Jesper Kyd Explained

Background:non_performing_personnel
Birth Name:Jesper Kyd Jakobson
Birth Date:3 February 1972
Birth Place:Hørsholm, Denmark
Years Active:1986–present

Jesper Kyd Jakobson (; Danish: Jesper Kyd Jakobson pronounced as /da/; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the Hitman series, Assassin's Creed series, Borderlands series, Darksiders II and State of Decay, among many others. His scores use orchestra, choir, acoustic manipulations and electronic soundscapes.[1]

Biography

Early years

Kyd started playing the piano at an early age. Later, he took several years of training in classical guitar, note reading, choir singing and classical composition for piano. However, he is mostly self-taught.[2] [3] Kyd started using computers for composing on a Commodore 64 at age 14,[4] and later an Amiga.[5] He and Mikael Balle became members of the demogroup Silents DK, and later started collaborating with a group of coders known as Crionics.[6] They eventually made the Amiga demoscene production Hardwired.[7] Kyd also created and scored the first wild demo, Global Trash 2, together with Mikael Balle.

Kyd then left the demoscene and started to work as a game musician. He and others created the computer game developer Zyrinx and a game called Sub-Terrania for the Sega Genesis. The team then relocated to Boston. Kyd composed music for two additional Zyrinx titles, Red Zone and Scorcher and the music for two externally developed games, Amok and The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Sega Genesis. Zyrinx dissolved when their game publisher Scavenger went bankrupt.

Freelance

Many former Zyrinx members returned to Denmark to start IO Interactive, but Kyd moved to New York City and set up his own sound studio in Manhattan called "Nano studios".[8] He then worked as a freelance video game musician.

The soundtrack to Hitman: Codename 47 was based on urban soundscapes and ethnic instrumentation. He then recorded the soundtrack of with 110 musicians of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.[9] He recorded the score for the action/adventure Freedom Fighters with the Hungarian Radio choir. It was described by Film Score Monthly Magazine as "Vangelis on steroids". He used modern electronica and symphonic and choral music in . Kyd followed up with , also performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.

Kyd then provided a cinematic middle eastern-based score for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed. He then wrote music for several games in the Assassin's Creed and Borderlands franchise. Kyd also wrote the soundtrack for the action/adventure Darksiders II, notable for being his first entirely non-digital score.[10]

Kyd composed the soundtrack of , which released in 2022. Kyd sought to create a score that would fit a retro-futuristic setting, and avoided using orchestral elements and guitars, which were typically found in other Warhammer games. The score was inspired by "cyberpunk culture and sci-fi manga," with the main instruments including drum machines and modular synths.[11]

Influences

Jesper Kyd's influences include composers such as Ottorino Respighi, Igor Stravinsky, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and bands such as Röyksopp, the Knife, Pink Floyd, and Underworld.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Works

Video games

Video games
Year Title Notes
1990U.S.S. John Young[17]
1993Pro Moves Soccer
Sub-Terrania
1994Red Zone
1995The Adventures of Batman & RobinSega Mega Drive/Genesis version
1996Amok
Scorcher
1999Time Tremors
Alien Nations
2000MDK2with Albert Olson and Raymond Watts
Messiah
Soldier
[18]
2001The Nations: Alien Nations 2
LightWeight Ninjawith Eric Heberling, Speier Music Productions and REMedia
Shattered Galaxy
2002Minority Report: The Video Game
2003Brute Forcewith James Hannigan
Freedom Fighters[19]
Wirtschaftsgiganten - Die Ultimative Collection
Prisms of Light 2
2004McFarlane's Evil Prophecy
Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2[20]
2005with Amon Tobin
Dance Dance Revolution STR!KE
2006
Close Quarters Conflict
2007
Assassin's Creed[21]
Unreal Tournament 3with Rom Di Prisco
2008The Clubmain theme
The Chronicles of Spellborn
2009Borderlandswith Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, and Raison Varner
Assassin's Creed II
2010[22]
2011Forza Motorsport 4
with Lorne Balfe
2012Soulcalibur Vwith several others
Darksiders II
with several others
Borderlands 2with Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, and Raison Varner
2013State of Decaywith Dreissk
Soldiers Inc.
2014
Heroes & Generals
with Des Shore and Justin Mullins
2015Moonrisewith Jeff Broadbent
2016[23]
2017MU Legend
2018[24]
State of Decay 2with Dreissk
2019Borderlands 3with Michael McCann, Finishing Move Inc., Raison Varner
2020Assassin's Creed Valhallawith Sarah Schachner and Einar Selvik
2022with Quentin Malapel

Films

!Year!Title
2000Night All Day
2006Sweet Insanity
Death of a Saleswoman
2007La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928, new score)
2008Staunton Hill
2010A Perfect Soldier
2015Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe
2018Tumbbad

Short films

!Year!Title
2000Organizm
2001The Lion Tamer
Going with Neill
2002Day Pass
Paper Plane Man
Pure
2003Cycle
2006Impulse
Virus
2010The Auctioneers
2011Somnolence
2023RAID: Call of the Arbiter[25]

TV series

!Year!Title
2009The Resistance
2012-13Métal Hurlant Chronicles

Awards

!Year!Title!Notes
2005BAFTA Award for Best Original Music[26] For
2005G.A.N.G. Award for Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio[27]
2009G.A.N.G. Award for Music of the Year
Hollywood Music in Media Award[28]
2018Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award[29]

Nominations

!Year!Title
2004G.A.N.G Award for "Best Original Vocal Song – Choral"
Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards nomination for Best Use of Soundtrack
2006MTV's Video Music Awards in the Best Video Game Score category[30]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jesper Kyd | About. jesperkyd.com. 21 September 2014.
  2. Web site: I Like To Know Which Music School Jesper Went To . Official Jesper Kyd forum . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713103523/http://jesperkyd.com/messageboard/index.php?showtopic=1141 . 13 July 2011 . IP.Board.
  3. Web site: Jesper Kyd interview with Spelmusik . https://web.archive.org/web/20080413065426/http://www.spelmusik.net/intervjuer/jesper_kyd_eng.html . 13 April 2008 . Köhn . Johan . Lundqvist . Niklas . 12 August 2004 . 19 June 2018 . Spelmusik.net.
  4. Web site: Jesper Kyd collection . The Silents . 31 March 2003 . 19 June 2018 . Pouet.net.
  5. Web site: Jesper Kyd . Amiga Music Preservation . 14 December 2000 . 19 June 2018.
  6. Web site: Crionics . Pouet.net . 19 June 2018.
  7. Web site: Hardwired . Crionics & The Silents . 6 December 2012 . 19 June 2018 . Pouet.net.
  8. Web site: Making Tracks: 7 Questions for 'Assassin's Creed', 'Borderlands' and 'State of Decay' Composer Jesper Kyd. Forbes.
  9. Web site: Jesper Kyd interview: Assassin's Creed, Hitman and more . Weedon . Paul . 6 October 2014 . 19 June 2018 . . Dennis Publishing Limited.
  10. 10 questions for Jesper Kyd – the composer behind Assassin's Creed, Hitman & Darksiders 2 . 17 July 2013 . . 8 November 2012 . https://archive.today/20130717163741/http://www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/2012/11/08/10-questions-for-jesper-kyd-the-composer-behind-assassins-creed-hitman-darksiders-2-speaks/ . 17 July 2013 . Staff . . dead .
  11. Web site: How Jesper Kyd forged the grimdark rustpunk of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Laced Records. 23 October 2023.
  12. Web site: Jesper Kyd: Music Transcends All Platforms . . 19 June 2018 . 19 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170519001340/https://plarium.com/en/behind-the-scenes/jesper-kyd/ . dead .
  13. Web site: Jesper Kyd On Composing For 'State of Decay' and "Metal Hurlant Chronicles" . Dodd . Adam . 19 April 2014 . . 19 June 2018.
  14. Web site: Jesper Kyd: Unreal Tournament 2007 . Williamson . Steven . 13 April 2006 . . . 19 June 2018.
  15. Web site: Composer Jesper Kyd on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Curing Insomnia (Interview) . Nguyen . John . 29 November 2010 . Nerd Reactor . 19 June 2018 . 19 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180619040249/http://nerdreactor.com/2010/11/29/composer-jesper-kyd-on-assassins-creed-brotherhood-and-curing-insomnia-interview/ . dead .
  16. Web site: Interview: Composer Jesper Kyd, 'Metal Hurlant Chronicles,' And the Sounds of Sci-fi . https://web.archive.org/web/20180619062728/http://www.mtv.com/news/2625622/interview-composer-jesper-kyd-metal-hurlant-chronicles-and-the-sounds-of-sci-fi/ . dead . 19 June 2018 . Webb . Charles . 3 July 2012 . . . 19 June 2018.
  17. Web site: Jesper Kyd and Assassin's Creed . D. . Spence . 11 December 2007 . 19 June 2018 . . . 1.
  18. Web site: Taylor. Paul. 9 January 2005. "Raiders of the Lost Arts" Interview with BAFTA award-winning Danish composer Jesper Kyd. https://web.archive.org/web/20090527205214/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=66. 27 May 2009. 19 June 2018. Music4Games.
  19. Web site: Jesper Kyd and Assassin's Creed . D. . Spence . 11 December 2007 . 19 June 2018 . . . 4.
  20. Web site: Songs by Jesper Kyd . bemanistyle.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928025634/http://www.bemanistyle.com/artist/index.php?artist_id=741 . 28 September 2007 . Too Much Dedication, LLC..
  21. Web site: Assassin's Creed Composer Jesper Kyd on the Creative Process and His Favorite Soundtrack . Tamburro . Paul . 1 July 2005 . 19 June 2018 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170808114247/http://www.craveonline.co.uk/site/873359-assassins-creed-composer-jesper-kyd-creative-process-favorite-soundtrack . 8 August 2017.
  22. Web site: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Interview . Evoker . UGDB.com . 14 September 2010 . 15 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100918030633/http://ugdb.com/article/view/interview-assassin-s-creed-brotherhood-ps3 . 18 September 2010 . Eighth Art Ltd..
  23. Web site: Makuch . Eddie . Listen To The Pulsing, Electronic Music From Crytek's VR Game, Robinson: The Journey . . 30 January 2017 . 27 January 2017 . CBS Interactive Inc..
  24. Web site: Jesper Kyd Scores Warhammer: Vermintide 2 . . 18 January 2018 . 18 January 2018 . UBM.
  25. Web site: The Arbiter calls. Will you answer? . 10 June 2023 . Call of the Arbiter.
  26. Web site: Jesper Kyd - Awards . . 2 April 2022.
  27. Web site: 2004. 3rd Annual GANG Awards - 2004 Released Games. 19 June 2018. Audio Gang.
  28. Web site: Assassin's Creed II. IMDb.
  29. Web site: 25 April 2018. Composer Jesper Kyd to receive Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award at 2018 Canadian Music Week. 13 July 2018. Electronic Musician. Future Publishing Limited Quay House. Toronto.
  30. Web site: 31 August 2006. MTV - Video Music Awards. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20071225224950/http://gametrailers.com/vma/. 25 December 2007. 12 July 2018. Game Trailers.