Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope (born 10 July 1962) is a Scottish-born English composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others. He has been nominated for various BAFTA, ASCAP, and IFMCA awards.
Grant Kirkhope | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | July 10, 1962 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Origin | Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, voice actor |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | www |
Early life and education Edit
Kirkhope was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his mother worked as a music hall dancer. Kirkhope's father was an avid music fan and exposed him to early influences such as Frank Sinatra and Glenn Miller. Kirkhope taught himself to play guitar at age 11 and is classically trained in the trumpet.[1][2] Kirkhope was brought up in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire from the age of five, and attended King James's School. Kirkhope played in various bands after leaving the Royal 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 band Little Angels.[1] Kirkhope joined Rare in October 1995,[1][3] he played for two bands called Syar and Maineeaxe where he played the guitar and already knew Robin Beanland, another Rare composer.
Career Edit
Kirkhope is a BAFTA, ASCAP and IFMCA-nominated composer who has created the soundtrack for various video games.[4] Kirkhope's score for Viva Piñata was nominated by BAFTA in the Original Score category in its 2007 awards.[5]
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was 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 Earth also 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 on Civilization: Beyond Earth – Rising Tide and 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 Tide was 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 film Shadows directed by Michael Matteo Rossi in 2020. The score to the animated short The Wrong Rock was nominated for Original Score - Short Film (animation) at the Hollywood Media in Music Awards in 2021. The score to the feature film The King's Daughter won the People's Vote Award at the World Soundtrack Awards in 2022. The score for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was nominated for Score - Video Game and the score for The King's Daughter was nominated for Score - Fantasy Film at the Hollywood Music and Media Awards in 2022.
Personal life Edit
Kirkhope moved to the United States to work on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and became a naturalized United States citizen in March 2017. As of 2017, he and his family reside in southern California.[1]
Work Edit
Games Edit
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Killer Instinct 2/Gold | Performed live guitar and trumpet |
| Donkey Kong Land 2 | Conversion of David Wise's Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest soundtrack | |
| 1997 | GoldenEye 007 | With Graeme Norgate and Robin Beanland |
| Blast Corps | Performed live guitar | |
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64[11] | |
| 2000 | Banjo-Tooie[12] | |
| Perfect Dark | With Graeme Norgate and David Clynick[13] | |
| 2002 | Star Fox Adventures | Performed live guitar |
| 2003 | Grabbed by the Ghoulies | |
| 2005 | Conker: Live and Reloaded | Performed live guitar |
| 2006 | Viva Piñata | With Steve 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 | With Danny Baranowsky |
| Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse | Remake of the original game's soundtrack by Shigenori Kamiya, along with original compositions | |
| 2014 | Puzzle Charms | |
| Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z | ||
| The Enchanted Cave 2 | ||
| Civilization: Beyond Earth | With Geoff 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 scored Donkey Kong Adventure DLC | |
| Yooka-Laylee | With David Wise and Steve Burke[14] | |
| A Hat in Time | Guest composer[15] | |
| Tangledeep | ||
| 2019 | Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair | With David Wise, Dan Murdoch and Matt Griffin[16] |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | "Spiral Mountain" arrangement,[17] with various others. | |
| Interstellar Space: Genesis | With Ryan McQuinn[18] | |
| Cadence of Hyrule | Special thanks | |
| 2020 | World of Warcraft: Shadowlands | With Neal 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 | With Gareth Coker and Yoko Shimomura[19] |
| TBA | Lobodestroyo | Guest composer |
| Poglings | ||
| N/A | Hex Heroes | [20] |
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 | With John Coda and Joseph Metcalfe | |
| 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Composer of the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64 (uncredited) |
| TBA | The Charisma Killers | |
| Murder Syndicate |
Voice acting Edit
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Banjo-Kazooie | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo, The Jinjonator[21] |
| 1999 | Donkey Kong 64 | Donkey Kong[21][11][12] |
| 2000 | Banjo-Tooie | Mumbo Jumbo, Jamjars, King Jingaling, Jinjo[21] |
| 2003 | Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo |
| Grabbed by the Ghoulies | Cursed Mummy, Zombie Pirates | |
| Donkey Kong Country GBA | Donkey Kong | |
| Donkey Konga | ||
| Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour | ||
| Mario Kart: Double Dash | ||
| 2004 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong | |
| Donkey Kong Country 2 GBA | ||
| 2005 | Donkey Kong Jungle Fever | |
| 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 |
| 2008 | Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise | Barkbark, Cocoadile, Elephanilla, Rashberry |
| Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts | Jamjars | |
| 2009 | Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! | Donkey Kong |
| 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 [22] |
| Yooka-Laylee | Crazy Kirkhope | |
| 2019 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Mumbo Jumbo, Jinjo |
| 2021 | Terrain of Magical Expertise | Captain Gast |
Kirkhope was also involved in casting the voice actors for the Viva Piñata cartoon.[23]
References Edit
- ^ a b c d Wojnar, Zak (11 April 2017). "From GoldenEye To Yooka-Laylee: Grant Kirkhope Reflects On His Career". Game Informer. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ Chris Greening. "Game Music :: Interview with Grant Kirkhope (May 2010)". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ Grant Kirkhope [@grantkirkhope] (15 October 2019). "Today's the day I started at Rare in 1995" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ . www.linkedin.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "2007 Games Original Score | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Knorr, Cohen, Curran, Kirkhope receive IFMCA Award for Civilization: Beyond Earth | IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association". filmmusiccritics.org. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ "2012 Cue Award Nominees". THE CUE AWARDS. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Vote for the 2015 ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards". www.ascap.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ "2014 IFMCA Awards". IFMCA: International Film Music Critics Association. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ a b "THE CUE AWARDS". THE CUE AWARDS. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ a b . Grant Kirkhope. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ a b . Grantkirkhope.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Perfect Dark Dual CD Soundtrack - VGMdb". Website. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ admin (March 2020). . Playtonic Games. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ Acosta, J. "A Timeless Conclusion With the Man Behind A Hat in Time's Amazing Score". Talk Amongst Yourselves. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ . Playtonic Games. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ @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) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Interstellar Space: Genesis Soundtrack". Praxis Games. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Valentine, Rebekah (29 June 2022). "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope's Score Combines the Powers of a Rockstar Trio of Composers". IGN. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ Schulenberg, Thomas (30 March 2014). "Hex Heroes is a five-player real-time strategy game for Wii U". Joystiq. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ a b c "Grant Kirkhope (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 15 March 2021. 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 opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Whitaker, Jed (22 March 2017). "Review: Macbat 64". Destructoid. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ . rare-extreme.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
External links Edit
- Official website
- Grant Kirkhope discography at MusicBrainz
- Grant Kirkhope at IMDb