Kyle Ward
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article may not meet the general notability guideline or one of the following specific guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merge or ultimately deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion. This article has been tagged since March 2008. |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Kyle Ward | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kyle Ward |
| Also known as | KeeL, Inspector K, KaW, ☺, Banzai, among others |
| Born | July 4, 1985 |
| Origin | Vancouver, Washington |
| Genre(s) | electronic music |
| Years active | 1999–Present |
| Website | www.kyle-ward.com |
Kyle Andrew Ward (born July 4, 1985), is an electronic music composer from Vancouver, Washington who produces songs in many different genres, including dance, techno, trance, happy hardcore, and drum and bass. He is best known for his music on music video games In The Groove and Pump It Up Pro.
Ward began playing piano at age 5 via the Suzuki method (by ear). He soon integrated his love for technology through keyboards, computers, and all forms of electronic instruments.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Pseudonyms
Ward uses many different pseudonyms to sign his music. He has a different pseudonym for each genre of music he works in:
- KaW (from Kyle Andrew Ward) is the most common of Kyle's pseudonyms. Music signed "KaW" is typically dance/trance, tends to be moody and sometimes dark, as well as often melodic. Dawn is an example of KaW's musical style. KaW is also used when referring collectively to all of Kyle's work.
- Inspector K is used for faster paced, more aggressive techno music, usually with an emphasis on drum and bass. Liquid Moon is an example of Inspector K's musical style.
- ☺ (Smiley) songs are happy hardcore, and are thus very fast paced and are uplifting if not imposingly happy. Delirium is an example of ☺'s musical style.
- Banzai is used for Tribal/House music. Banzai songs tend to be slower paced, and feature ethnically inspired melodies. Exotica is an example of Banzai's musical style.
- KBit songs tend towards Rave/Techno styles, and often feature 8-bit sounds. Robotix is an example of KBit's musical style.
- Symphonius is used for songs inspired by or based on classical music. Symphonius has only ever produced one song, Tell (a synthesised remix of the William Tell Overture).
- OscillatorX is the name used by Kyle and fellow musicians John Mendenhall and/or Coconut when they collaborate. DJ Superstar is an example of OscillatorX's musical style.
- KeeL is an old label Kyle used to put on all of his songs before he developed a multi-pseudonym system. KeeL is sometimes used instead of KaW to refer to Kyle's work collectively, especially on web forums.
On occasion, Kyle mixes musical styles in his songs. Euphoria has trance influences and an emphasis on melody, but is more cheerful than most KaW songs, and so was signed "KaW feat. ☺". Another song, Duality, alternates between styles rather than mixing them and is signed "KaW vs ☺ vs Inspector K".
[edit] Video game development
Kyle Ward was the main music composer and sound producer of RoXoR Games' dance arcade series, In The Groove.[2] In the Groove and its sequel, In the Groove 2 features music from KaW, Inspector K, ☺, Banzai, KBit, and Symphonius. However RoXoR since lost the rights to In the Groove and it is unknown whether In the Groove 3 (which was well into development at the time of the acquisition) will be completed and released.
Kyle is essentially Roxor Games' counterpart to Naoki Maeda, a composer who works for Konami producing songs for use in their Bemani line of rhythm games (mainly Beatmania IIDX and, more importantly, Dance Dance Revolution, with which In The Groove competed). Both produced a significant proportion of the songs for their respective games, and both do so under a variety of pseudonyms which change depending on the style of the music. Kyle lists Naoki as a musical influence on his website.
In 2006, Ward announced that he has moved on from Roxor for Andamiro, where he has participated in the development of Pump It Up Pro.
[edit] Discography
- Urban Comatose (2006)
- Synthsations (2003)
- Caddywhompus (1999)
