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 ProjectSAM recently had the chance to speak to composer Jesper Kyd, who wrote the music scores for numerous hit games such as Unreal Tournament 3, the Hitman Series and Ubisoft's latest blockbuster hit Assassin's Creed. With what setup did you start out making music? I started out using the Commodore 64 as a sequencer. Then after that I had an Amiga and started using Doctor T for sequencing midi equipment. A friend and I used a lot of samplers and keyboards and started making our own music this way. Sounds like you started out as an electronic musician? Well my focus has always been on classical composition. Still I was fascinated by the dance music around that time, around 1990 or so. That felt like something new back then. I've always been attracted by things that sound new and fresh. Which composers do you find inspiring? I admire the classic film scoring of composers like Jerry Goldsmith and Ennio Morricone. But lately I've also been listening to modern composers such as Alexander Desplat. Traditional classical music is often not asked for in the projects I work on. If it's required for my next project I'll definitely go back to my classical composition roots and study it. I've done that for the Hitman franchise, for example. But I do find it important to be aware of all the latest happenings in the film world, because there are so many great composers and new music created there.  Did you sample any custom sounds or instruments yourself? For most projects I do a lot of custom recording. I have built up this team of musicians and performers I record custom sounds with, so whenever I need sounds in certain directions I can go and get it done quickly. Also, over the years I?ve collected a lot of custom sounds and built up my own library. Additionally, I try to work with live musicians on every project. Could you describe the music setup you work with nowadays? I run Pro Tools on a Mac and Cubase is my main sequencer on PC. I have seven dedicated PCs running Giga Studio 3 and all sorts of VSTs. I have a lot of synthesizers and EMU hardware samplers. I still like those because of the great libraries available for them. Just because those libraries are a bit old now doesn't mean they're not good anymore. Some of them are still very playable. What was the first ProjectSAM library you bought? It was SAM Horns. I use all of the SAM libraries. I think they are recorded in a really attractive way, very high quality with just the right amount of reverb. Also the performances are really rich. There?s also something really aggressive in there that works great. What I also like is that SAM matches very well with other libraries and blends in smoothly with live orchestral recordings. How did you use ProjectSAM in your score for Assassin's Creed? In Assassin's Creed I employed the more unusual True Strike 1 and True Strike 2 hits. Especially the banks with all the hits spread out over the keyboard. There is just so much to work with there. They're easy to play and inspiring to use. I also used the orchestral percussion from True Strike 1 for the Damascus City theme in the game, that worked out great too. What's your favorite game project so far? You know, I try to pick projects that I find interesting, so it's usually the last one I've done. Assassin's Creed is definitely a special one. The game itself is so rich, spiritual and atmospheric; it's really an open-ended experience. For the music we recorded with lots of different musicians in many studios. I was able to work with a team of performers that work on big Hollywood blockbusters. It was awesome to work with such high quality talent. Would you say you are addicted to composing? I would say I'm very much addicted to composing! I don't think I could be happy without it. It is important to do something completely different musically once in a while. Right now I'm working on a solo album, which is refreshing because you can take everything down again and re-focus. Then when you go back and put all that effort into a new score you'll start with a rejuvenated mind. If you keep jumping from project to project, you can't really reset your batteries or do some re-evaluation. You would just do it without thinking, which could limit creativity. Can you tell us more about your solo album? I've been working on that in-between my scoring assignments. When you write a solo album you have to go and find your own inspiration, as opposed to scoring to picture such as a film or video game where you write themes and atmospheres for specific events. For the album I actually make my own story line. Each track has a concept that I try to fulfill 100%. I have a fantastic producer on the album. That helps a lot with feedback and keeps me focused. Do you enjoy living in LA? Yes. I'm downtown, which I feel is definitely the coolest part of LA. It reminds of New York City. But I think the most exciting thing here is the amount of creative talent. No matter what obscure instrument you're looking for, you will find someone who plays it and probably is one of the best in the world at playing that instrument too. It's a really nice luxury you have when you live here. You almost have no limits as far as what you can do musically. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Well, I find the film industry a fascinating place, but games are getting so big these days. Nowadays, huge film composers are scoring games. It's like these two industries are starting to melt together a lot more. I think both media are converging into this big melting pot, and I'll be scoring that! Thank you very much for this interview. It has been a great honor talking to you. Thanks guys! Jesper Kyd www.jesperkyd.com |
