 | Some of this article'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Jesper Kyd | |
|---|---|
 Kyd in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jesper Kyd Jakobson |
| Born | (1972-02-03)3 February 1972 (age 53) Hørsholm, Denmark |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | jesperkyd |
Jesper Kyd Jakobson (/ˈdʒɛspərˈkɪd/;Danish:Jesper Kyd Jakobson[ˈjespɐˈkʰytˈjɑkʰʌpsʌn]; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer andsound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for theHitman series,Assassin's Creed series,Borderlands series,Darksiders II andState of Decay, among many others. His scores use orchestra, choir, acoustic manipulations and electronic soundscapes.[1]
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 mostlyself-taught.[2][3] Kyd started using computers for composing on aCommodore 64 at age 14,[4] and later anAmiga.[5] He and Mikael Balle became members of thedemogroup Silents DK, and later started collaborating with a group ofcoders known as Crionics.[6] They eventually made theAmigademoscene productionHardwired.[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 developerZyrinx and a game calledSub-Terrania for theSega Genesis. The team then relocated toBoston. Kyd composed music for two additional Zyrinx titles,Red Zone andScorcher and the music for two externally developed games,Amok andThe Adventures of Batman and Robin for theSega Genesis. Zyrinx dissolved when their game publisher Scavenger went bankrupt.
Many former Zyrinx members returned to Denmark to startIO Interactive, but Kyd moved to New York City and set up his own sound studio inManhattan called "Nano studios".[8] He then worked as a freelance video game musician.
The soundtrack toHitman:Codename 47 was based on urban soundscapes and ethnic instrumentation. He then recorded the soundtrack ofHitman 2: Silent Assassin with 110 musicians of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian RadioChoir.[9] He recorded the score for the action/adventureFreedom Fighters with the Hungarian Radio choir. It was described byFilm Score Monthly Magazine as "Vangelis on steroids". He used modernelectronica and symphonic and choral music inHitman: Contracts. Kyd followed up withHitman: Blood Money, also performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.
Kyd then provided a cinematic middle eastern-based score for Ubisoft'sAssassin'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/adventureDarksiders II, notable for being his first entirely non-digital score.[10]
Kyd composed the soundtrack ofWarhammer 40,000: Darktide, 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 otherWarhammer games. The score was inspired by "cyberpunk culture and sci-fi manga," with the main instruments including drum machines and modular synths.[11]
Jesper Kyd's influences include composers such asOttorino Respighi,Igor Stravinsky,Jean-Michel Jarre,Vangelis,Mike Oldfield,John Williams,Jerry Goldsmith, and bands such asRöyksopp,the Knife,Pink Floyd, andUnderworld.[12][13][14][15][16]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Night All Day |
| 2006 | Sweet Insanity |
| Death of a Saleswoman | |
| 2007 | La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928, new score) |
| 2008 | Staunton Hill |
| 2010 | A Perfect Soldier |
| 2015 | Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe |
| 2018 | Tumbbad |
| 2025 | Crazxy |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Organizm |
| 2001 | The Lion Tamer |
| Going with Neill | |
| 2002 | Day Pass |
| Paper Plane Man | |
| Pure | |
| 2003 | Cycle |
| 2006 | Impulse |
| Virus | |
| 2010 | The Auctioneers |
| 2011 | Somnolence |
| Assassin's Creed: Embers | |
| 2023 | RAID: Call of the Arbiter[26] |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2009 | The Resistance |
| 2012-13 | Métal Hurlant Chronicles |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | BAFTA Award for Best Original Music[27] | ForHitman: Contracts |
| 2005 | G.A.N.G. Award for Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio[28] | |
| 2009 | G.A.N.G. Award for Music of the Year | |
| Hollywood Music in Media Award[29] | ||
| 2018 | Nile Rodgers Global Creators Award[30] |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004 | G.A.N.G Award for "Best Original Vocal Song – Choral" |
| Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards nomination forBest Use of Soundtrack | |
| 2006 | MTV's Video Music Awards in the Best Video Game Score category[31] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
