Jesper Kyd writes and produces award-winning soundtracks for cinematic multimedia productions. Kyd is best known for his music featured in the #1 selling Hitman series and Freedom Fighters, winner of the 2003 GameSpot “Best Original Music in a Game Award,” and Billboard 2004 Digital Entertainment Award finalist for “Best Use of Sound in a Game.” His distinct blend of minimalist electronica, dark symphonic and choral grooves featured in Hitman: Contracts garnered widespread critical acclaim as one of the truly groundbreaking original soundtracks from a video game and won best “Original Music” in the 2005 BAFTA Games Awards. Recent credits also include the Robotech: Invasion Original Soundtrack, exclusive remixes for Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2, the cinematics and additional music for Tom Clancy’sSplinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Kyd’s upcoming works include the original score to Hitman: Blood Money and he is currently writing his debut album as electronic music artist/DJ “Deftronic.

Go! Game! Music! (GGM):
How did you get involved with Robotech: Invasion?

Jesper Kyd:
The developer Vicious Cycle Software approached me to write a new, original score for Robotech: Invasion

GGM:
How much influence (if any) did the music for the Robotech animation have on you?

Jesper Kyd:
The original score did not have much influence on me, since I was hired to create brand new themes and arrangements. However, I did listen to the original score in order to make sure that the new musical direction would be radically different from the original. We talked a lot about the various environments, the feel of the game etc. Each time I completed a new track we would test it out and see how it worked with the game’s environments.

GGM:
What was the most difficult aspect creating the music for Robotech: Invasion?

Jesper Kyd:
Creating an action score can be quite challenging because action music can become too overwhelming. If all the music in the game is high energy it will become monotonous. I set out to build a pace in the score, so that there would be a variety of emotions and energy levels in the music. The challenge became to create these different music styles while still maintaining an action feel.

GGM:
What differences were there between your original musical ideas and your completed score?

Jesper Kyd:
The developer accepted all my submissions so all my ideas made it into the completed version of the score. We also recorded the vocals live with the Hungarian Radio Choir.

GGM:
How do you think your final music turned out. What is your favorite part of your score?

Jesper Kyd:
I’m pleased with the way the music turned out. When listening to the score on CD (the official album release is available at http://www.sumthing.com/catalogue_ItemDetails.aspx?p1=204), it reminds me of a cross between the Freedom Fighters choir-driven score and the electronic sounding Hitman: Contracts score.

GGM:
What are the differences in your approach to creating the music for Robotech: Invasion and DDRU2?

Jesper Kyd:
For DDR: Ultramix 2 you only have 1.30 - 2 minutes to work with and so the music itself becomes more compact because your ideas have to be presented in a shorter amount of time. The DDR music also keeps changing to make sure that the game player is constantly entertained. The music in DDR is more in front, the star of the show, whereas the music for a story-driven game sits more in the background.

GGM:
How did you get involved with Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2?

Jesper Kyd:
Konami knew I was a huge DDR fan and they asked me if I would be interested in working on their next DDR game. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity! :)

GGM:
How did you approach your music DDRU2?

Jesper Kyd:
I played a lot of DDR before composing the music. What I enjoyed the most were the tracks that continually changed pace and had unusual breakdowns. I used this approach for “Istanbul Café.” The “Red Room” track and remix of “59” were also a lot of fun to write.

GGM:
So you are playing a lot of DDRU2?

Jesper Kyd:
I love DDR Ultramix 1 and 2. The second Ultramix is now my favorite because the music is more varied. They have some really entertaining tunes on that one.

GGM:
What other games have you been playing?

Jesper Kyd:
I've been playing a lot of Lumines on PSP. Also, Doom3, Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 are some of the other recent games I’ve been playing. I can't wait for San Andreas to come to PC! :)

Thanks to Mr. Kyd for chatting with us and to Greg at Topdollar PR..