FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Michael Ninn Announces The Synthara Project
A Cinematic Resurrection of Music Born at 5150
Filmmaker and composer Michael Ninn announces the release of The Synthara Project — a haunting, cinematic body of work born from musical sessions originally conceived nearly two decades ago during his collaboration with legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
The project traces its roots back to the original theme song for Ninn’s film Catherine. What began as a standalone cinematic composition unexpectedly reached Van Halen, who contacted Ninn to license the piece. The collaboration that followed evolved into a creative partnership and enduring friendship. Van Halen reinterpreted the original theme — preserving its harmonic foundation while adding his own guitar and percussive textures — resulting in a version that remains widely viewed online today.
Their collaboration deepened during the scoring of Sacred Sin, where the two artists spent evenings at 5150 developing cinematic material far removed from traditional rock conventions. Van Halen, whose classical training is often overlooked, brought a deep understanding of chord structure, string arrangements, and melancholic melodic phrasing — often shaping ideas at the piano before building them into fully realized compositions in Pro Tools.
“These weren’t rock sessions,” Ninn recalls. “They were explorations. We let tape roll. We moved between instruments. We talked through harmony and emotion. It was about atmosphere — about letting the music breathe.”
The Sacred Sin soundtrack would go on to receive industry recognition, including AVN Music of the Year. Yet much of the material created during those sessions remained unfinished — preserved in notebooks, demo recordings, and experimental fragments.
The Synthara Project revisits those early sketches and melodic studies, reimagining them through a modern lens. Rather than direct recreations, the new compositions are emotional reinterpretations — cinematic, ethereal, and haunting in tone.
The album intentionally distances itself from the sonic identity of Van Halen’s rock legacy, reflecting instead the film-score sensibilities both artists cultivated during their time working together.
Advanced AI production tools played a key role in bringing the project to life, enabling expansive choral arrangements and orchestral textures that would have required extensive studio resources two decades ago. The result is a deeply atmospheric listening experience that feels both timeless and contemporary.
Due to existing estate constraints, original session footage and recordings remain private. However, the spirit of those creative years — the conversations, experimentation, and shared musical philosophy — resonates throughout the album.
For Ninn, the project represents more than archival restoration.
“It feels like a conversation across time,” he says. “Like sitting at the piano again and letting the music find its way forward.”
The Synthara Project is available now.
