007 First Light composers explain how they honoured the ‘legacy’ sound of Bond, while leaving ‘plenty of room for more modern elements’
- 007 First Light composers Joe Henson and Alexis Smith explain how they captured the “legacy” of Bond
- Henson says, “There was never really a question about how we would attack the project”
- Smith says the music “must make the player feel like they are inhabiting the universe of James Bond”
The composers for 007 First Light‘s soundtrack have shared how they combined their musical experience to capture the classic James Bond “legacy.”
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, musical duo The Flight, aka Joe Henson and Alexis Smith, explained how they adapted their signature synth and acoustic hybrid sounds to fit the traditional Bond style, with the former saying, “This score feels like the culmination of all the work we have done over the past decade or so.”
“Everything we have learned in this time has given us the tools we required to compose our score for First Light,” Henson said. “There was never really a question about how we would attack the project; our sound is what we do, and we were confident that it would marry with the more ‘legacy’ elements of Bond.”
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Smith added that the word “legacy” meant the inclusion of Brass, strings, orchestral, and jazz elements were also important to include, saying, “While it’s true that this is probably the score of ours that has gone furthest in that direction, there was still plenty of room for more modern elements.”
“That’s one of the great things about the James Bond franchise, and especially the music – it moves with the times, always changing, always balancing the classic sounds with a current edge,” Henson said.
The James Bond theme is one of the most recognizable pieces of cinema music of all time, so the composers needed to retain that cultural significance while also incorporating their own spin to make a sound that was “original” for the First Light.
When asked what characteristics the pair felt were vital, Smith said the music “must make the player feel like they are inhabiting the universe of James Bond.”
“It has to have spy craft, intrigue, action and romance,” he said. “I can’t think of any other projects we’ve done that manage to combine those four things!”
Henson continued, saying, “There’s also a Bond Sound. Even as we’re holding back on the themes that everyone knows, there is still a Sound. It’s hard to describe, but I think we began to develop an instinctive feel for when something was Bond or not. It isn’t just the iconic motifs; it’s a very particular use of brass and strings, guitars and other instruments.”
Smith added, “Maybe it’s growing up in 1980s Britain and watching the movies on the sofa with our dads every Sunday, but we seemed to know instantly whether something sounded Bond enough or not!”
The Flight’s soundtrack for 007 First Light is nominated in the Best Original Video Game Score category at the Ivors Composer Awards, which are taking place at Grosvenor House in London on November 17, 2026.
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