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Internationally respected composer,
Jeff van Dyck was born and raised in Vancouver Canada. He was mentored by
a childhood spent in studios with his father Ralph Dyck, also a composer
and technology specialist. "My Dad worked in R & D for Roland and was
pivotal in designing the modern sequencer as we know it today. I got to
hang around when he worked with artists such as Toto and Michael Jackson.
I didn't know who those people were at the time, but I was constantly
surrounded by music and the creation process. It was inevitable that
creating music would become my life too."
Since then, Jeff has
made it his life's work to evolve as a composer and technology specialist.
In 1992, at the age of 23, Jeff began to make his mark as a composer/sound
designer at Electronic Arts, working on classic computer game franchises
including FIFA Soccer, NHL Hockey and the dynamic Need for Speed series.
After 5 years of sports games, Jeff was ready to take on more
cinematic styles of composing. He relocated to Australia and contracted to
companies around the world creating orchestral, electronic and
ethnic/historical soundtracks.
During this time, one of the most
successful independent game developers in the world, The Creative
Assembly, were looking for a composer for their new Total War franchise
and Jeff was the answer. In 2001 he was rewarded for their first
collaboration with a BAFTA (British Academy Award) for the Japanese themed
soundtrack to The Creative Assembly's Shogun: Total War - Warlord Edition.
The globally recognised BAFTA Interactive Awards reward the
achievements in innovation and creativity in the new media industries.
Jeff was once again nominated in 2005 for his original music
soundtrack for the computer game Rome: Total War.
The top-selling
game, garnered a string of awards which culminated in a cover feature in
December's issue of Time Magazine, two BAFTA nominations and three Academy
of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) nominations.
In
November 2006, the next and much anticipated instalment in the Total War
franchise, Medieval II:Total War, was released; once again accompanied
by a string of awards and industry ratings over 94%.
Jeff's music
has proven so popular that The Creative Assembly have released soundtrack
CDs of the Total War games.
Jeff is currently in pre-production for the
next game. In 2007 he completed the soundtrack for a feature film "Crooked Business" by
renowned Australian producer/director Chris Nyst.
Jeff and his wife Angela are also co-writing an
album.
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