Where Suburbia Sings: The Enchanting Music of Tales from Outer Suburbia

Tales from Outer Suburbia: Official Series Sountrack

From page to screen to sound - the dreamlike music of Tales from Outer Suburbia is now available as an Official Series Soundtrack, inviting listeners to step inside the surreal sonic landscape of the beloved animated series.

Composed and produced by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of Envelope Audio, the Tales from Outer Suburbia official soundtrack weaves drifting melodies, warped textures and sprawling soundscapes that underscore moments of wonder, unease and emotional connection. Select vocal performances by Joni Hogan add a human warmth that grounds the series’ dreamlike imagery, supported throughout the series by Tom Allum’s bespoke sound design, capturing a handcrafted, storybook quality and sense of  somewhere between the familiar and the strange.

Inspired by Shaun Tan’s much-loved illustrated book of the same name, Tales from Outer Suburbia brings surreal, quietly magical stories of family life on the suburban fringe to the screen - and the music plays a central role in shaping that world. 

Series Director Noel Cleary said the music was integral to the emotional heart of the show:

“The score is beautifully haunting, wonderful and hopeful all at once. It holds the quiet magic of the series and helps the audience feel the emotion beneath every moment.”

For Composers Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan, creating the music was a deeply  personal experience:

“What excited us as composers the most was the trust given to us to be weird and wonderful with our craft. With a very open brief, from the beginning we were given the motto from Shaun Tan himself - “the weirder, the better”. There was a shared sense of curiosity and play that drove the work forward — every step of the process felt alive with possibility.”

Author and Series Creative Director Shaun Tan praised the way the music expanded his stories into a new medium.

“The soundtrack captures the essence of what I was trying to explore in the illustrations - the magic hidden in everyday suburban life. It’s wonderful to see how the same story can be told in different forms: first as a book, then a television series, and now through music.”

Perfect for anyone who loves the TV series and book - as well as listeners seeking thoughtful, atmospheric music for work or study - the Tales from Outer Suburbia soundtrack stands on its own as a richly immersive listening experience.

The album is available now on all music platforms.

The full television series is streaming on ABC iview in Australia and BYUtv in the USA.