MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD BY TOYDRUM FOR KAI & SUNNY

In conjunction with a new art exhibit by Kai & Sunny titled Lots of Bits of Star, the UK remix and soundtrack duo known as Toydrum, have created an exclusive mixtape. It’s fifty minutes of genre shifting music with samples from around the world, all mashed up and inspired by the creative process behind Kai & Sunny’s work. Toydrum spends the tape simply luxuriating in these creative surroundings, letting the tendrils of their psychedelic and folk side take root in the corners of each beat. It even taps into Toydrum’s former work with UNKLE as the vocals of The Black Angels is layered upon Toydrum’s vinyl collection. And whoever tracks down the song used at the 31:30 mark, I’ll happily compensate you in some way as I’m dying to know what it is. Note that while the mixtape streams through Soundcloud, there’s a download link as well for some high quality MP3 goodness. Find out more about Kai and Sunny at their official website, which also includes a limited run of prints from the current exhibit. And if you want to take a trip further down the art in combination with music road, visit our sister site Void and Form.

As the Jonathan Le Vine gallery so elegantly puts it, Kai and Sunny’s work is primarily inspired by nature. Works by Kai & Sunny depict stylized imagery of flora and fauna. By reducing natural forms to geometric patterns, the artists’ collaborative work blurs the gap between fine art and design. Their process begins with hand-drawn sketches that undergo various stages, including digital, before the final result: hand-finished and pulled monochromatic screen prints on wood, copper and paper. Before printing, the artists infuse their inks with mineral powders, to achieve a distinct texture and sheen.

The works in Lots of Bits of Star revolve around contradicting perceptions of the natural world, balancing the serene with the fierce, the fragile with the stable and the vulnerable with the assertive. Seemingly innocent natural subjects are layered with dark undertones, hinting at the subversion that occurs in the wild and beyond. As Kai states, “Sunny and I use nature in our work to connect with people, to provoke thoughts and memories. We like the idea of showing something you can’t actually see and asking bigger questions.”