Jason Graves: The Official Composer Website

• News
• Music
• Biography
• Credits
• Press
• Contact

---

Personal Testimonials:

Mihai Gheorghiu, Audio Director, Ubisoft Romania: "Working with Jason to compose music for Silent Hunter 5 was a real pleasure. Continuing the franchise's tradition for high-quality orchestral scores, he delivered an intense soundtrack that captures the essence of the gameplay and improves the overall experience for the player. Jason is a great professional to work with and I look forward to working with him again."

Alexander Brandon, Audio Director, Obsidian Entertainment: "Jason provided incredible tracks for Alpha Protocol that fit the environments like a glove. His music has the closest interactive film score sound I've ever heard."

Don Veca, Audio Director, Electronic Arts: "Jason's original score for Dead Space is simply fantastic. The music plays a huge role in the game's overall soundscape; it's the drama behind everything. We needed an original orchestral score that was aleatoric in style, dark and dissonant, ranging from subtle creepy/eerie moods to completely cacophonous frenzies. Not only did the music have to sound great on its own, but it needed to be composed in such a way as to work musically within our custom playback system. We were able to collaborate with Jason very closely on both the musical aspects as well as the dynamic/adaptive nature of the score as it related to gameplay. The end result is a compelling aural experience unique to Dead Space. Jason's talent as a composer is matched only by his positive attitude and musical passion."

Clark Crawford, Audio Director, Midway: "Jason continually amazed me with his ability to deliver exactly what I was hearing in my head. His deep understanding of music, versatility as an orchestrator and completely open-minded approach made him an invaluable part of the team. If only the rest of the world was as easy and rewarding to work with..."

Sylvain Brunet, Audio Director, Ubisoft: "Working with Jason is always a wonderful experience. This guy is amazingly professional. He composes great musical scores, setting authentic atmospheres that perfectly fit the ambience of each game."

Joseph Simpkins, Producer: "I don't know if I can put into words what Jason's score has done for my film. It is more than Oscar-caliber, it is simply ART at its finest. Not only did the music enhance the film - it took it to a whole different level. I can't imagine anyone else creating what he has done."

Olympia Stone, Director: "Jason is a truly talented musician and composer. The score he created for my film is one that both critics and viewers have consistently praised. He is easy to work with and utterly professional. His taste, musical instincts and creativity are superb. I cannot recommend him highly enough!"

Marty Hudzick, Director: "Just listening to Jason's score by itself gave us the chills - we could tell exactly what was happening onscreen by the music alone. Then we played it with the film and got goosebumps! Now we can't imagine our film without Jason's music. It's the kind of score you would expect from a big Hollywood composer and a summer blockbuster film. Phenominal!"

---

Dead Space

British Academy Awards: "An excellent score that helps increase the tense atmosphere. There are some great, interesting textural timbres in the music. The audio is critical to the atmosphere of the game - it's the musical soundtrack that boasts horror and tension."

EDGE Magazine, The EDGE Awards 2008, Best Audio in a Game: "In Dead Space, the most terrifying ambushes come not from the shadows but from the speakers. The clink of chains and trickling water; rolling kettle drums; the deadened umph of a zero-gravity gunshot: EAÕs devilish horror has all the best sounds. A score by Jason Graves conveys the immensity of the Ishimura one moment, claustrophobia the next, switching between them seamlessly. For every cue it steals from the masters of horror, it does something bold and new."

GAMESPY, 2008 Game of the Year, Best Audio: "Like any horror game worth its salt, Dead Space relies as much on sound to terrify as it does creepy visuals and over-the-top gore. Sure, there's plenty of both of the latter, but the audio cues help to build tension more than anything, making the player wonder what might be around the next corner or could be lurking in the darkness. These atmospheric noises make the player question his or her safety, and it's impossible not to jump out of your skin when one of the horrific necromorphs suddenly appears behind you. Thanks Dead Space's sound design, people can definitely hear you scream."

IGN.com, Best of 2008, Best Original Score Nomination: "Graves' latest project is the eerie and unnerving score for EA's outer space survival horror epic." 

TeamXbox Game of the Year Awards 2008, Best Sound: "Having the game take place on a seemingly dead spaceship hurtling through the dark cosmos isnÕt newÑand, in fact, Dead Space often smacks of the ÒAlienÓ movies in its handling of the setting. But throw in myriad creaks and pings, as well as the various beasty noises, and the oogie mood is that much more enhanced. Add in a score that becomes more intense as you play and you have yourself a first-class fright-fest. "

G4TV: "Composer Jason Graves has succeeded in creating a truly original soundtrack for Dead Space. The music, whether atmospheric and calm, or as a full fledged discordian assault upon your ear drums, is expertly crafted, which should place this album near the top of year-end 'Best Of' lists and nominations for the myriad of game awards. If you aren't familiar with Jason Graves, you really should be."

Cheat Code Central: "Dead Space has the best audio presentation I've ever heard. Combine the pristine visuals with the best music, ambient sounds, and voice over work around and you've got the definitive scare. Truly, this is the scariest game I've ever heard. The music heightens the experience with screeching violins and a brooding atmosphere. Dead Space is a highly polished and well-crafted title that transcends standard video gaming." Music/Sound: 4.9 out of 5

IFMagazine: "Fans of nerve-shredding horror music will delight in getting pummeled by the near-continuous shock effects of Jason Graves' powerfully performed score, which also has thankful down-time bits of space creepiness and man-alone melancholy thrown in."

Planet X-Box 360: "The sonic portion of Dead Space is amazing. When the eerie score is not giving you goosebumps, the music erupts and backs off at just the right moments, save for the few false starts where it scares the bejesus out of you for no other reason than to remind you just how effective it is." Sound: 9.5 out of 10

Fangora Musick: "Even more frightening than Dead Space's ghoulish graphics is it's original symphonic soundtrack. With the help of The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra, renown composer Jason Graves creates an intense, eerie soundscape that adds the perfect atmosphere to this nightmarish game. The Dead Space Official CD soundtrack features 15 tracks of bombastic orchestrations offering a wide dynamic range from eerie, screeching strings to thunderous, frenetic percussion. A must have for lovers of dark and dissonant music, or for fans of the game itself."

IT Reviewed: "The intensely atmospheric orchestral score is also worth a heads-up. Composer Jason Graves' chilling score enhances the horror and tension of the game through extreme orchestral music techniques that are aleatoric in style, dark and dissonant, ranging from subtle creepy/eerie moods to completely cacophonous frenzies."

Da Game Boyz: "The musical score is incredible - it is perfectly suited for the game and gives Dead Space a Hollywood blockbuster feeling." Sound: 10 out of 10

Gaming Nexus: "It would be enough for the game to just look good, but it also features one of the best soundtracks of the year. The game is filled with haunting incidental music, the type of thing you would hear from a big budget Sci-Fi film."

Gaming Excellence: "This game owes every single scare it gets to its unbelievable sound. When the action gets harried, a pulse-pounding orchestral score kicks in that really gets the adrenaline flowing." Audio: 10 out of 10

Gameplayer: "Holding the entire game together is the soundtrack - it might be the best ever application of sound in a videogame. Playing Dead Space without sound is no longer scary. No longer interesting. Turn the sound back up and the genius becomes noticeable."

Boomtown: "Dynamic music keeps your heart pounding when you're not simply terrified from the audio surroundings." Sound: 10 out of 10

Game Chronicles: "Complementing the visuals is a quality sound package that starts with a wonderful score that is more environmental than musical." Sound: 10 out of 10

Daily Game: "The biggest multimedia accomplishment is by far the game's audio. With dynamic music that reflects the tone of the level and on-screen action, Dead Space is truly an audiophile gamer's dream. It's both high quality and highly responsible for completing this horror package."

360 Sync: "The music and sound effects are the icing on the cake. Appropriate changes in sound effects and dramatic background music add greatly to the thrilling environment created in Dead Space."

GamerVision: "Sound is also approaching perfection - EA has created an immersion experience to rival BioShock. Enemy's roars can send chills up your spine, and the music is dynamic and changes depending on the situation to further enhance the mood."

Gaming Target: "Dead Space succeeds on all levels of being a grade-A survivor horror title, complete with a musical soundtrack that certainly adds to the horror of the game."

Game Style: "Where Dead Space really excels is in the sound. Not just the fantastic music, but the way you can hear the ship creaking, the monsters lurking in the shadows, everything adds to the fantastic feeling of tension and dread that the game creates."

ZT Game Domain: "The audio is simply terrifying - the music will send shivers down your spine. Dead Space is the type of game that people will talk about five years from now about just how good it really was."

Gamer 2.0: "The sound is probably the best aspect of Dead Space." Audio: 10 out of 10

Game Revolution: "Just when you think you've seen all that Dead Space has to offer, something pops up that again drops your jaw to the floor with a fleshy thud. Whispers, voices, groans, and metallic clangs fade in and out over a wide array of deft musical touches. Around every corner lies a new sight or sound that will startle you with its attention to tonal detail. Art and sound merge perfectly to create the sense of an isolated, cold, inhuman atmosphere."

IGN: "The real standout is the use of sound, which is designed to send shivers up the player's spine. This is one of those games that you want to just listen to late at night with the lights off if you're looking to get freaked out. The sound will have you jumping out of your seat and sending shivers down your spine." Sound: 9.5 out of 10

---

Blacksite: Area 51

Acegamez: "It's oddly chilling - the aliens suddenly start attacking, the blood starts pumping again and the rousing musical score kicks in, giving you both a fright and a real sense of atmosphere. It's all very cinematic and adds character to the experience."

Cheat Code Central: "The summer-blockbuster-like score will keep you hoofing it to the next check point."

Planet X-Box 360: "The audio portion is superb with a great musical score that accompanies the action..."

Console Monster: " The music for the game is very atmospheric and suits the game well. The audio is top notch..."

Gaming Age: " There are even horrific suspense scenes that change up the music and ambience. All these facets of the game's audio are very well done and quite enjoyable."

Da Gameboyz: " The soundtrack...adds to the overall atmosphere of the game in a positive way."

---

Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific

Games Xtreme: "Married to the absolutely cracking audio is a sumptuous full orchestral sweeping soundtrack, the music to the game being one of the highlights for me overall – I love a good theme and Silent Hunter 4 has some truly uplifting pieces. A personal favourite of mine is the pounding introductory military theme that rises to a blistering crescendo and then slowly trails off. You can feel the emotion that...Jason Graves has created in the soundtrack to the game; it works perfectly and gets top marks from me."

Gamespot: "Meanwhile, a bombastic score helps add drama and tension to the many slow moments in the game."

PC Gaming: "Music that perfectly compliments the visuals, creating a compelling, threatening atmosphere.."

---

Blazing Angels 1 and 2

Sylvain Brunet, Ubisoft: "Working with Jason was a wonderful experience. This guy is amazingly professional. He composed a great musical score, setting an authentic atmosphere that perfectly fits the ambience of the game. Big thumbs up for his main theme!"

XGP Gaming: "The soundtrack is fantastic; it boasts one of the most epic scores I've ever heard."

Team X-Box: "The same orchestral movements and passages found in epic films can be found in Blazing Angels. The soundtrack is straight Hollywood and may even remind some gamers of the epic Pearl Harbor. The orchestra ebbs and flows with the action, which is particularly well executed in the Campaigns. Most will appreciate the professional string, woodwind, and brass work thrown down during historical missions and the accompanying load screens."

Gamer's Edge: "Most WWII games manage to put together a fine instrumental soundtrack – Blazing Angels is no exception. Its sweeping music ranges from slower, more mellow music to fast-paced, high intensity tracks that keep you interested."

IGN: "The sound in Blazing Angels is easily one of the highlights of the game, [with] a solid cinematic score."

About.com: "Blazing Angels has…the epic orchestral music you expect from a WWII game."

Game Zone: "The sound effects and music from the game are really outstanding. The music…makes players feel that they are really in the middle of a war. It moves you to want to continue fighting your way through for survival."

videogames.co.nz: "Oddly enough, the sound manages to outshine the visuals. The action-paced orchestral music is appropriate to the WWII era and succeeds in setting the right mood."

Gamebiz: "The sound effects and music from the game are really outstanding."

Gaming Horizon: "The sound in the game is another huge success for Ubisoft. Overall the effects really put you in the experience. Add to that the outstanding background music and it is a solid presentation."

Dreamstation: "All of this action is also accompanied with a well-done soundtrack [that] has the patented military orchestral music that sounds dramatic and gets you into the World War II historic battle mood. If you have seen any WWII or military movies, then you know what type of soundtrack to expect."

---

Star Trek: Legacy

Parker Davis, Legacy Producer: "Mad Doc was fortunate enough to recruit the musical talents of...Jason Graves to score a completely original soundtrack for Legacy, crafting a game score that beautifully marries the cinematic appeal of Star Trek with the intensity of starship combat. We're thrilled with the results and believe gamers and fans of the series will agree it's very 'Star Trek' – very science fiction."

Team Xbox: "The inspiring soundtrack is tres next-gen, with an outstanding orchestral mélange…" Sound 8.5 out of 10. Overall game 5.5 out of 10.

Game Chronicles: "The soundtrack is classic Star Trek with plenty of original music composed by...Jason Graves. The music keeps you in the Star Trek mindset in the menus, opening movies, and even during the game. It's totally original yet oddly familiar."

Gamespot: "The music is typical of Star Trek, with noble orchestral themes…"

IGN: "The game's atmosphere and Trek-cred is further enhanced by the addition of a suitably moody musical score. The [composers] have done a great job of making it feel authentic. A pleasantly evocative score"

Gamerz Edge: "The sound in the game is outstanding. The soundtrack is appropriately instrumental and purposeful, and it fits in naturally with the Star Trek universe."

Game Vortex: "Audio is another area where Legacy shines – the musical score has Star Trek flair…"

Deeko: "The music is orchestral and wonderful, very Trek-ish, if that makes any sense."

PALGN: "An epic soundtrack – atmospheric to the max."

Cheat Code Central: Music/Sound FX/VO: "One thing that the game does very well is creating a distinctly Trek experience. Everything that a Trekkie would expect feels like Star Trek."

---

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows

Gamerfeed: "The game is backed by a great score that captures the drama of a title such as this."

Gamezone: "The soundtrack just works beautifully with the game's action. The game's score is definitely a highlight and it's wonderfully cinematic."

IGN: "Impressive cinematic score…"

Team X-Box: "A real symphony appears to have done the soundtrack, which is very much like Lord of the Rings."

---

Zathura

TeamXbox: "One highlight is the music, which stands out in the game. What could have been synthesized tracks played over and over is a score that takes the game to a larger scale."

Gamespot: "The soundtrack…makes this feel like an epic adventure."

Bonusstage.com "The score matches the same tone as the film with great detail – the quality is quite impressive."

Cheat Code Central: "The music is surprisingly good. The music and voice acting are the best parts of Zathura in terms of production values."

Gamerankings.com: "As for sound, this is the best aspect of the game. There's a great score that fits each fight scene."

VGPub "I liked the musical score that appropriately changes with the pace of gameplay. It seems like it came straight from the movie."

IGN: "The music is the best aspect of the game…"

X-Box Advanced: "Great music that fits the overall theme of the game and the action. The music is a strong point in the game…enjoyable to listen to and adds greatly to the action and story moments."

---

King Arthur

Gamespot: "The soundtrack is simply brilliant. I've got to admit, I really thought it was from the movie. The game uses its score extremely well, and the flow of the music is perfectly suited to each battle situation."

Team Xbox: "King Arthur's soundtrack is very well constructed, as it was composed by renowned composer Jason Graves. While the actual theatrical soundtrack is not a part of the game, Jason has done a great job of creating original music that feels much like an extension of the film rather than independent music based upon the score."

IGN: "The top-notch music, fully orchestrated, sounds crisp and clear."

Gaming Age: "...a brilliantly orchestrated score captures the mood. From the gripping battle scenes, to the peaceful serene, you will become captivated by the soundtrack as it is one of Arthur's shining points."

Microsift Gamerfeed: "Sound is excellent, with a great score to fit each fight scene."

---

War and Warriors: Joan of Arc

Game Chronicles Magazine: "The music accompanying Joan's adventure is quite enchanting…highly recommended."

Entertainment Depot: "The music is fantastic and really lends to the battle mood the game strives to accomplish."

Gamespot: "There's some excellent music in the game that captures the bombastic tones found in Hollywood movies such as Gladiator."

The Adrenaline Vault: "5 out of 5 stars. The music in Joan of Arc is the real surprise; it's top notch. It's all period orchestral pieces with a single, lonely cello when there is no action and a revved up, pulse pounding arrangement when you're engaging the enemy. It's a great addition to the game."

Gaming Horizon: "Few things are cooler than intense music and the sounds of a medieval battlefield coming through in surround sound."

---

Rise Of The Kasai

The Armchair Empire: "Great music floats through the game, having a heavy Eastern tribal flavor, and really helps create a great game environment."

Gamespy: "As far as sights and sounds go, this game is superior. The music is excellent…the Maori-inspired tribal music helped pull me into the game."

G4 Videogame TV: "A rich, atmospheric sound…"

Gamespot: "The audio in Rise Of The Kasai is mostly quite enjoyable…the soundtrack is well-produced and fits perfectly into the context of the game."

---

The Sims

The Armchair Empire: "...the wonderful music and patented Simlish language interaction between Sims creates a great overall gaming package."

Gamenikki.com: "Unlike past Sims, Bustin' Out actually gives you a reason to buy a stereo in the game and turn it on. There's rockin' techno and some hilarious Sim gibberish hip-hop."

Gamespot: "...it features a great deal of all-new simlish voice-over, as well as a fantastic, all-new soundtrack consisting of popular modern music types like hip-hop, pop, and rock music."

---

The Hobbit

IGN: "On top of everything else, the music soundtrack in the game is fantastic. It's orchestrated, wholly atmospheric, and varied. The scores provide a mixture of soft, delicate backgrounds that enrich the mood of the locales and big, banging music that successfully drives home accomplishments. If more developers took the time to implement soundtracks like this the world would be a better place."

GameZone: "When you have a composing team like Rednote Audio working for you, you're guaranteed to get a great soundtrack. The musical score is wonderful, and the voice acting is solid. The musical score really embraces the mood of the game, and underscores each location rather well."

PlanetGameCube: "Great music. The excellent soundtrack includes pleasant Celtic melodies and haunting atmospheric tracks; many pieces were recorded with a full orchestra and/or real acoustic instruments."

TeamXBox/Editors Choice: "Gamers will be able to close their eyes and listen to one of the more potent soundtracks when The Hobbit is in the tray. The original music is intense."

Gamespot: "The musical score usually relies on an underplayed percussion track as you hop about on platforms and sneak your way past various trolls and elves, though it will shift to a fuller, more dangerous instrumentation when you're engaged in combat, or it will swell to a symphonic crescendo when you complete a mission task."

PC Gameworld: "The game's audio is impressive…add impressive acting with a lush musical score, and the Hobbit is an audio treat."

GameSpy: "The music hits the right adventure notes."