Classically trained with an extensive music repertoire in orchestral, electronica, jazz and other contemporary music genres, Richard Jacques is a multiple award-winning composer of music for video games, film and television.
He is internationally recognized as one of the A-list composers in the video games industry, recently described by PLAY Magazine (US) as “One of the truly distinctive game music composers in the industry today.” A leader in the field of modern game music Jacques was the first video game composer to secure a major budget for a live symphony orchestra, the first to record a live orchestra for a PSP handheld video game, the first to have his game music featured in art galleries and live concerts in Europe, Japan and North America, and the first western composer to have his game soundtracks released commercially in Japan as well as Europe and North America. Jacques has received numerous awards and accolades for his music including Best Music awards from both GameSpot and GameSpy and the Game Audio Network Guild Recognition Award, in addition to multiple nominations including Music of the Year, Best Original Instrumental Song, Best Live Performance Recording and Best Original Soundtrack Album.
Born into a musical family in Warwick, England in 1973, Richard Jacques began learning the piano from the age of 5, followed by the trombone two years later. Having been awarded a scholarship to the Junior Royal Academy of Music in London he was rapidly being exposed to many different musical experiences in a diversity of genres largely through playing in ensembles ranging from symphony orchestras and wind ensembles to jazz and rock bands. He continued his studies by following a traditional classical music education, whilst also pursuing tuition in percussion, drum kit, and guitar. This eclectic background and multitude of influences has provided him with an acute ear for musical style.
It seems Richard was destined to work with one of the all-time great developers and publishers of video games. During the final year of his B.A. Honours Degree in Music, in which he specialised in 'Performance, Composition and Arrangement, and Music Technology,' he saw an advertisement for an in-house music position at SEGA Europe in London. Soon after applying for the position and submitting his demo reel he was immediately hired and started the job just two days after completing his music studies. Jacques began writing music for games at SEGA Europe as the in-house composer and sound designer, working on a distinguished list of game titles spanning from DAYTONA CEE to the infamous SONIC R, and from a guest appearance on the soundtrack to JET SET RADIO to the genre defining METROPOLIS STREET RACER.
Inspired by the classic arcade racing game OUTRUN, Jacques wrote over 30 original songs of various styles for the groundbreaking interactive radio system in METROPOLIS STREET RACER featuring designated music for each channel. “Cool Drum and Bass, Intelligent Jungle, Garage, even a shot of Rhythm and Blues served neat. But the highlight will be the Jazz tracks Jacques has overseen,” critiqued Computer and Videogames Magazine. Many of the tracks featured live players and session singers, T.J. Davies (Gary Numan, D:Ream, Lisa Stansfield, Sash) to name the most popular, in addition to tracks performed and produced by the ever versatile and prolific composer Jacques himself. Indeed this desire to push the boundaries of music in games would prove to be the driving force for his next ambitious project.
Paving the way for others in the video games industry to follow, Jacques’ live orchestral score for Sega Europe’s cinematic action/adventure title HEADHUNTER was the first game soundtrack to utilize the world famous Abbey Road Studios’ Studio One and record with the A-list musicians of the London Session Orchestra. Each member of the orchestra has either held a principal seat in one of the major London orchestras, or has enjoyed a successful soloist career on the concert platform. The orchestra’s long list of credits includes the film soundtracks to The World Is Not Enough and The Mummy. Since its conception in the 1920’s and subsequent opening in 1931, Abbey Road has been at the forefront of the recording industry. Over the years it has attracted artists, producers and engineers of the highest calibre, The Beatles making it a household name. Studio One, the venue for the recording of HEADHUNTER, is one of the largest purpose-built symphonic recording studios in Europe and has some of the best symphonic acoustics in the world. With Jacques at the helm, these historic sessions at Abbey Road raised the bar for live orchestral recording techniques that have since been employed by some of the biggest names in the movie industry. The music was highlighted for its Hollywood calibre and set the benchmark for recording live orchestra and enhancing music quality for video games.
Leading film soundtrack magazine Music From The Movies
