Press
Reviews
“The Best of 2011: There is no way you can imagine yourself role-playing as a white-clad assassin in 1511 AD Constantinople without Jesper Kyd’s melting pot of acoustic and electronic music accompanying the game in the background.”
“One thing we agreed on regarding all of 2011′s Best Music nominees was that the games wouldn’t have been the same without their awesome soundtracks. Can you imagine climbing to the top of one of Constantinople’s skyscraping towers, but not hearing Jesper Kyd’s [ASSASSIN'S CREED] synchronization theme emanate from your speakers as the camera circles the landscape? The emotional response you have to these games is facilitated–and sometimes, even created–by the outstanding music that accompanies your actions.”
+ GameSpot
“Jesper’s music is intricately tied to the gameplay experience. I can speak to this personally, but the success of Jesper’s music speaks globally. ASSASSIN’S CREED and the stories woven within are inextricably tied to Jesper’s music, just as Jesper’s music is bound to ASSASSIN’S CREED. I can’t hear a note of Jesper’s ASSASSIN’S CREED music without yearning to play the game.”
Emily Reese, Host & Producer, Top Score
“Composer Jesper Kyd has outdone himself with his soundtrack for ASSASSIN’S CREED II. The man behind the music of the HITMAN series and of course, the award winning original ASSASSIN’S CREED, has crafted an exquisite score for the highly rated sequel…Jesper does phenomenally in his blending of old-world music themes with 21st compositional styles, creating pieces where orchestral music meets choir voices from antiquity with just the right application of an electric guitar line to keep it grounded in a modern mode…it’s the up tempo and Mediterranean folk-inspired material that really shine here. Songs including “Venice Escape,” “Flight Over Venice” and “Florence Escape” (both of the later songs are included here for your streaming pleasure) are extraordinary examples of Jesper’s skills. He nails the mood and tone of the game’s visuals so well, you can picture Ezio soaring over Italian cities in Da Vinci’s flying machine or sneaking up behind his victim to execute a precision, um, well, execution.”
+ G4TV
“Composer Jesper Kyd recently crafted one of the best contemporary video game scores we’ve ever heard for ASSASSIN’S CREED II, and we’re equally pleased with his contributions to the soundtrack for the wildly popular Action RPG BORDERLANDS …Kyd’s “Bring Your Guns” is a dynamic piece with a world music vibe. If you want to be transported into the realm of BORDERLANDS, this is the track to check out.”
+ IGN
“The music of ASSASSIN’S CREED II is paramount to this experience. Whether listening to a quiet choir as I scaled a tower or hearing soft but up-tempo tinkling piano as I skipped across the tiles of a roof, I found the dynamic soundtrack keeping up with me, its intensity varying with my actions.”
+ WIRED
“Kyd’s score for the open-world action adventure ASSASSIN’S CREED II is his best work yet. And it’s some of the best game music we’ve ever heard…Kyd has created a beautiful, sweeping soundtrack that’s just as epic as anything you’d hear in a contemporary cinematic epic…For ASSASSIN’S CREED II, Kyd blends rich instrumentation and lush vocals into compositions which have a modern-day musical aesthetic, and yet they feel right at home in Renaissance Italy…”Earth,” the atmospheric opening theme, sets the tone with haunting vocal solos scattered throughout. The cues established here are revisited on “Ezio’s Family,” which adds a sense of danger with urgent-sounding keyboards and strings. It’s tough to pick a favorite, but these two stand out. “Venice Rooftops” is the score’s most in-the-present track. It’s an action-oriented piece driven by guitar power chords. “Tour of Venice” is another highlight, evoking all of the emotion that a song about the beautiful Italian city should. The action is intense on “Venice Escape,” which brings some Middle Eastern elements into the mix, as well as on the heavily percussive “Chariot Chase.” “Sanctuary,” “Flight Over Venice,” and “Leonardo’s Inventions” are other must-hear tracks, but we hesitate to even single those out as this recording truly deserves to be listened to and savored in its entirety. Ubisoft clearly knows the slice of sonic genius they’ve got on their hands…It may be the best game score ever. Forreal.”
+ IGN
“There’s no question about it, Jesper Kyd IS the sound of HITMAN. The Danish born composer has delivered memorably epic scores to the ongoing saga for years and racked up an impressive list of awards for his work.”
+ IGN
“With HITMAN, Kyd showcased his traditional compositional skills, recording the score in Eastern Europe with a full orchestra and choir and achieving a grand scale on par with classic cinema scores.”
+ IGN
“Composer Jesper Kyd has become synonymous with the HITMAN franchise. He is to [HITMAN] like John Williams is to Steven Spielberg; one cannot possibly fathom a new HITMAN entry being released without an accompanying Kyd score. Known for his dark orchestral compositions and continued use of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian Radio Choir, Kyd has carved out a sonic niche that encapsulates the futuristic cold-blooded killer and mysterious espionage aspects of the [series] perfectly.”
+ IGN
“Part of what’s lent the HITMAN series its distinct identity over the years is the memorable scoring of composer Jesper Kyd, who returned in top form for the original soundtrack to the latest game in the series…the soundtrack to BLOOD MONEY is cohesive and stylish.”
+ MP3.com
“[HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY] is extraordinarily moody, aided considerably by Jesper Kyd’s surreal and beautiful soundtrack.”
+ Official Xbox Magazine
“Once again Jesper Kyd has done an astonishing job bringing his classical HITMAN score to life through the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. Usually we wouldn’t mention the music that’s playing on the menu screen but with HITMAN: BLOOD MONEY it perfectly sets the tone to come and perfectly accents the action while you’re in a mission.”
+ PlayStation.com
“Composer Jesper Kyd returns, creating a score that once again precisely drives your emotions throughout each evolving mission.”
+ GTTV
“Jesper Kyd returns to provide an eclectic balance between European dance and classical orchestra. Music has always been a key ingredient of the HITMAN series which BLOOD MONEY maintains, building to create escalating layers of tension, dramatizing the action and atmosphere throughout.”
+ TVG
“Many have tried to turn a video game soundtrack into a musical experience. But few have succeeded in creating a coherent, satisfying listening experience as well as Jesper Kyd who scored HTIMAN: CONTRACTS.”
+ EQ Magazine
“Jesper Kyd’s [HITMAN: CONTRACTS] soundtrack is entirely different than any of his work on previous titles, yet it’s distinctly his own, and it’s both impressive in what he does and what he elects not to do…Jesper Kyd can’t be beat. His eerie atmospheric music is very different than previous titles, but it’s awesome.”
+ IGN
“If the original HITMAN’s soundtrack was sedated, and the second a full-on symphonic masterpiece, this time, Jesper Kyd has created grim, ambient pieces with brooding beats that fit the visual look of the title like a glove…the tunes seriously enforce the badass persona of Agent 47.”
+ UGO.com
“The highlight of HITMAN: CONTRACTS’ audio is a musical score by Jesper Kyd who delivered the memorable musical score to last year’s FREEDOM FIGHTERS. The music here is electronic, rife with synthesized bass and heavy percussion, and is much closer to that of the original HITMAN than the orchestral score found in HITMAN 2. It works extremely well with the game’s gritty and stylish settings…dynamically changes to fit the action and adds a layer of suspense and tension to the proceedings.”
+ GameSpot
“Without doubt the strongest aspect of the game lies in the audio stakes as once again IO Interactive have enlisted the assistance of Jesper Kyd, having worked on both HITMAN: CODENAME 47 and HITMAN 2: SILENT ASSASSIN along with IO Interactive’s other venture FREEDOM FIGHTERS. The music represents the same change in the look and feel of the game, resulting in a score rife with drum beats and electronic synthesizers – about as far removed from the orchestral soundtrack featured in HITMAN 2 as you could expect but equally as good.”
+ TVG