-caliber musicians, as well as support orchestration and recording costs.

I worked with several soloists, recording a diverse range of guitar and vocal textures – from delicate mandolin plucks to textured lap steel and ambient guitar parts that form a large part of the score. Leaning into the intimacy of chamber writing, I also recorded a string sextet at the Village Studios in Los Angeles, with some of the most experienced session players in the recording community.

Engineering was a key part of the process. I draw inspiration from the sonic depth and warmth signature of producers such as T Bone Burnett, where the character of the recording itself becomes part of the storytelling. Working with the right engineers, instruments, and recording spaces was essential to shaping the music with intent.

I am compelled by the complexity of the film’s subject matter. At the center of the story is the question of postmortem sperm retrieval, which raises deeply personal and ethical questions about grief, legacy, and life. While the premise engages with science and medical possibility, the emotional core of the film remains profoundly human. It is ultimately a personal exploration of grief, nuanced hope, and the choices we face in the wake of sudden loss.

The tension between ethical dimensions and themes of loss and hope in the film became the starting point for my approach to the score. I wanted to support the film with music that is emotionally resonant, distinctive, and personal, and this fund directly supported the production process to achieve that.

I set out to craft a palette that reflects the duality at the heart of the film – music that feels both intimate, but new and slightly otherworldly, grounded in organic instruments, voice, and expanded through sonic manipulation and subtle electronic colors.

Guitars play a large part in this score, shaped in part by the geographical roots and worlds of the film’s characters, as well as early conversations with Tracy the director. I worked with several guitarists who played various types of guitars – from a 12-string Weissonborn to ukulele and slides. I also manipulated the recorded voice solos to create a deep ethereal quality, suggesting the voices of the departed. Finally, synths and a chamber ensemble of orchestral instruments round out the score, adding emotional weight and nuance. The result is a guitar-led, Americana-adjacent palette reframed through a more modern production and musical language.

I’m inspired by artists with bold, characterful voices such as Robbie Robertson, Radiohead, Mica Levi, and Blake Mills. Their music transcends genres, feels intuitive and authentic, and balances rawness with a refined sense of craft.

I am so grateful for the support of this grant. It allowed me to shape the work from conception through recording and mix, working closely with an excellent team with the care, detail, and creative ambition the film called for.

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Shao Jean Sim is a Singaporean composer, producer and songwriter working in film, TV and records.

Her work draws from an eclectic musical palette moving between thoughtful melodies and irreverent and curious soundscapes.

She has contributed additional music to I Know What You Did Last Summer (Sony) and Netflix’s Eric for Emmy-nominated composers Chanda Dancy and Keefus Ciancia, and has orchestrated for Dan Romer and Mark Kilian. Her songwriting and production work spans projects across Asia and the United States, with releases reaching the charts in Asia.

Based in Los Angeles, she is a graduate of the Screen Scoring Masters program at USC. She was selected as one of 12 composers for the inaugural Composer-Filmmaker Accelerator at the Vancouver International Film Festival and her concert work has been premiered by the UN Orchestra in New York City.