14/07/2025 - Week 29
Let me introduce you to Kevin Penkin. One of the best film/anime music composers out there. He does not miss when it comes to creating beautiful and meaningful music which creates an atmosphere. His most famous music is Made In Abyss’s soundtrack, which is also how I found him.
He is such a big idol for me, and helped me shape my musical identity from start of my composition journey. When I wrote orchestral music, one of my main goals is to create an ambience just like him. My first goal is to reach his quality, and perhaps, I can love my music in the fragment of his.
Funfact, my ForbiddenFlowerGarden is a direct reference to the Kevin Penkin’s Made In Abyss music. Which concepts and the story lines starts as same, and probably continues as same.
I recently listened his MIA season2 work s, and I will suggest one piece, VOH. Vocalist absolutely kills it. I have never heard a man voice that high and unique! This uniqueness quite fits the ambience of the anime. With its bizarre harmonization, constantly repeating structure, this creates a sort of illusion.
I recently listened his MIA season2 work s, and I will suggest one piece, VOH. Vocalist absolutely kills it. I have never heard a man voice that high and unique! This uniqueness quite fits the ambience of the anime. With its bizarre harmonization, constantly repeating structure, this creates a sort of illusion.
He uses a piano with a very wide reverb, which is my favorite thing to do!
He uses a piano with a very wide reverb, which is my favorite thing to do!
What blew my mind is, on the middle parts, he is using this very aggressive, stretchy synths, and it sounds like an animal growling. Strange and moves freely… At my first listen, I was like “HUH, That’s new!”. But I started like it. Then I love it. Then I start to I have to write more music just to be %10 of him…
The last climax is amazing. It is very lengthy, while repeating, it never bores. It is like watching an action film, it never stops, it keeps rolling! Till the very satisfying cadence and ending. In this climax, sometimes the voice, sometimes orchestra, sometimes both gets an artificial distortion, which keeps sounds interesting.
Ending is reminding me Astroneer soundtracks, which I love.
I love everything about this. Thank you Penkin! Then you for replenish my fate in this toxic industry. Thank you for guiding me, being this brightly north-star.