Ubisoft Music released two digital albums from the Assassin's Creed Unity's soundtrack. The game's story is set in Paris during the French Revolution.
Volume one features music composed by Chris Tilton. Volume 2 features music composed by Sarah Schachner. I don't really know what was Ryan Amon's contribution to the music.
People who love Tilton's work on Fringe will certainly be pleased by his entry in the AC series. He makes a heavy emphasis on live strings, piano and weird somewhat-Vangelis-sounding synth. Some of the more action-oriented tracks also feature live brass (especially in the final tracks). He also pays tribute to Jesper Kyd's work with several snippets of Kyd's terrific music from Assassin's Creed II. Some cues have a little Alexandre Desplat flavor to them.
Tilton's album consists of 30 tracks and is over 77 minutes long. Schachner's album is a bit shorter (around 55 minutes), but it features more percussive and "period-sounding" pieces. Just like Tilton's effort, Schnacher notably tries to respect the soundscapes and stylings established by Jesper Kyd.
The albums are available in lossless format on Qobuz, and other online retailers of course. Both are very enjoyable, but I think I'll make a mix of the two programs.
I love Chris Tilton's work on the Fringe series, so I'm very much looking forward to this. I've heard some of his other game scores, and they are certainly good but I personally don't really gravitate towards the John Williams-esque traditional orchestral-only approach they employ. My own tastes run towards acoustic/synthetic score hybrids, which is what made Fringe so special to me, and makes me look forward to Assassin's Creed: Unity with eager anticipation.
My own tastes run towards acoustic/synthetic score hybrids, which is what made Fringe so special to me, and makes me look forward to Assassin's Creed: Unity with eager anticipation.
You can also listen to Assassin's Creed Unity's OST on the official "Ubi Loud" YouTube channel. I particularly like a cue titled Follow My Lead (I don't know why, but the little motif with the piano and strings at the beginning reminds me of a G.I.Joe/Transformers animation music piece by Robert J. Walsh) and at 0'53 you have an example of the several uses of Kyd's theme throughout Tilton's score. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrOdhFdd2So&feature=youtu.be
My own tastes run towards acoustic/synthetic score hybrids, which is what made Fringe so special to me, and makes me look forward to Assassin's Creed: Unity with eager anticipation.
You may like Tilton's (awesome) work on the SimCity series then, Cities of Tomorrow especially: http://youtu.be/rixSIfywjo0
You can also listen to Assassin's Creed Unity's OST on the official "Ubi Loud" YouTube channel. I particularly like a cue titled Follow My Lead (I don't know why, but the little motif with the piano and strings at the beginning reminds me of a G.I.Joe/Transformers animation music piece by Robert J. Walsh) and at 0'53 you have an example of the several uses of Kyd's theme throughout Tilton's score. http://youtu.be/IrOdhFdd2So
Thanks for the tip on SimCity my friend! I like what I hear, although it's a little light 'n fluffy. I might like the more dark and aggressive synth Tilton, but I will listen to more of SimCity based on your recommendation and I do like the track you posted.
Also thanks for the heads-up on "Follow My Lead" and its use of Kyd's theme...I've never heard any of his music or played any of the games (only heard BT's Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, which I love). I'll keep an ear out for the other theme quotes in Unity. Do you know if Tyler quoted the theme anywhere in Black Flag?
Thanks for the tip on SimCity my friend! I like what I hear, although it's a little light 'n fluffy. I might like the more dark and aggressive synth Tilton
You're most welcome. Nice to see some Tilton appreciation. Yes, his work on SimCity is far lighter and brighter than Fringe, so, maybe you won't like it for its tone being so different (due to the nature of the SimCity games, of course). But it is another side of Tilton's blending of acoustics & electronics that I appreciate a lot.
Do you know if Tyler quoted the theme anywhere in Black Flag?
I am not familiar enough with Tyler's entry in the series to tell, sorry, but for what I remember he didn't quote any of Jesper Kyd's material (but I may be wrong). It seems that the producers of the games wanted to make Unity and Rogue feel like throwbacks to the second game. The theme quoted by Tilton in Unity is essentially the main theme from Assassin's Creed II, the wildly popular Ezio's Family: http://youtu.be/qfFvOt5GPr8 (it's used in many other tracks)
Started listening to this today! Wow. Love it! He brings so much emotion so effortlessly with a few lovely tracks, but I'm just digging the barrage of fantastically arranged action and suspense cues -- this Fringe fan's dream come true. I miss that there is no new Fringe music since the show ended but this comes pretty close. I hasten to add that Assassin's Creed: Unity does have its own identity for sure and is very much its own animal, but it is very reminiscent of Fringe, even containing identical synths, which is absolutely no complaint.
Terrific stuff. If you hadn't mentioned it, edern, I might have missed this release! Will let you know what I think of his SimCity work...
Ryan Amon's music for Assassin's Creed Unity has recently been released as a "bonus tracks" album. It includes 5 tracks for a total of 14 minutes. I didn't listen to it yet. It seems to be quite atmospheric stuff (based on the short samples only!).
Thanks for the info MikeJ, I didn't know about this Collector CD album. I'll check the tracklisting to try to reproduce it. It may have a nice flow to it.
There is also now a "complete soundtrack album" for download, with the first two volumes and Amon's work.
