Jesper Kyd facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesper Kyd
Kyd in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Jesper Kyd Jakobson
Born	(1972-02-03) 3 February 1972 (age 53) Hørsholm, Denmark
Genres	Contemporary classical choral electronica ambient minimal techno IDM
Occupation(s)	Composer sound designer
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Sumthing Else La-La Land
Associated acts	Silents DK Budapest Symphony Orchestra Hungarian Radio Choir Melissa Kaplan

Jesper Kyd Jakobson (born on February 3, 1972) is a talented composer and sound designer from Denmark. He creates music for video games, TV shows, and movies. You might know his work from popular game series like Hitman, Assassin's Creed, and Borderlands. His music often combines sounds from orchestras, choirs, and electronic instruments.

About Jesper Kyd

Early Life and Computer Music

Jesper Kyd started playing the piano when he was very young. He also learned classical guitar, how to read music, sing in a choir, and compose classical piano pieces. Even with this training, he mostly taught himself how to make music.

When he was 14, Jesper began using computers to compose music. He started with a Commodore 64 and later moved to an Amiga. He joined a group called Silents DK, which created cool computer demos. He also worked with another group of programmers called Crionics. Together, they made a famous Amiga demo called Hardwired. Jesper also created the music for Global Trash 2 with Mikael Balle.

Moving into Game Music

After his time in the demo scene, Jesper started making music for video games. He helped create a game company called Zyrinx. Their first game was Sub-Terrania for the Sega Genesis. The team then moved to Boston in the United States.

Jesper composed music for two more Zyrinx games: Red Zone and Scorcher. He also created music for other games like Amok and The Adventures of Batman and Robin for the Sega Genesis. Zyrinx eventually closed down when their game publisher went out of business.

Becoming a Freelance Composer

Many of the people from Zyrinx went back to Denmark to start a new company called IO Interactive. But Jesper Kyd moved to New York City. There, he opened his own music studio in Manhattan called "Nano studios." He then began working as a freelance composer for video games.

His music for Hitman: Codename 47 used city sounds and music from different cultures. For Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, he recorded the music with 110 musicians from the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian Radio Choir. He also recorded the music for the action game Freedom Fighters with the Hungarian Radio Choir. His music for Hitman: Contracts combined modern electronic sounds with orchestral and choir music. He continued this style for Hitman: Blood Money, also with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir.

Jesper Kyd then created a cinematic, Middle Eastern-inspired score for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed. He went on to compose music for several other games in the Assassin's Creed and Borderlands series. He also wrote the music for Darksiders II, which was special because it was his first score made entirely without digital sounds.

More recently, Jesper composed the soundtrack for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which came out in 2022. He wanted the music to fit the game's futuristic setting. He avoided using orchestral sounds and guitars, which are common in other Warhammer games. Instead, his music was inspired by "cyberpunk culture and sci-fi manga," using instruments like drum machines and special electronic synthesizers.

Musical Inspirations

Jesper Kyd gets ideas from many different composers and bands. Some of his favorite composers include Ottorino Respighi, Igor Stravinsky, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, John Williams, and Jerry Goldsmith. He also enjoys music from bands like Röyksopp, the Knife, Pink Floyd, and Underworld.

Works

Video Games

Films

Short Films

TV Series

Awards and Recognition

Awards

Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Jesper Kyd para niños