Jesper Kyd interview: On memories of ‘Tumbbad’ and the indelible legacy of ‘Assassin’s Creed’
Composer Jesper Kyd discusses his career, focusing on his iconic score for Assassin's Creed II and his work on the Indian horror film Tumbbad. The interview explores how his music has shaped gaming experiences and his unexpected entry into Indian cinema.
Why it matters
It highlights the global influence of video game music and the cross-cultural collaboration in modern film production.
It’s not every day that you get to speak with one of your childhood idols, especially when their work has been so instrumental in shaping your own enthusiasms. Having dedicated a sizeable chunk of my childhood scampering across the terracotta rooftops of Renaissance-era Italy in Ubisoft’s seminal Assassin’s Creed II , Jesper Kyd ’s infatuating original score was transforming the fun I had parkouring across the Il Doumo in Florence into a formative emotional experience. It is one of the biggest reasons I fell so irrevocably in love with videogames as a medium.
That the 54-year-old Danish composer behind my Renaissance reveries had also gone on to score the mythological nightmare of Tumbbad in 2018, was reason enough to seek him out. With the Indian horror landmark approaching its anniversary this year, I finally had the perfect excuse to pick his brain about both these utterly mesmerising sonic landscapes.
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