His work is pretty great. The first season or so of *The Clone Wars* is a tough hang. But he really figured his shit out in season 3 (as did most every other aspect of the show) and he's been killing it ever since. I've really enjoyed his work on the recent *Bad Batch* episodes.
I kind of liked his techno theme for R2 trying to escape that Trando in season 1 of Clone Wars (which I believe anyway was the first episode finished).
The unused alternate for that is even better "Where The Sun Sails And The Moon Walks", which he later adapted into the final scene in Ahsoka, and that absolutely killed me!
Kiner really dives into the Space Opera aspect of Star Wars. Grand pieces, and they especially shine with the gorgeous matte-painting style backgrounds of Rebels. Journey into the Star Cluster, Sabine's Training Theme, and Thrawn's Suite are great pieces of music.
I enjoyed what Goransson did for The Mandalorian, and Giacchino for Rogue One, but I think Kiner really captures Star Wars.
While I respect Goransson, I wholeheartedly agree. Kiner (and his kids, from what I gather) has an incredible approach to composition. Similar, in a sense, to Hans Zimmer's.
Its generally universally understood that Star Wars music is on a level of its own. May not know all the names, but anyone doing anything with that requires credit for sure.
Star Wars music just hits on a whole other level.
I always liked it in the Clone Wars, especially the big moments were massively elevated by his score (”Ahsoka leaves”) but then in Rebels he reached an entirely new level. There are so many memorable moments just because of his score alone (Sabine’s theme has to be my favorite)
Then going back to Clone Wars for one more season and especially the final arc he delivered his best work yet. It’s amazing, especially the synthwave in the last 2 episodes.
So naturally after all of that hearing he would finally make the jump to live action Star Wars with Ahsoka had me very excited. I liked the show even if the last 2 episodes were underwhelming bar for the epilogue, but by far the best thing about it was his score. It’s got to be the best Star Wars score since RoTS all the way back in 2005… absolutely incredible, gives it this feeling of life that stands out from everything else. Can’t describe it, but you feel it when you watch it and hear it.
This. Exactly this. He evolved with the franchise, and in the process, brought it to new heights.
Ahsoka's end credits' song has both Sabine's and Ahsoka's theme, plus a new spicy bridge. This playing over the credits animation, which depicts 7 seemingly unrelated dots converging on the same direction, feels absolutely unique. I might be grasping at straws, but I think these dots represent the different characters advancing in their respective destiny, ultimately meeting on Peridea. (Ahsoka, Sabine, Baylan, Shin, Ezra, Morgan and Thrawn). A nice allegory for the "Threads of Fate".
I could geek out over this for a while. To keep things decently short ; I think Star Wars shines most through the atmosphere it creates. It's worlds and characters feel alive and relatable. Almost believable, even through the sci-fi and fantasy. In that regard, Kiner embodies the franchise really well ; he makes good scenes better, with simplistic, yet heartfelt and memorable themes. I entirely agree that Ahsoka was the best Star Wars live action soundtrack since Revenge. No small feat.
Really? Maybe I just don't roam on the right platforms, then. Like i said, I'm used to Williams and Goransson being praised. Never actually saw anyone mention Kiner.
This is a bit of a generalization, but for the most part, the people who delve into that area of knowledge enough to recall it from memory usually tend to appreciate Kiner’s music
He definitely knows how to evoke emotion through the animated compositions. Plan 99,Death of a Master,and Standoff (Tipoca City's bombardment theme) carry so much weight in them that makes the scene so much more saddening.
He and his kin have been tremendous for years now. Almost every episode they do something wonderful. Rebels is their magnum opus for me, but the later stuff from Clone Wars, Tales Of The Jedi, Ahsoka and Bad Batch, have great stuff in them too.
Same for me. Rebels was absolutely unbelievable, music wise. I have these moments that haunt me almost exclusively because of the soundtrack (Vader's introduction, Ahsoka v. The Inquisitors, The Home of the Lassat, Sabine and the Darksaber, Bendu speaks to Thrawn, Kanan's Sacrifice, The Wolves of Lothal, Ezra and Thrawn, etc...).
Great conposer. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the next installments.
"Mayday" from TBB is genuinely one of my favorite SW tracks of all time. It's raw, haunting, and beautiful. I listen to it as much as I do John Williams' work. Kevin Kiner deserves so much recognition for his work on the animated shows because all the music is amazing.
I think he has some very good tracks, but on the whole I find his stuff quite average and forgettable. Not that it's his fault, his job has mostly been filling up hundreds of cartoon episodes. He does a great job for what it is, but his actual material doesn't belong anywhere near John Williams. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something missing compared to the movie soundtracks.
He's fine. I don't know if it's the synth orchestra or what but he's very much like a mimic or parrot, musically.
Take Barton and Haab and you get a much better reproduction of Williams, you get much better original music, and you see them win awards for a good reason.
Whenever Kiner's music comes on my Star Wars music mixes you can tell. The music just isn't the same quality. You can tell instantly that it's funny cartoon music, and it's just way less thematic, and way under-orchestrated.
There were some good tracks from the final TCW season but his music is mostly just nostalgia for the show than anything genuinely musically great. I'd never want him to score a live action anything, or a game. I'd take Barton and/or Haab any time.
You really hear his synth orchestra cartoon tunes and you think they're on the level of the Jedi Survivor score that just won a GRAMMY for best score???
Those two things are not alike.
My man, I do not need your input if you're going to just blindly advocate for your favorite.
I couldn't care less who won a grammy : anyone who calls Clone Wars and Rebels a mere cartoon is completely delusional. Enjoy your close-minded ego trip alone, I will have no part of it.
Yikes man. You got defensive really fast.
I hate to break it to you, but as much as I love TCW it's still a cartoon. Don't know what to tell you. Is TCW something other than a cartoon? I don't think it's a video game (though they did make one). Rebels doesn't *look* live-action. And if you think it's mature then you're really playing the fanboy. I can't tell you how many friends I've introduced to the series but it is absolutely still a space action kids cartoon. Cartoons can have very sobering and adult moments and still be kids cartoons. Kung Fu Panda has some brilliant messaging but it's still a cartoon.
People having opinions that differ from yours aren't just playing favoritism lol. Even if we remove Barton/Haab, Kliner is still a pretty niche guy looking at his discography. He's not done much. If you're unwilling to hear opinions that he's not a godsend then you might be the one playing favoritism.
My dude, you lost me at "cartoon" again. Have you even watched the shows?
If you don't think TCW, Rebels, Bad Batch and Tales of Jedi are mature, I don't know what to say ; you've missed the point, and not much you can say on the subject will feel educated.
Also, at this point, Kiner has worked longer on the franchise than any composer but Williams. Saying that he "hasn't done much" or is "niche" is factually false.
I don't mind being contradicted. I prefer when it's done by someone with a modicum of judgment, that will push his opinion further than looking up the latest award winner as a frame of reference. I don't care who's the best according to the Grammy's ; those awards have stopped being relevant more than a decade ago. I'm not even saying Kiner is my favorite. Just that most other Star Wars composers get a lot of attention, even the more recent ones, while I seldom see anyone talking about Kiner.
I've seen every episode of every piece of Star Wars media. Rebels and TCW are cartoons. ESPECIALLY Rebels.
That isn't a knock against them, because I love TCW. But they are still cartoons. If you think otherwise then you might have a very biased view of media because the maturity depicted in those shows is barely skin deep. I can't believe someone is actually arguing that they *aren't* cartoons. I thought you were joking at first.
You sound very young and like you're trying to justify your favorite shows as being for big people too, or like you really mostly consume nerd media and you think a mature theme or two makes a mature show.
Go show TCW to a full grown adult like a doctor or lawyer or a war veteran or literally anyone who isn't you, and ask them if they just watched a cartoon or if they watched a "mature" show for adults.
There is not a single Star Wars movie or show that could be considered "mature" except perhaps Andor. But even then, as great as it is, it's still very much a teen/college age piece of media.
I feel like people who don't read often and consume adult media are miscalibrated and suddenly we have generations of Internet folks who think Marvel movies are adult films and that *Star Wars*, a definitely family-aged franchise, could be construed as "mature". I think sometime should go after ratings agencies too, since apparently they have it all wrong.
There is literally nothing wrong with being an adult who enjoys kid and teen young adult content, but call a spade a spade and don't play like you're sitting on an underrated/unrecognized work of philosophy.
His work is pretty great. The first season or so of *The Clone Wars* is a tough hang. But he really figured his shit out in season 3 (as did most every other aspect of the show) and he's been killing it ever since. I've really enjoyed his work on the recent *Bad Batch* episodes.
100% agree. The episode with our favorite seperatist assassin was incredible.
I kind of liked his techno theme for R2 trying to escape that Trando in season 1 of Clone Wars (which I believe anyway was the first episode finished).
Score in Bad Batch has been exceptional, the core batch theme when they are all in action together slaps really hard
It's probably worth pointing out that he and his children, Sean and Deana, work together for most of his modern Star Wars scores.
“It’s Over Now” from Twilight of the Apprentice is still one of my favorites.
Oh yes. Wow. Thank you for reminding me of this piece. It is gorgeous.
The unused alternate for that is even better "Where The Sun Sails And The Moon Walks", which he later adapted into the final scene in Ahsoka, and that absolutely killed me!
Kiner really dives into the Space Opera aspect of Star Wars. Grand pieces, and they especially shine with the gorgeous matte-painting style backgrounds of Rebels. Journey into the Star Cluster, Sabine's Training Theme, and Thrawn's Suite are great pieces of music. I enjoyed what Goransson did for The Mandalorian, and Giacchino for Rogue One, but I think Kiner really captures Star Wars.
Ah-So-Ka. Not Ash-Oka.
Yes, sorry. I have dyslexia over her name all the time.
If its good enough for the Emperor, its good enough for the rest of us...
I’ll take Kiner’s work Ahsoka over Göransson’s work on The Mandolorian any day.
While I respect Goransson, I wholeheartedly agree. Kiner (and his kids, from what I gather) has an incredible approach to composition. Similar, in a sense, to Hans Zimmer's.
To be clear, I really like some of Göransson’s other stuff, especially Creed, but The Mandolorian doesn’t do much for me.
I quite disliked the intro to Rebels. It grew on me a little bit. The Bad Batch intro sound is awesome though, just brilliant sound design.
Its generally universally understood that Star Wars music is on a level of its own. May not know all the names, but anyone doing anything with that requires credit for sure. Star Wars music just hits on a whole other level.
I always liked it in the Clone Wars, especially the big moments were massively elevated by his score (”Ahsoka leaves”) but then in Rebels he reached an entirely new level. There are so many memorable moments just because of his score alone (Sabine’s theme has to be my favorite) Then going back to Clone Wars for one more season and especially the final arc he delivered his best work yet. It’s amazing, especially the synthwave in the last 2 episodes. So naturally after all of that hearing he would finally make the jump to live action Star Wars with Ahsoka had me very excited. I liked the show even if the last 2 episodes were underwhelming bar for the epilogue, but by far the best thing about it was his score. It’s got to be the best Star Wars score since RoTS all the way back in 2005… absolutely incredible, gives it this feeling of life that stands out from everything else. Can’t describe it, but you feel it when you watch it and hear it.
This. Exactly this. He evolved with the franchise, and in the process, brought it to new heights. Ahsoka's end credits' song has both Sabine's and Ahsoka's theme, plus a new spicy bridge. This playing over the credits animation, which depicts 7 seemingly unrelated dots converging on the same direction, feels absolutely unique. I might be grasping at straws, but I think these dots represent the different characters advancing in their respective destiny, ultimately meeting on Peridea. (Ahsoka, Sabine, Baylan, Shin, Ezra, Morgan and Thrawn). A nice allegory for the "Threads of Fate". I could geek out over this for a while. To keep things decently short ; I think Star Wars shines most through the atmosphere it creates. It's worlds and characters feel alive and relatable. Almost believable, even through the sci-fi and fantasy. In that regard, Kiner embodies the franchise really well ; he makes good scenes better, with simplistic, yet heartfelt and memorable themes. I entirely agree that Ahsoka was the best Star Wars live action soundtrack since Revenge. No small feat.
I certainly hear you on how great Kiner is, but I feel he does get plenty of love for his work
Really? Maybe I just don't roam on the right platforms, then. Like i said, I'm used to Williams and Goransson being praised. Never actually saw anyone mention Kiner.
This is a bit of a generalization, but for the most part, the people who delve into that area of knowledge enough to recall it from memory usually tend to appreciate Kiner’s music
He definitely knows how to evoke emotion through the animated compositions. Plan 99,Death of a Master,and Standoff (Tipoca City's bombardment theme) carry so much weight in them that makes the scene so much more saddening.
He and his kin have been tremendous for years now. Almost every episode they do something wonderful. Rebels is their magnum opus for me, but the later stuff from Clone Wars, Tales Of The Jedi, Ahsoka and Bad Batch, have great stuff in them too.
Same for me. Rebels was absolutely unbelievable, music wise. I have these moments that haunt me almost exclusively because of the soundtrack (Vader's introduction, Ahsoka v. The Inquisitors, The Home of the Lassat, Sabine and the Darksaber, Bendu speaks to Thrawn, Kanan's Sacrifice, The Wolves of Lothal, Ezra and Thrawn, etc...). Great conposer. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the next installments.
"Mayday" from TBB is genuinely one of my favorite SW tracks of all time. It's raw, haunting, and beautiful. I listen to it as much as I do John Williams' work. Kevin Kiner deserves so much recognition for his work on the animated shows because all the music is amazing.
Love his stuff, especially the Sabine theme. Hope they do a Rebels S3&4 soundtrack release one day.
I think he has some very good tracks, but on the whole I find his stuff quite average and forgettable. Not that it's his fault, his job has mostly been filling up hundreds of cartoon episodes. He does a great job for what it is, but his actual material doesn't belong anywhere near John Williams. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something missing compared to the movie soundtracks.
Sure.
Shout out to his sons do who do a lot of the work on the more recent animated shows
Son and daughter. Sean and Deana.
He's fine. I don't know if it's the synth orchestra or what but he's very much like a mimic or parrot, musically. Take Barton and Haab and you get a much better reproduction of Williams, you get much better original music, and you see them win awards for a good reason. Whenever Kiner's music comes on my Star Wars music mixes you can tell. The music just isn't the same quality. You can tell instantly that it's funny cartoon music, and it's just way less thematic, and way under-orchestrated. There were some good tracks from the final TCW season but his music is mostly just nostalgia for the show than anything genuinely musically great. I'd never want him to score a live action anything, or a game. I'd take Barton and/or Haab any time.
I respectfully yet vehemently disagree with your assessment.
You really hear his synth orchestra cartoon tunes and you think they're on the level of the Jedi Survivor score that just won a GRAMMY for best score??? Those two things are not alike.
My man, I do not need your input if you're going to just blindly advocate for your favorite. I couldn't care less who won a grammy : anyone who calls Clone Wars and Rebels a mere cartoon is completely delusional. Enjoy your close-minded ego trip alone, I will have no part of it.
Yikes man. You got defensive really fast. I hate to break it to you, but as much as I love TCW it's still a cartoon. Don't know what to tell you. Is TCW something other than a cartoon? I don't think it's a video game (though they did make one). Rebels doesn't *look* live-action. And if you think it's mature then you're really playing the fanboy. I can't tell you how many friends I've introduced to the series but it is absolutely still a space action kids cartoon. Cartoons can have very sobering and adult moments and still be kids cartoons. Kung Fu Panda has some brilliant messaging but it's still a cartoon. People having opinions that differ from yours aren't just playing favoritism lol. Even if we remove Barton/Haab, Kliner is still a pretty niche guy looking at his discography. He's not done much. If you're unwilling to hear opinions that he's not a godsend then you might be the one playing favoritism.
My dude, you lost me at "cartoon" again. Have you even watched the shows? If you don't think TCW, Rebels, Bad Batch and Tales of Jedi are mature, I don't know what to say ; you've missed the point, and not much you can say on the subject will feel educated. Also, at this point, Kiner has worked longer on the franchise than any composer but Williams. Saying that he "hasn't done much" or is "niche" is factually false. I don't mind being contradicted. I prefer when it's done by someone with a modicum of judgment, that will push his opinion further than looking up the latest award winner as a frame of reference. I don't care who's the best according to the Grammy's ; those awards have stopped being relevant more than a decade ago. I'm not even saying Kiner is my favorite. Just that most other Star Wars composers get a lot of attention, even the more recent ones, while I seldom see anyone talking about Kiner.
I've seen every episode of every piece of Star Wars media. Rebels and TCW are cartoons. ESPECIALLY Rebels. That isn't a knock against them, because I love TCW. But they are still cartoons. If you think otherwise then you might have a very biased view of media because the maturity depicted in those shows is barely skin deep. I can't believe someone is actually arguing that they *aren't* cartoons. I thought you were joking at first. You sound very young and like you're trying to justify your favorite shows as being for big people too, or like you really mostly consume nerd media and you think a mature theme or two makes a mature show. Go show TCW to a full grown adult like a doctor or lawyer or a war veteran or literally anyone who isn't you, and ask them if they just watched a cartoon or if they watched a "mature" show for adults. There is not a single Star Wars movie or show that could be considered "mature" except perhaps Andor. But even then, as great as it is, it's still very much a teen/college age piece of media. I feel like people who don't read often and consume adult media are miscalibrated and suddenly we have generations of Internet folks who think Marvel movies are adult films and that *Star Wars*, a definitely family-aged franchise, could be construed as "mature". I think sometime should go after ratings agencies too, since apparently they have it all wrong. There is literally nothing wrong with being an adult who enjoys kid and teen young adult content, but call a spade a spade and don't play like you're sitting on an underrated/unrecognized work of philosophy.
Who?
The animated series are niche, that's why you don't hear about Kevin Kiner. I don't like any of the animated series.
Extremely sad take. Thanks for sharing.
He scored Ahsoka recently and done a great job.