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 singles “#Toyland” and “#AlcoholicBlues” were met with acclaim. Now they have unleashed brand new track “#TheMetamorphosis” available across platforms via Mister Goldfinger Music.

 
The song is inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella The Metamorphosis, which is currently in the public domain, about a man who mysteriously turns into a large insect. Kafka’s original story is an absurdist tale about how appearance changes and the outside world changes in kind. New track “#TheMetamorphosis” retools those themes of absurdity, transformation, and mind/body disconnect to create a contemporary commentary that speaks to the alienation experienced in an appearance-driven world.

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