Steve Burke (composer)
Encyclopedia
Steven Burke is a British
video game composer, sound designer and voice actor. He is mostly known for his work at the British video game developer Rare Ltd. at 2001–2009 period.
and studied at music branch of King's College London
. Then, he graduated from Royal College of Music
with Master Degree. At college Burke often went to film recording sessions where he met such the masters of orchestra such as John Williams
and Michael Kamen
.
After college he was composing for films about a year before he was recruited by video game giant Rare in early 2001. He firstly provided additional music for Star Fox Adventures
, but his first major and most successful work at the studio was the soundtrack for 2005 game Kameo: Elements of Power
. The soundtrack was scored with Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Burke scored the epic, movie-like soundtrack, consisting of enchanted melodies and battle marches. Music was well received and was nominated for several awards, so that was a good result for beginning VG composer. Then, he also scored Viva Piñata
(with Grant Kirkhope
), Jetpac Refuelled
, Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
(with David Wise) and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
(again with Kirkhope). Aside of this, Burke made sound effects for games Perfect Dark Zero
, Conker: Live and Reloaded and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. He also had done additional voice acting for all games above.
In August 2009 Steve left Rare to work as freelance music composer, recently scoring the iPhone
game SkySmash 1918.
In November 2010 Steve made all sounds and music for Xbox Live Avatars, heard by forty million users. The work was done as a part of his former relationship with Rare/Microsoft.
Burke lives in Twycross, Leicestershire, where the HQ of Rare is also positioned.
This is as Burke comments about a work of video game composer:
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
video game composer, sound designer and voice actor. He is mostly known for his work at the British video game developer Rare Ltd. at 2001–2009 period.
Background and career
Burke was involved with music from early age. At home his family had a piano, which Burke played nearly every day. He also was playing the clarinet at Manx Youth Orchestra. At age of 20, Burke moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and studied at music branch of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. Then, he graduated from Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
with Master Degree. At college Burke often went to film recording sessions where he met such the masters of orchestra such as John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
and Michael Kamen
Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
.
After college he was composing for films about a year before he was recruited by video game giant Rare in early 2001. He firstly provided additional music for Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures
Star Fox Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube as part of the Star Fox series. It was released in North America on 23 September 2002, Japan on 27 September 2002, Australia on 15 November 2002 and Europe on 22 November 2002...
, but his first major and most successful work at the studio was the soundtrack for 2005 game Kameo: Elements of Power
Kameo: Elements of Power
Kameo: Elements of Power is an action-adventure video game developed by Rare. Under development for 4 years, the game was released as a launch title for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console in late 2005.- Plot :...
. The soundtrack was scored with Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Burke scored the epic, movie-like soundtrack, consisting of enchanted melodies and battle marches. Music was well received and was nominated for several awards, so that was a good result for beginning VG composer. Then, he also scored Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 video game console. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was...
(with Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope
Grant Kirkhope is a British video game music composer, known for writing the soundtracks for numerous games by Rare, such as Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and Donkey Kong 64.-Biography:...
), Jetpac Refuelled
Jetpac Refuelled
Jetpac Refuelled is a video game developed by Rare for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service. It costs 400 Microsoft Points .-Gameplay:...
, Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Nintendo DS video game console and based on the original Viva Piñata, rather than being an all-new game in the series....
(with David Wise) and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise is the Xbox 360 sequel to the critically acclaimed life simulation game entitled Viva Piñata. The title was officially announced on May 13, 2008 with a September 2, 2008 release date in North America and a September 5, 2008 date in Europe.-Plot:The second Viva...
(again with Kirkhope). Aside of this, Burke made sound effects for games Perfect Dark Zero
Perfect Dark Zero
Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game had a difficult development cycle, during which a substantial part of it was initially designed for the Nintendo GameCube...
, Conker: Live and Reloaded and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. He also had done additional voice acting for all games above.
In August 2009 Steve left Rare to work as freelance music composer, recently scoring the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
game SkySmash 1918.
In November 2010 Steve made all sounds and music for Xbox Live Avatars, heard by forty million users. The work was done as a part of his former relationship with Rare/Microsoft.
Burke lives in Twycross, Leicestershire, where the HQ of Rare is also positioned.
This is as Burke comments about a work of video game composer:
"It's a great career to get in to. My advice is to be as versatile as possible in the styles of music you can write. Get a showreel CD together and make it sound unique, don't just stick a bunch of drum and bass tracks on it, really go out of your way to stand out from the crowd."