Behind the Scenes of Jason Reynolds’ Audiobook Original, SOUNDTRACK
By Penguin Random House Audio
Jason Reynolds, former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down and When I Was the Greatest has a new book out—and it’s music to our ears.
In Soundtrack, an audiobook original featuring a full cast and an original score, Reynolds transports listeners to the early 2000s, where a group of gifted New York City teens use their talent and love of music to lift them to unexpected heights.
“I’m excited that the story I wrote years ago finally gets to be experienced through a medium I never imagined. It’s a story that celebrates the creative genius of children, especially those who are willing to express themselves at all costs,” said Reynolds. Penguin Random House audiobook producers are equally excited. Recorded by four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Dan Zitt and 2025 Odyssey Honor-winning producer Brian Ramcharan, Soundtrack shows us a found family coming of age in a wonderfully complex city.
As Ramcharan says, “Working on the Soundtrack audiobook original has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Jason Reynolds has a way of storytelling that ignites the senses, and Dan and I worked tirelessly to ensure this audio original immerses the listener within Jason’s brilliant writing. It is a story combining friendship, family, and most importantly, music that translates perfectly to audio.”
The production team auditioned more than a hundred actors to ultimately cast 21 voices for the project, and Soundtrack is scored by GRAMMY® Award-winning composer, sound design artist, and Yale lecturer in sound design Justin Ellington, whose credits include working with music legends Usher (Raymond vs. Raymond) and Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday).
Check out the video featurette above about the incredible team of actors and musicians who contributed to Soundtrack, and listen to a clip from the audiobook below. You’re not going to want to miss this.
Listen to a clip from the Soundtrack audiobook below.
Stuy wants to play the drums just like his mom, a founding member of the punk band The Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. With his mom as his teacher, Stuy starts busking in the subway with his friends Dunks on guitar, Alexis on bass, Keith on trumpet, and Frankie as hype man under the name Soundtrack. To everyone’s surprise, including their own, they become an underground sensation, and their success changes the course of their lives.
