Public Domain is an ongoing music/art crossover collaboration by Grammy-nominated pianist and producer Ray Angry and multidisciplinary artist and writer Katherine McMahon. Their recent single “#AlcoholicBlues” was met with massive acclaim. Now, they have unleashed a brand new, star-studded track “#Toyland” featuring Ray Angry, Questlove, Black Thought, Marcus King, Pino Palladino, Liv Warfield and Ian Hendrickson Smith + Dave Guy of the Dap-Kings on horns.

The original “Toyland” is a wistful song about childhood and loss of innocence, from the 1903 Christmas-themed operetta. Public Domain’s updated version brings some soul to your holiday playlist while exploring the psychedelic & spiritual realm. Presented alongside a new official video directed by Tatjana Krstevski, “#Toyland” expounds on the sentiment that through spiritual self exploration and rebirth, you don’t necessarily return the same person.

Each Public Domain release navigates themes of intellectual property as a commodity, appropriation, identity, and the illusion of newness. Throughout the project Angry & McMahon expand upon expired copywritten material to sculpt a contemporary narrative about the cyclical nature of history while exploring generational shifts and the notion of ownership. Firmly rooted in the present, Public Domain synthesizes the existential dilemmas from the past, while critiquing the channels that are used to sell narratives & goods today. 

Photo Courtesy: Sasha Charoensub