Grant Kirkhope(born 10 July 1962) is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works includeGoldenEye 007,Banjo-Kazooie,Donkey Kong 64,andPerfect Dark,among many others. He has won anIvor Novello AwardforMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopeand aWorld Soundtrack AwardforThe King's Daughteras well as being nominated for variousBAFTA,ASCAP,andIFMCAawards.
Grant Kirkhope | |
|---|---|
 Kirkhope in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 10 July 1962 Edinburgh,Scotland |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, voice actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editKirkhope was born inEdinburgh, Scotland,where his mother, Margaret Kirkhope, worked as a music hall dancer. Kirkhope's father, Alexander Kirkhope, was works manager of Redpath Brown steel works and was an avid music fan and exposed him to early influences such asFrank SinatraandGlenn Miller.Kirkhope taught himself to play guitar at age 11 and is classically trained in the trumpet.[1][2]Kirkhope was brought up inKnaresborough,North Yorkshire from the age of five, and attendedKing James's School.Kirkhope played in various bands after leaving theRoyal Northern College of Music,including Zoot and the Roots along with the saxophonist Snake Davis. Kirkhope also spent many years as part of "the Big Bad Horns" which were part of UK rock bandLittle Angels.[1]Kirkhope joinedRarein October 1995,[1][3]he played for two bands called Syar and Maineeaxe where he played the guitar and already knewRobin Beanland,another Rare composer.
Career
edit
Kirkhope is anIvor Novello AwardsandWorld Soundtrack Awardswinning,BAFTA,ASCAPandIFMCA-nominated composer who has created the soundtrack for various video games.[4]Kirkhope's score forViva Piñatawas nominated by BAFTA in the Original Score category in its 2007 awards.[5]
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoningwas nominated for Best Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media by the International Film Music Critics Association[6]and in the Cue Awards 2012 for Best Overall Score, Best Video Game Score and Grant was also nominated for Best Break Out Composer.[7]
Kirkhope was nominated in the 2015 ASCAP Composer’s Choice Awards for his work on “Civilization: Beyond Earth”[8]and also won the Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media 2015 from the International Film Music Critics Association for the same score.[9]Civilization: Beyond Earthalso won Best Score: Video Game at the Cue Awards 2015.[10]He was nominated in the 2016 ASCAP Composer’s Choice Awards for his work onCivilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tideand was also nominated for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media 2016 from the International Film Music Critics Association for the same score.[6]Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tidewas also nominated for Best Score: Video Game at the Cue Awards 2016.[10]
He won the award for Best Score at the Silicon Beach Film Festival for the score to the feature filmShadowsdirected by Michael Matteo Rossi in 2020. The score to the animated shortThe Wrong Rockwas nominated for Original Score - Short Film (animation) at the Hollywood Media in Music Awards in 2021. The score to the feature filmThe King's Daughterwon the People's Vote Award at theWorld Soundtrack Awardsin 2022. The score forMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopewas nominated for Score - Video Game and the score for 'The King's Daughterwas nominated for Score - Fantasy Film at the Hollywood Music and Media Awards in 2022.
Kirkhope won anIvor Novello Awardfor his score forMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopein 2023 and was nominated for Best Video Game Score at theWorld Soundtrack Awardsfor the same score in 2023.
Kirkhope was also involved in casting the voice actors for theViva Piñatacartoon.[11]
Personal life
editKirkhope moved to the United States in 2008 to work onKingdoms of Amalur: Reckoningand became anaturalized United States citizenin March 2017. As of 2012, he and his family reside in southern California.[1]
Work
editGames
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Killer Instinct 2/Gold | Performed live guitar and trumpet |
| Donkey Kong Land 2 | Conversion ofDavid Wise'sDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Questsoundtrack | |
| 1997 | GoldenEye 007 | WithGraeme NorgateandRobin Beanland |
| Blast Corps | Performed live guitar | |
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64[12] | |
| 2000 | Banjo-Tooie[13] | |
| Perfect Dark | With Graeme Norgate and David Clynick[14] | |
| 2002 | Star Fox Adventures | Performed live guitar |
| 2003 | Grabbed by the Ghoulies | |
| 2005 | Conker: Live and Reloaded | Performed live guitar |
| 2006 | Viva Piñata | WithSteve Burke |
| 2008 | Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise | |
| Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | With Robin Beanland and David Clynick | |
| 2012 | Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning | With Mark Cromer |
| Fart Cat! | ||
| CityVille 2 | ||
| 2013 | Desktop Dungeons | WithDanny Baranowsky |
| Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | Remake of theoriginal game's soundtrack by Shigenori Kamiya, along with original compositions | |
| 2014 | Puzzle Charms | |
| Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z | ||
| The Enchanted Cave 2 | ||
| Civilization: Beyond Earth | WithGeoff Knorr,Michael Curran and Griffin Cohen | |
| 2015 | Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide | With Geoff Knorr and Griffin Cohen |
| Crypt of the NecroDancer | Special thanks | |
| Rare Replay | ||
| 2016 | Ghostbusters | |
| 2017 | Dropzone | |
| Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | Also scoredDonkey Kong AdventureDLC | |
| Yooka-Laylee | With David Wise and Steve Burke[15] | |
| A Hat in Time | Guest composer[16] | |
| Tangledeep | ||
| 2019 | Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | With David Wise, Dan Murdoch and Matt Griffin[17] |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Guest composer, "Spiral Mountain" arrangement[18] | |
| Interstellar Space: Genesis | With Ryan McQuinn[19] | |
| Cadence of Hyrule | Special thanks | |
| 2020 | World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | WithNeal Acree,David Arkenstone,Jason Hayes, Glenn Stafford and Jake Lefkowitz |
| Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning | With Mark Cromer | |
| 2021 | Minecraft Dungeons:Hidden Depths | With Peter Hont and Rostislav Trifonov |
| 2022 | Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope | WithGareth CokerandYoko Shimomura[20] |
| 2024 | Street Fighter 6 | Guest Composer, "Annihilation" |
| TBA | Lobodestroyo | Guest composer |
| Poglings | ||
| Star Racer[21] |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | We Sit. We Drink. No Guns. | Short film |
| 2017 | Mulva Lends a Hand | |
| How to Apply for a Sexual Position | ||
| Heavy Flow | ||
| Killer Charm | ||
| 2018 | Roadmap Jerusalem | |
| Hammer Jackson | ||
| The Wrong Rock | ||
| 2021 | The Handler | |
| Bringing Back Goldeneye | ||
| 2022 | Shadows | |
| The King's Daughter | WithJohn Codaand Joseph Metcalfe | |
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Composer of theDK RapfromDonkey Kong 64(uncredited) |
| TBA | The Charisma Killers | |
| Murder Syndicate |
Voice acting
edit| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo, The Jinjonator[22] | |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64 | Donkey Kong[22][12][13] | |
| 2000 | Banjo-Tooie | Mumbo Jumbo, Jamjars, King Jingaling, Jinjo[22] | |
| 2003 | Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo | Archive sound |
| Grabbed by the Ghoulies | Cursed Mummy, Zombie Pirates | ||
| Donkey Kong Country GBA | Donkey Kong | Archive sound | |
| Donkey Konga | |||
| Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour | |||
| Mario Kart: Double Dash | |||
| 2004 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong | ||
| Donkey Kong Country 2 GBA | |||
| 2005 | Banjo-Pilot | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo, King Jingaling | |
| Donkey Kong Jungle Fever | Donkey Kong | ||
| Mario Kart Arcade GP | |||
| Donkey Kong Country 3 GBA | |||
| 2006 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis | ||
| Donkey Kong Banana Kingdom | |||
| Viva Piñata | Barkbark, Cocoadile, Elephanilla, Rashberry | ||
| 2007 | Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 | Donkey Kong | Archive sound |
| 2008 | Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise | Barkbark, Cocoadile, Elephanilla, Rashberry | |
| Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | Jamjars | Archive sound | |
| 2009 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! | Donkey Kong | Archive sound |
| 2010 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! | ||
| 2013 | Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move | ||
| Mario Kart Arcade GP DX | |||
| 2017 | Macbat 64 | Monkey[23] | |
| Yooka-Laylee | Crazy Kirkhope | ||
| 2019 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo | Archive sound |
| 2021 | Terrain of Magical Expertise | Captain Gast |
References
edit- ^abcdWojnar, Zak (11 April 2017)."From GoldenEye To Yooka-Laylee: Grant Kirkhope Reflects On His Career".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 13 April 2017.Retrieved14 April2021.
- ^Chris Greening."Game Music:: Interview with Grant Kirkhope (May 2010)".Square Enix Music Online.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Grant Kirkhope [@grantkirkhope] (15 October 2019)."Today's the day I started at Rare in 1995"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Grant Kirkhope | LinkedIn".www.linkedin.com.Archived fromthe originalon 9 January 2016.Retrieved20 July2022.
- ^"2007 Games Original Score | BAFTA Awards".awards.bafta.org.Retrieved6 September2017.
- ^ab"Knorr, Cohen, Curran, Kirkhope receive IFMCA Award for Civilization: Beyond Earth | IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association".filmmusiccritics.org.26 March 2015.Retrieved6 September2017.
- ^"2012 Cue Award Nominees".THE CUE AWARDS.Retrieved7 September2017.
- ^"Vote for the 2015 ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards".www.ascap.com.Retrieved26 May2018.
- ^"2014 IFMCA Awards".IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association.20 February 2015.Retrieved26 May2018.
- ^ab"THE CUE AWARDS".THE CUE AWARDS.Retrieved6 September2017.
- ^"Interview with Grant Kirkhope".rare-extreme.com. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2007.Retrieved31 May2016.
- ^ab"Donkey Kong 64 Video Game Music Compositions".Grant Kirkhope. Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2010.Retrieved18 September2010.
- ^ab"Grant Kirkhope. Video Game Composer, Banjo Kazooie Video Games Music Compositions".Grantkirkhope.com. Archived fromthe originalon 31 July 2013.Retrieved13 May2013.
- ^"Perfect Dark Dual CD Soundtrack".Video Game Music db.Retrieved24 July2020.
- ^admin (March 2020)."Yooka-Laylee and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Soundtracks Released".Playtonic Games.Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2020.Retrieved6 March2020.
- ^Acosta, J."A Timeless Conclusion With the Man Behind A Hat in Time's Amazing Score".Talk Amongst Yourselves.Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2017.Retrieved10 October2017.
- ^"NEW GAME: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair".Playtonic Games. Archived fromthe originalon 7 June 2019.Retrieved7 June2019.
- ^@grantkirkhope (11 June 2019)."Surprise!!!! Banjo-Kazooie are coming to Super #SmashBrosUltimate, and yes I wrote the music in the reveal and it's…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Interstellar Space: Genesis Soundtrack".Praxis Games.Retrieved25 June2020.
- ^Valentine, Rebekah (29 June 2022)."Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope's Score Combines the Powers of a Rockstar Trio of Composers".IGN.Retrieved29 June2022.
- ^Sheehan, Gavin (23 November 2023)."New Retro Combat Racing Title Star Racer Announced".Bleeding Cool.Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2024.
- ^abc"Grant Kirkhope (visual voices guide)".Behind The Voice Actors.Retrieved15 March2021.
A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^Whitaker, Jed (22 March 2017)."Review: Macbat 64".Destructoid.Retrieved13 April2017.
External links
edit- Official website
- Grant Kirkhopediscography atMusicBrainz
- Grant KirkhopeatIMDb