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Yoko Kanno Vocalist Raj Ramayya and Composer Kevin Penkin Compose Insert Song for Made in Abyss Anime Series

Indo-Canadian singer-songwriter features in song during series' first episode

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA – July 12th, 2017 - Music production company Strawberry Hill Music is pleased to announce that singer-songwriter Raj Ramayya features as a vocalist in the song “Underground River”, featured in the first episode of the 2017 anime Made in Abyss. The song's lyrics were also written by Ramayya, in the composition written by Australian composer Kevin Penkin (Under the Dog, NORN9 - Norn+Nonette). Produced by music company Irma la Douce, the song plays during the opening credits of the Kinema Citrus TV series released for the 2017 summer season.

The recording session for the song was done online and was coordinated between three countries in real time; Tokyo, Japan (Irma la Douce), London, England (Penkin) & San Francisco, CA, USA (Ramayya). In San Francisco, Brazilian composer and audio director Theo Nogueira aided in the production of the song, as well as Ramayya's vocal recording. The series' music producer Hiromitsu Iijima was also present during the session from Tokyo.

In the story of Made in Abyss, an enormous pit and cave system called the "Abyss" is the only unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures reside in its depths, and it is full of precious relics that current humans are unable to make. The mysteries of the Abyss fascinate humans, and they head down to explore. The adventurers who venture into pit are known as "Cave Raiders." A little orphan girl named Rico lives in the town of Ōsu on the edge of the Abyss. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Rico starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.

Made in Abyss premiered on July 7th in Japan. The series is currently simulcasting on Anime Strike, an online video streaming platform of Amazon Prime, in the U.S. as well as “certain other countries through select digital outlets”. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series and is planning a home video release in the future.

On August 19th, 2016, Ramayya released a cover version of the Pokémon theme song to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, and a remixed version by the late James Laurence of the EDM group Friendzone was released on December 16th later on that year and dubbed the LVC “Sun & Moon” Remix in recognition of the latest instalments of the Nintendo handheld game series, Pokémon Sun Version & Pokémon Moon Version. On February 28th earlier this year, Ramayya released “Butter-Fly (Dual World Version)”, a cover of the Digimon Adventure opening theme originally recorded by the late J-Pop artist Kōji Wada, and later a cover of the Power Rangers theme song “Go Go Power Rangers” on March 24th. The most recent cover released by Ramayya was “Lithium Flower” from the anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on March 31st. All songs are available for download and streaming now on digital music services worldwide.

ABOUT RAJ RAMAYYA: Raj Ramayya is an Indo-Canadian singer, composer and lyricist based in Marin County, California. His claim to anime fame would be his musical collaborations with famed Japanese composer Yoko Kanno as a member of The Seatbelts. Ramayya sang the opening credits song "Ask DNA" and wrote the lyrics for "Cosmic Dare (Pretty with a Pistol)" from the fan favourite feature film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, and both sang and wrote the lyrics for "Strangers" from the anime series Wolf's Rain. Not limited to music in anime, he has also worked on songs for video games from the likes of Konami, Sega, and CAPCOM.

Ramayya has been featured as a guest vocalist/composer with several distinguished artists, ranging from talented composers Yoko Kanno (Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain) and Tatsuya Oe (Captain Funk, Hotei), to gifted lyricists Chris Mosdell (Eric Clapton, YMO) and Ron Sexsmith, and everyone in-between. His work has won him multiple awards and critical acclaim from around the world.

Among his other projects are the alternative Indian-influenced folk rock band "The Beautiful Losers", the anime cover band “Raj and the Zen Masters”, the electronic Indian fusion music project "Bhang Lassi", and session singing for products ranging from Asahi Beer and KFC, to Toyota and Coca-Cola. He is also a guest vocalist with three different Japanese electronic music groups; Captain Funk, Akakage, and Studio Apartment, with SA's song "Strawberry Rainbow" (which Ramayya both sang and wrote lyrics for) hitting #1 on the iTunes Japan charts.

For those wishing to connect with Raj, visit his website www.rajramayya.com, like his Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/rajramayyamusic), and follow Raj on Twitter @rajramayya.

ABOUT KEVIN PENKIN: Australian composer Kevin Penkin has developed into an exciting young voice in the video game and anime industry over the last few years. His work for soundtracks such as Under the Dog and Defender's Quest, along with his collaborations with Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, have fuelled his young career into an eclectic range of projects ranging from Sci-fi Thrillers to Visual Novel adventures.  ​ Kevin graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2015 with a master's degree in Composition for Screen. Since graduating he has collaborated with various orchestras and groups of musicians on soundtracks such as the F.A.M.E.S Project and the Synchron Stage in Vienna.

Currently residing in London, Kevin has an exciting future ahead in composition, and he looks forward to the music to come.

For those wishing to connect with Kevin, visit his website www.kpenkmusic.com, like his Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/kevinpenkincomposer), and follow Kevin on Twitter @kevinpenkin.

ABOUT STRAWBERRY HILL MUSIC: Strawberry Hill Music is a music production company based in San Francisco, CA. They specialize in music recording and production/post-production for film, television, animation, video games, commercials, audiobooks, and web-original series. They also produce and engineer music for artists such as Amanda Abizaid, Marsha Yuan, and Damon Mahoney (Three of Swords).

For more information, please visit SHM's official website (www.strawberryhillmusic.com), and follow them on social media through Facebook (www.Facebook.com/strawberryhillm) and Twitter @StrawberryHillM.


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