SDCC 2026: ‘Forgotten Island’ Music Producer Shawn Wasabi Discusses Musical Influences Of “A Parallel World” And More

Forgotten Island is an upcoming film from DreamWorks Animation. It follows two close friends in the Philippines during the 1990s. The pair are set to pursue different paths after high school graduation, but when one tries to persuade the other to stay, they are transported to the magical island of Nakali, where memories fade the longer someone stays. They risk losing all the good times they had together.

A key component of the film is the soundtrack. It draws heavily from the pop music of the era. At San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Comicon.com spoke with music producer Shawn Wasabi, who composed the single “A Parallel World” for the movie. We discussed his musical process as well as his work on the song.

Wasabi has produced several talented artists, from Cynthia Erivo to Kid Cudi to Katseye.  He likes to connect with his collaborators before moving onto the music. “Most of the time when I step into the studio with an artist, we just talk for an hour or two,” he said. “It’s kind of a therapy talk to what’s going on with their life and what they’ve been up to … when we sit down they get all their emotions out … That’s always where the song starts and where the magic happens. We build from there. I play on the piano a lot and come up with chords while they’re talking. Sometimes, they very slowly start to freestyle over it or have an idea, and we build off of that.”

Composer Nathan Matthew David helped bring Wasabi onto the Forgotten Island team. As he revealed, “It started with Nathan. I went to his house and he showed me parts of the film. I cried on the spot watching. Wait, this is a film about Filipino mythology and culture? The characters are fearlessly, brazenly themselves. We started an instrumental idea that eventually became the full on Bini ‘A Parallel World’ song.“

Being part of a project showcasing Wasabi’s culture was a surreal experience. The movie draws heavily upon Filipino mythology. Watching those scenes at David’s house caused a “cognitive dissonance” because he couldn’t believe he was watching his own culture and people on the screen.

For “A Parallel World,” he drew from influences on both side of the Pacific. He said, “Everything from listening to the Titanic theme and listening to older OPM music, original Filipino music, like Eraserheads, and stuff from the ’90s. There’s this other OPM brand, Parokya ni Edgar, that I listen to. I love how goofy they are. But in terms of the movie soundtrack stuff, I’m always pulling from what I like even older trip hop like Portishead and the song is very much like dance … I had to be diegetic to that era.” 

Find Wasabi’s music on his YouTube page here, and Forgotten Island releases September 25th, 2026.