Kenneth Young, also known as Kenneth C. M. Young or Kenny Young, is a Scottish freelance audio director, composer, sound designer and writer.Burnard, Pamela (2012). "The Practice of Diverse Compositional Creativites". In Collins, David (Ed.) The Act of Musical Composition: Studies in the Creative Process, p. 241, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Farnham, England. ."Official website biography", gamesound.org, retrieved 4 November 2014. He is best known for his award-winning work on the audio experiences in Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway video game franchises, and the music of Team Asobi's Astro Bot games.

Early life and education

Young was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and had a strong musical upbringing, learning the violin from the age of six, but chose not to pursue performance as a careerBurnard, Pamela (2012). "Musical Creativities In Practice" p. 188, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. . and instead went on to study an undergraduate degree in Music Technology at the University of Edinburgh. That course introduced him to working creatively with sound and he went on to gain an MA in Sound Design at Bournemouth University"Audio Interviewing Audio: Tomoya Kishi and Kenneth Young", designingsound.org, retrieved 5 November 2014. for which he received a distinction.

Career

Young began his professional career in 2004 working as a junior sound designer in the centralised audio department of Sony London Studio. He worked on a broad range of different gaming experiences and hardware platforms, from action-adventure games such as The Getaway: Black Monday and Heavenly Sword to more family-friendly and innovative titles such as EyeToy: Kinetic.Kenneth Young (V) IMDB profile, imdb.com, retrieved 5 November 2014. He has described this period as "an apprenticeship" and a "baptism by fire"Burnard, Pamela (2012). "Musical Creativities In Practice" p. 189-190, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. . which stood him in good stead for his future game audio work.

Young left Sony in 2007 and joined startup video game developer Media Molecule to establish their audio department and "make LittleBigPlanet sound awesome".

The audio experience in LittleBigPlanet was very well received, garnering an exceptional eight GANG award nominations in 2009, more than any other game that year, and four academy nominations. Young and fellow composer Mat Clark won the GANG awards for Best Original Instrumental (for "The Gardens") and Best Interactive Score.

For LittleBigPlanet 2, Young built upon the eclecticism of the original's soundtrack by working with six other composers,"The Music of LittleBigPlanet 2", mediamolecule.com, retrieved 6 November 2014. the results of which achieved a nomination in 2012 for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences."AIAS 2012 Awards Category Details", interactive.org, retrieved 4 November 2014.

Tearaway's folk-infused soundtrack received a 2014 British Academy Video Games Award nomination for Original Music"BAFTA Games Awards 2014", awards.bafta.org, retrieved 4 November 2014. and is notable for its hand-made aesthetic, being written and performed entirely by Young and co-composer Brian D'Oliveira."Behind The Music of Tearaway", thevitalounge.net, retrieved 6 November 2014. Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton considered it one of the best video game soundtracks of 2013, writing "It's jarring to hear out-of-tune instruments in a video game; we've become so accustomed to pitch-perfect digital performances that any hint of humanity is startling. I'd like to be startled like this more often"."The Best Video Game Music Of 2013", kotaku.com, retrieved 4 November 2014.

On 27 February 2015, Young announced that he was leaving Media Molecule to pursue a freelance career."Tearaway Unfolded looks to be a summer release", destructoid.com, retrieved 3 October 2015.

Works Games

Game Year Platform Developer CreditAstro Bot2024PlayStation 5Team AsobiComposerAstro's Playroom2020PlayStation 5Team AsobiComposerKnights and Bikes2019PlayStation 4, Microsoft WindowsFoam SwordAudio designerAstro Bot Rescue Mission2018PlayStation VRTeam AsobiComposer WonderWorlds 2017 iOS Glowmade Composer, sound designer Tethered 2016 PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Secret Sorcery Composer, sound designer Tearaway Unfolded 2015 PlayStation 4 Media Molecule Audio director; composer with Brian D'Oliveira LittleBigPlanet 3 2014 PlayStation 3, 4 Sumo Digital Special thanks; composer with Si Begg, Chrome Canyon, Mat Clark, Brian D'Oliviera, The Emperor Machine, Jim Fowler, Joe Henson, Winifred Phillips, David Poore, Alexis Smith, Paul Thomson, Ugress Run Sackboy! Run! 2014 iOS, Android, PlayStation Vita Firesprite Composer with Christoffer Berg, Mat Clark, Joe Henson, Alexis Smith, Keith Tenniswood Tearaway 2013 PlayStation Vita Media Molecule Head of audio; composer with Brian D'Oliveira LittleBigPlanet Vita 2012 PlayStation Vita Double Eleven, Tarsier Studios Special thanks; composer with Todd Baker, Christoffer Berg, Joe Henson, Richard Jacques, Tobias Lilja, Dominic Parker, Winifred Phillips, David Poore, Alexis Smith, Stakula, Paul Thomson LittleBigPlanet Karting 2012 PlayStation 3 United Front Games Composer with Mat Clark, Winifred Phillips, Richard Jacques, Keith Tenniswood LittleBigPlanet 2 2011 PlayStation 3 Media Molecule Audio lead; composer with Baiyon, Richard Jacques, Keith Tenniswood, Daniel Pemberton, Winifred Phillips, Paul Thomson LittleBigPlanet 2008 PlayStation 3 Media Molecule Audio designer; composer with Mat Clark, Daniel Pemberton Heavenly Sword 2007 PlayStation 3 Ninja Theory Dialogue dubbing editor 24: The Game 2006 PlayStation 2 Cambridge Studio Cinematic Sound Designer Gangs of London 2006 PSP London Studio Sound designer Go! Sudoku 2006 PSP London Studio Composer with Alistair Lindsay, Dave Ranyard EyeToy: Kinetic Combat 2006 PlayStation 2 London Studio Sound designer EyeToy: Operation Spy 2005 PlayStation 2 London Studio Sound designer Fired Up 2005 PSP London Studio Sound designer EyeToy: Kinetic 2005 PlayStation 2 London Studio Sound designer; composer with Alistair Lindsay, Dave Ranyard The Getaway: Black Monday 2004 PlayStation 2 London Studio Sound designer EyeToy: Chat 2004 PlayStation 2 London Studio Sound designer

Albums

The official video game soundtrack album for Tearaway was released alongside the game as a pre-order bonus on 22 November 2013."Tearaway pre-order bonus includes soundtrack, exclusive skins and more", polygon.com, retrieved 4 November 2014. The album was later made available via the PlayStation Network."Tearaway Soundtrack Available Today", blog.us.playstation.com, retrieved 4 November 2014.

The official video game soundtrack album for Tearaway Unfolded was released alongside the game on 8 September 2015 via the PlayStation Network and on 16 October 2015 via iTunes."Tearaway® Unfolded Soundtrack", store.playstation.com, retrieved 3 October 2015."Tearaway® Unfolded (Original Soundtrack)", itunes.apple.com, retrieved 27 October 2015.

The official video game soundtrack album for Tethered was released alongside the game on 27 October 2016 via the PlayStation Network and on 27 February 2017 via Steam."Tethered (Original Soundtrack)", store.playstation.com, retrieved 8 March 2017."Tethered - Original Soundtrack", steampowered.com, retrieved 8 March 2017.

The official video game soundtrack album for WonderWorlds was released on 11 December 2017."WonderWorlds (Original Soundtrack)", itunes.apple.com, retrieved 11 December 2017.

The official video game soundtrack album for Astro Bot Rescue Mission was released on 30 January 2019,"Astro Bot Rescue Mission (Original Soundtrack)", spotify.com, retrieved 14 April 2020. with a vinyl album following in August 2020."ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission soundtrack releasing on vinyl", gamingaudionews.com/, retrieved 12 March 2021.

The official video game soundtrack album for Astro's Playroom was released on 12 March 2021."I’m Your GPU – Crafting the digitally-infused pop of Astro’s Playroom", blog.playstation.com, retrieved 12 March 2021.

The official video game soundtrack album for Astro Bot was released on 5 October 2024.

Writing

Young started the website gamesound.org in 2005 "as a useful resource for those who work in, aspire to work in, or wish to learn more about game sound". Most of his own writing featured on the site is focused on the subject of the use of voice in games."Gamesound.org Articles by Kenneth Young", gamesound.org, retrieved 6 November 2014. He has twice won the GANG Best Game Audio Article Publication or Broadcast award for his articles The Use of Voice in Portal 2 (2012) and The Mix in The Last of Us (2015)."GANG Awards 2014 Final Winners", http://www.audiogang.org, retrieved 3 October 2015.

He has also written for designingsound.org,"The Sound of Tearaway", designingsound.org, retrieved 6 November 2014. and contributed a chapter to the book Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games, edited by Renee Dunlop, entitled The Game Audio Pipeline."Production Pipeline Fundamentals for Film and Games - Editor and Contributor Information" , http://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com , retrieved 3 October 2015.

Young was co-writer of Tearaways and Tearaway Unfoldeds voice script with the game's lead creator, Rex Crowle.

Awards and nominations