Watch Tushar Lall Craft an Epic Indian Rendition of Assassin’s Creed Track ‘Ezio’s Family’

Among the most emotive and mainstay pieces of music in the videogame world, Assassin’s Creed has often had the sonic motifs of the piece “Ezio’s Family” as a recurring theme in their franchise since 2009. The somber composition by Jesper Kyd often conveys a solemn sense of loneliness of the character Ezio Auditore de Firenze and has soprano vocals, violin and piano at its core.

It’s been in the minds and hearts of gamers and Assassin’s Creed fans for more than a decade now, and the videogame itself celebrates 15 years. Among those fans are composer-producer and keyboardist Tushar Lall, who counts the game as an integral part of his childhood. “I have literally grown up with the game and the upgraded versions of the song in subsequent sequels,” he says. More than a gamer, he examined “Ezio’s Family” as a piece of music, listening to the extended version of the track. “Ezio’s Family” was such a mainstay in Lall’s ear that when he was asked by game makers Ubisoft to make his rendition of the track, he didn’t even have to jog his memory by returning to Assassin’s Creed. “I didn’t have the need to revisit the game as this song has already been in my subconscious throughout my musical journey,” Lall says.

Joined by tabla player Ishaan Ghosh, sitarist Prasad Rahane, flutist Avadhoot Phadke, Vanraj Shastri on the sarangi and a stirring turn on the mohanveena by Ayush Sharma, Lall builds on his strengths as an Indian classical artist who clearly loves his orchestral scores and Western music. After all, Lall is best known for viral renditions of songs like Imagine Dragons’ hit “Believer,” Coldplay songs like “Paradise” and iconic themes from films such as Interstellar, Inception and the Star Wars franchise. Most recently, he created (and performed) an Indian version of the James Bond theme music for the documentary The Sound of 007, finding his name in the soundtrack credits alongside Radiohead, Billie Eilish and more.

Videogame music, however, holds a soft spot for Lall. He dissects “Ezio’s Family” when asked about what he found interesting about the piece. “It’s almost like a one-movement orchestral piece. The strong affinity towards ostinato is almost parallel to how structures in Hindustani classical work except we don’t have patterns there but single notes,” he says. On a larger level, he feels that more video game music should never be considered underrated, because it’s a companion to people (gamers) who are visually controlling outcomes and performing them in the course of playing the videogame. “A classic example of this adrenaline rush would be ‘Leap of Faith’ from Assassin’s Creed, it’s only wind and the sound of the eagle, but it will make you feel more immersive than any movie you’ll ever watch. So naturally, you’re in a way more bound to the videogame soundtracks.”

As a master at creating renditions and recreating well-known compositions, Lall has also been working as a composer in his own right, contributing to the movie score for Brahmastra and his own web series. “I would love to keep contributing to this space while exploring a lot of original stuff I’m doing for OTT and films as well,” he adds.

Watch Tushar Lall perform “Ezio’s Family” below.