26 May 2006
Based in Los Angeles, Danish-born composer Jesper Kyd writes and produces award-winning soundtracks for movies and video games including the multi-million selling Hitman series starring Agent 47. Jesper Kyd’s in-depth understanding of the character, storyline and history with the Hitman franchise has allowed the music for this beloved franchise to develop and mature in accordance with the latest challenges and exploits of Agent 47. Kyd’s powerful blend of ambient, electronic and classical orchestrations enhances the emotional and dramatic impact of each production so that his music has become an integral and identifiable factor in the growing success of the franchise.
Building on the previous accomplishments of the music for the Hitman series, Kyd delivers a dynamic live orchestral score for Hitman: Blood Money, recorded with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Hungarian Radio Choir, in addition to electronica-fused music featuring his distinct immersive sound. In short, the music style for Hitman: Blood Money is epic orchestral, electronic and a fusion of both. M4G caught up with Kyd to discuss the in-game score and album release.
M4G: How are you taking the Hitman music identity forward with the latest installment, and what can the gamer anticipate on an emotional level?
Jesper Kyd: On an emotional level, the Blood Money score follows the style of Hitman: Codename 47 and Hitman: Contracts. However, these two scores are more electronic and for Blood Money we used a huge orchestra and choir. So the Budapest Symphony makes a return together with the Hungarian Radio Choir. While the Hungarian Choir performed on some of the tracks for Hitman: Contracts, this is the first time since Hitman 2 that they’re back together.
The idea behind the Blood Money score is to have an orchestra score full of mystery, stealth and sneaky atmospheres which is something that is much more suited for electronic music. So this was quite a challenge to create with an orchestra. The epic orchestral Hitman 2 action music is more suited for an orchestra performance. It didn’t make things easier that I decided to mix lots of electronics, synths and drum machines with the score to give extra ambience and make it sound more unique.
M4G: Can you give us any insight into the music implementation strategy for this installment? Were there any new technological advantages or a better infrastructure this time around?
Jesper Kyd: The levels are now so massive that we needed music that would fit several scenarios and atmospheres. If we had taken the approach from Hitman 2: Silent Assassin there simply would not be enough music in the game, since these tracks were written for specific levels and could only be used a couple of times during a level that takes hours to complete. The approach in Hitman: Contracts worked better for us, since we could have music almost all the time because of the way the individual tracks were written. More music in-game means more atmosphere and more atmosphere means more emersion. And maximum emersion is what I think we all work towards in the game industry since it means people getting sucked into the game and play the game more.
M4G: We hear haunting choral vocals, beautiful orchestrations from tracks like “Apocalypse” to the main title. What resources, or tools, instruments, samples etc. went into creating the sinister landscape as Agent 47 travels to America?
Jesper Kyd: We didn’t realty want a typical cliché sound for the US tracks. I mean, it makes no sense to work towards a Gershwin sound for Hitman, for example. Hitman has it’s own style and this needed to continue coming out through the score also. We decided early on that having more music that sounds like it comes from inside Agent 47’s head (like in Hitman: Contracts) was better than having music for all the different locations as we did in Hitman 2.
I use 8 computers, lots of syntheziers, drum machines, samplers, DJ equipment, old analog
synths, soft synths, plug ins etc. Everything is run through Cubase.
M4G: The commercial soundtrack to Hitman: Blood Money comes out on Sumthing Else Music Works on May 30th and offers over an hour’s worth of original music. How does this companion piece differ from previous Hitman releases?
Jesper Kyd: For me, this score feels more like a follow-up to Hitman: Contracts. With Contracts I feel I defined the style of Hitman more so than previous games in the Hitman scores. I feel the same way with this score. It’s a definition of a style, not an electronic style however but this time based around an orchestral style. This is an epic orchestral score though, with dark and light atmospheres, so there are really not many other similarities.
M4G: In track 5 “Hunter” from the soundtrack, can you tell us about the lyrical interpretation they’re chanting?
Jesper Kyd: It’s about a dark storm/tempest rolling across the land. It’s about not losing your faith though death is coming. There are also phrases in there such as ‘the night never ends – the day never comes’ mixed with lyrics of hope and faith.
M4G: The different environments you capture, i.e. “Night Time in New Orleans” and “Trouble in Vegas” lend that definitive ‘Jesper Kyd immersive sound. What are the key factors needed to solidify a true dynamic between the game and its music?
Jesper Kyd: I think you need to be really inspired and motivated in what you do. I could write twice the amount of scores in a year if I didn’t work so much on creating sounds, samples and non-generic music and atmospheres. For me it’s really just about having an idea and then taking it as far as you can. I am often surprised where this takes me and when that happens it feels great. Being surprised by creative choices made in film music is one of my favorite aspects of composing and I want to add this kind of creative, really heavy-duty composing techniques to games.
When I first heard the score for 1192, Blade Runner, Gladiator, First Blood etc I was completely blown away. I think as a composer that is the ultimate aim, to create truly new, fresh and original music people haven’t heard before.
M4G: What are the disadvantages/advantages of taking musical risks in video games?
Jesper: It’s really hard to define if you are taking a risk or not. Still, I always encourage game developers to go for the more unique approach as long as the music fits the game. Of course, it is impossible to make everyone happy and what’s hot and popular today might not be tomorrow but creating something new and original that fits the game is the way to go.
I see it this way. Creating unique music that fits a game is the best of both worlds. The music fits the game AND the music will help the game stand out from other games in the same genre by creating a unique atmosphere in a game that perhaps is not so original and unique. I still don’t understand why more games don’t have unique scores.
M4G: Tracks like “Vegas” and “Day Light in New Orleans” provide a dark, synthesized sound landscape for gameplay. What makes you tick musically?
Jesper Kyd: I really enjoy combining unique instruments, sounds and atmospheres and wonderfully composed melodies and orchestration.
M4G: As a gamer, what kind of games attract you, and what kind of game projects would you like to explore down the road?
Jesper Kyd: I have pretty much worked in most genres. I have never done a horror game score, but I think Hitman: Contracts comes pretty close! I would like to continue working with orchestras and create deeply dramatic scores. I also want to continue with my electronic music experimentation, and working on my electronica album is taking me in completely new directions, which is awesome.
M4G: How can game music keep evolving?
Jesper Kyd: A couple of things come to mind. First of all, game composers have a relatively easy job in that they are not usually asked to create something original the way that film composers are often asked. Both Hollywood and independent films have some fantastic original scores to accompany them. But some game composers might not be that interested in pushing the limit. Also, we need more music supervisors that are interested in pushing the boundaries of game music. I mean, the quality level is constantly being pushed on sound fx, surround mixing, interactive music systems etc. So, why are we still creating music that is not pushing the genre forward?
Developed by Io-Interactive, Hitman: Blood Money is released today in Europe and in North America on May 30th and is available for Xbox 360™, Xbox®, PlayStation®2, and PC. The Hitman: Blood Money Original Soundtrack is released simultaneously at European and US retail and online stores on May 30th. Highlights from the 16-track album include the operatic, choral crescendos and foreboding drums of “Apocalypse,” the surreal soundscapes capturing “Night Time in New Orleans,” the retro lounge vibe of “Vegas,” the hypnotic underground dance grooves of “Club Heaven,” and the Hitman: Blood Money theme, “Main Title.” You can preview tracks from the album here:
https://www.sumthingdigital.com/AlbumDetails.aspx?albumid=893
Related links:
www.hitman.com
www.jesperkyd.com
www.ioi.dk
https://web.archive.org/web/20071014031406/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=93