Low Roar

Low Roar, the musical vision of Ryan Karazija, turns moments of solitude into airy, ambient soundscapes materialising into anthemic melodies.

Born in the Bay Area, Karazija spent his formative years playing in bands around Northern California before hopping a plane to Iceland where he relocated in 2010. That year, he recorded Low Roar’s self-titled debut in his Reykjavik kitchen. Quietly building buzz, he cut the critically acclaimed follow-up, 0, in a converted garage during 2014 before gracing the stages of Eurosonic, Airwaves France, The Great Escape, Iceland Airwaves and beyond.

Along the way, iconic Japanese video game creator Hideo Kojima heard Low Roar’s 0 playing while visiting a record store in Reykjavik. The video game legend was smitten, and Low Roar’s “I’ll Keep Coming” and “Easy Way Out” soundtracked the two high-profile trailers for Kojima’s Death Stranding video game starring Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen and Guillermo del Toro.

Karazija spent most of 2016 traveling to Iceland, Sweden, Poland and Mexico before settling in Warsaw. During this time, he carefully assembled what would become his third full-length record, Once In A Long Long While.

In the midst of his travels, he entered a London studio with longtime collaborator Mike Lindsay (Tunng). Recording wrapped in Wales in the studio of producer/mixer Andrew Scheps (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Hozier). Ultimately, Once In A Long Long While reflects Low Roar at Ryan’s rawest.

However, the best was yet to come. While in Iceland in 2016, Hideo Koijma, a living legend from the video game world, discovered Low Roar’s music while shopping, and later personally selected the music for his game Death Stranding. Low Roar’s songs were featured in the game’s first trailer, released in 2016. After its premiere, the American-Icelandic project was discovered by hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world.

However, the best was yet to come. While in Iceland in 2016, Hideo Kojima, a living legend from the video game world, discovered Low Roar’s music… while shopping. Sony then contacted Karazija, but all the musician heard at the time was that the Japanese company wanted to use one of the Low Roar songs for “their secret project”. After a few months, everything became clear, Hideo Kojima personally selected the music for his game Death Stranding. Low Roar’s songs were featured in the game’s first trailer, released in 2016. After its premiere, the American-Icelandic project was discovered by hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world.

The newest album was recorded with Mike Lindsay, Andrew Schepsand Ricky Linstrom. On „maybe tomorrow”, delicate and sleepy sounds become components of songs with apowerful emotional charge – from longing, through thirst, to helplessness and even fear. „maybe tomorrow” is one of the most expressive items in Low Roar’s discography.This album is an autonomous story, adding completely new colors to the color palette usedso far by Ryan Karazija. It’s an album that consumes the listener and requires him to “getinto the story” completely – if we do, we will find what was deeply hidden within ourselves,but we weren’t able to reach on our own.