Kevin Penkin
Kevin Penkin (born 22 May 1992[2]) is a British-Australian anime and video game music composer. He is best known for composing the Crunchyroll Anime Award-winning score of Made in Abyss.[3]
Kevin Penkin | |
---|---|
Born | United Kingdom[1] | 22 May 1992
Origin | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Years active | 2011–present |
Website | www |
Biography
Kevin Penkin grew up in Perth, Australia.[4] Penkin's interest in game music came from listening to the "Phendrana Drifts" theme from Metroid Prime;[4] in a 2012 interview, he referred to the theme's electronic synths and acoustic instruments as "absolute bliss".[4]
Penkin began his career with composition credits in the 2011 short films Play Lunch and The Adventures of Chipman and Biscuit Boy.[4] In the same year, Penkin composed the soundtrack of the video game Jūzaengi: Engetsu Sangokuden (十三支演義~偃月三国伝~); this soundtrack represented Penkin's first collaboration with Nobuo Uematsu.[4] Penkin has continued to collaborate with Uematsu in titles such as Norn9 and Defender’s Quest II: Mists of Ruin.[5]
In 2015, Penkin graduated from the Royal College of Music with a Master's degree in Composition for Screen.[6]
In 2016, Penkin collaborated with Kinema Citrus on the Norn9 anime and the Under the Dog original video animation soundtracks.[7] Penkin's relationship with Kinema Citrus continued through to 2017 for the soundtrack of Made in Abyss,[7] winning the 2017 Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Score with it.[3] In 2018, Penkin composed the score for the video game Florence.[8] Penkin composed the music for Kinema Citrus' adaptation of The Rising of the Shield Hero and NetEase's VR game Nostos in 2019.[9] He composed the score for the 2020 anime adaptation of the South Korean webtoon Tower of God.[10]
Penkin now lives in the United Kingdom.[7]
Works
Anime
Year | Anime | Notes |
---|---|---|
2016 | Norn9 | |
Under the Dog | OVA | |
2017 | Made in Abyss | won Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Score 2017 |
2019 | The Rising of the Shield Hero | nominated for Crunchyroll Anime Award for Best Score 2019 |
2020 | Tower of God |
Video games
Year | Game | Notes |
---|---|---|
2011 | Jūzaengi: Engetsu Sangokuden | with Nobuo Uematsu |
2012 | Norn9 | with Nobuo Uematsu |
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten | ||
2013 | Deemo | composed song “I Race the Dawn” featuring Michiyo Honda |
2015 | Implosion: Never Lose Hope | composed with cutscene music |
2017 | Kieru[7] | |
Defender's Quest II: Mists of Ruin | with Nobuo Uematsu | |
2018 | Florence | |
2019 | Nostos | |
Rebel Cops | with Ben Matthews | |
2020 | Necrobarista[11] |
Movies
Year | Movies |
---|---|
2018 | Implosion: ZERO_DAY |
2019 | Made in Abyss: Journey's Dawn |
Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight | |
2020 | Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul |
References
- Penkin, Kevin. "Kevin Penkin Long Interview". Made in Abyss (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Shimpei Yamashita; Hiromitsu Iijima. Kadokawa Corporation (republished by Sentai Filmworks).
- Penkin, Kevin (21 May 2018). "Apparently in some places in the world I'm already 26. That's a laugh". Twitter. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- Trumbore, Dave (26 February 2018). "Crunchyroll Anime Awards Winners Revealed: Who Took Home the Big Prize?". Collider. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- Greening, Chris (27 February 2014). "Kevin Penkin Interview: Writing Soundtracks with Nobuo". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- Doucet, Lars. "Nobuo Uematsu to work on Defender's Quest 2". Fortress of Doors. Doucet, Lars. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- "Biography". Kevin Penkin. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- May, Callum (4 October 2017). "Interview: Made in Abyss Composer Kevin Penkin". Anime News Network. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- Remington, Kate. "Kevin Penkin's Intimate, Conversational Soundtrack For 'Florence'". www.wshu.org. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- Penkin, Kevin (2018-08-22). "So, speaking of more to come... honoured to announce I composed the music for my first VR title, @nostosgame Nostos is an VRMMO Sandbox game and the main theme features the incredible singer of Nier Automata, Emi Evans!". @kevinpenkin. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- "Crunchyroll Reveals Tower of God Anime's Video, Cast, Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- Mejias, Nicole (November 27, 2018). "Composer Kevin Penkin on Symphonic Metal and Flamenco Music Influences in The Rising of the Shield Hero, and More!". Crunchyroll. Retrieved April 17, 2020.