Press
The video game Tales of Kenzera: Zau, made by Surgent Studios for EA, has earned several nominations across audio and music categories in the SCL, G.A.N.G. and ASCAP Composers' Choice awards 2025.
The audio design team was led by Robert Brown and the game was directed by Abubakar Salim. The game was released in April 2024.
Nainita Desai's music score has received the following nominations:
2025 G.A.N.G AWARDS: NOMINEE Best Music For An Indie Game
2025 G.A.N.G AWARDS: NOMINEE Best Original Soundtrack Album
2025 G.A.N.G AWARDS: NOMINEE Music Of The Year
2025 SCL AWARDS: NOMINEE Outstanding Original Score For Interactive Media
2025 ASCAP COMPOSERS' CHOICE AWARDS: NOMINEE Video Game Score Of The Year
- G.A.N.G. Award Noms - Variety
Desai combines orchestra, electronics, African traditional instrumentation and soaring vocalizations to convey the grief and ultimate joy unfolding in the game created by EA Originals and Surgent Studios. Unfolding in the beautiful, yet treacherous, lands of Kenzera, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU is inspired by Bantu tales, rich with untold lore of chaos and order, memories of ancient shamans, sacred spirits and fascinating creatures. Players can wield and expand cosmic powers from the Sun and Moon masks to defeat restless spirits in rhythmic combat; they can manipulate time and crystallize enemies using the Moon mask powers, or launch fiery spears with the Sun Mask – all in meticulously hand-crafted animations. Set to multi-award-winning composer Nainita Desai's enchanting original score, Zau’s quest to become a worthy spiritual healer takes place across several unique and vibrant environments.
Notes Desai: “What attracted me to the game is that even though it covers very deep areas of human relationships and is about the transformative power of love, grief and loss, the game is not gloomy or dark. In fact, it is wrapped in the rich colourful world of African Bantu mythology and the African diaspora of art, culture and music. We wanted a score steeped with orchestral elements fused with African traditional instrumentation with voices to bring in the feel of the ancestors and afrofuturism represented by very modern synths and beats.”
"A gorgeous and lively score from Nainita Desai helps breathe even more life into the rolling plains and dark caverns of Kenzera" - FORBES
"It’s all brought together by composer Nainita Desai’s evolving momentum-building melodies, which put the cherry on top of every death-defying sequence" - NME
Credits
Additional Music: Gijs van Amelsvoort
Orchestrator: Geoff Lawson
Score Copying/Music Prep: Tristan Noon
Score Mixer: Steve Parr
Session Prep: Jack McCartney
Soloists
Percussion: Sidiki Dembele
Fula Flute: Baba Galle Kante
Cello: Elliott Bailey
Kora: Radially Kouyate
London - Angel Studios
Scoring Engineer: Fiona Cruickshank
Choir: Voquality
Choir Master: Ken Burton
Derek Green, Kwaku Agyemang, Colin Anderson, Emmanuel Dadey, Yolanda Grant-Thompson, Mikaela Hoyte, Paul Lee, Gabriella Liandu, Themba Mvula, Emma Osei-lah, Shivaji Ratan, Arabella Rodrigo, Lydia Shariff, Cecilia Wickham, Philip Yeboah, Lufuno Ndou
Vienna - Synchron Stage Vienna
Scoring Engineer: Tristan Linton, Bernd Mazagg
Conductor: Bernhard Melbye Voss
Pro Tools Operator: Lukas Lützow, Erwin Wonisch, Martin Weismayr
Contractor: Marton Barka
Technical Manager: Roland Tscherne
Stage Monitor Mixer: Stephan Huber, Thomas Böck, Alexander-Maria Lehner
Music Prep & Librarian: Stefan Höll, Sugi Shin
Project Coordinator: Josy Svajda, Stefan Steinbauer
South Africa - The Loft Studios, Johannesburg
Choir Producer: JB Arthur
Choir: Anele Qwengana, Banzi Makhubu, Bongani Gama, Gugulethu Sibaya, Kate Nyamende, Senzeka Mnguni
Soloists: Sipho Mhlanga, Zamasina Jantjie
London - Abbey Road Studios
Scoring Engineer: Nick Wollage
Orchestra Contractor: Susie Gillis for Isobel Griffiths
Orchestra Leader: Everton Nelson
Conductor: Gavin Greenaway
Violin: Miles Brett, Elodie Chousmer-Howlles, Steven Crichlow, Sarah Daramy-Williams, Raja Halder, Marianne Haynes, Ian Humphries, Braimah Kanneh-Mason, Nicolette Kuo, Ronald Long, Sarah Martin, Kotono Sato, Jackie Shave
Cello: Ian Burdge, James Douglas, David Kadamukasa, Desmond Neysmith, Tamaki Sugimoto, Tony Woollard
Double Bass: Mary Scully, Evangeline Tang
Trumpet: Jason Evans, Kate Moore, Chris Storr
French Horn: Kira Doherty, Philippa Koushk-Jalali, Corinne Bailey, Richard Watkins
Trombone: Chris Augustine, Richard Henry, Becky Smith, Andy Wood
Tuba: Sasha Koushk-Jalali
