Saynt Ego Makes Music That Sounds Like It Belongs in a Film

Will Retherford’s latest single as Saynt Ego, “Voices,” doesn’t just sound cinematic. It actually functions like a film scene. It’s not trying to be epic or sweeping. It’s just built the way a good film moment is built: restrained, atmospheric, and emotionally specific enough that you can picture exactly where you’d place it on screen.

Released on December 16, “Voices” runs 3:40 and doesn’t waste a second. The production, handled by Logan Bruhn who co-wrote the track with Will Retherford and Lexi Onyango, keeps everything intentionally minimal. Restrained beats hold the foundation while atmospheric synths create space around emotionally driven vocals. The repetitive “voices in my head” lyric works like a mantra, doubled with male and female vocals that layer into harmony without ever feeling overdone. It’s a track that values feeling over excess, space over noise, and that restraint is what makes it hit.

The accompanying visualizer, created by Logan Miller, underscores this approach. Retherford stands alone in a parking lot, smoking a cigarette, checking his phone, staring into the middle distance. That’s it. It’s the kind of in-between moment people actually experience when they’re stuck in their own thoughts, caught between where they’ve been and where they’re going. The simplicity doesn’t undercut the impact. It amplifies it.

Saynt Ego is Retherford’s musical identity, separate from but informed by his work as a producer and filmmaker. He’s the co-founder of Citizens of Sound, a podcast production agency that’s racked up 30 million downloads and worked with everyone from celebrities to business owners. His production work has been featured in Entertainment Tonight, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Apple Editorial. Now he’s launching Horizon House Films and working on his first short film, “Penny: A Portrait in Motion,” scored with original music. The cross-pollination makes sense. Will Retherford isn’t trying to juggle separate careers. He’s letting film and music speak to each other the way they always have in his creative process.

“Voices” explores what it means to sit with mental noise instead of running from it. It’s about getting stuck inside your own head, the internal dialogue that pulls you forward and holds you back at the same time. Will Retherford describes his music as existing at the intersection of heart and movement, blending indie dance pop and downtempo electronics with introspective lyricism. Themes of transition, grief, and mental health run through everything he makes, influenced as much by theology and cinema (he cites Aquinas, Rohr, Tutu, and films like “Interstellar” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) as by other musicians.

The track is the first single from his upcoming album “Liminal Space,” due out in May. If “Voices” sets the tone, the record will prioritize reflection over immediacy, building out a unique world where shimmering melodies and cinematic textures create room for listeners to sit with complicated feelings. Retherford’s live shows take this further, blending electronic tracks with a live band plus cinematic visuals and lighting created with his partner Logan Miller to make each performance feel intentional and transportive.

The engineering on “Voices” is tight without being overthought. It’s professional work that doesn’t sacrifice the human element for polish. That balance matters when you’re making music about internal noise and mental health, topics that require honesty over perfection. Retherford has mentioned wanting to collaborate with James Blake, Fred again.., and Ryan Tedder, artists who’ve built careers on bridging electronic production with emotional depth. The lineage makes sense.

“Voices” isn’t just a single. It’s chapter one of a larger project rooted in grief, mental health, and transformation. Will Retherford is building music that sounds like it belongs on screen because he understands both mediums well enough to let them inform each other. The result is a track that proves his dual vision works, delivering music that functions as both a standalone piece and exactly what it promised to be from the start.

Saynt Ego is on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Retherford’s production credits are on IMDB, and his podcast production company is Citizens of Sound.