Everyone’s favorite animated music series is coming back for its 4th season… it’s music (a little rock, a little country, a little pop, a little rap, it’s all there), animation and TV all wrapped into one. Gunpowder & Sky’s “Drawn & Recorded” (previously #1 on Spotify) is back starting May 4th – on AT&T AUDIENCE Network, available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and AT&T U-verse.
D&R is the animated series / collaboration between Gunpowder & Sky, Oscar and Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett, acclaimed animator Drew Christie and music television producer Bill Flanagan (“Storytellers”, “Crossroads”). This season of the 20-episode series will feature songwriter Townes Van Zandt, country legend Sara Carter, rapper MF Doom and will also tell the story of Leonard Cohen escaping Cuban authorities and fleeing the country after being detained under the suspicion he was a spy.
GUNPOWDER & SKY ANNOUNCE PREMIERE DATE FOR ANIMATED SERIES DRAWN & RECORDED ON AT&T AUDIENCE NETWORK
Unlocking The Hidden Stories Behind American Music Continues In Season 4 Of Popular Series Set To Debut On AT&T AUDIENCE Network May 4
LOS ANGELES, CA – April 24, 2018 – Gunpowder & Sky’s, the global content studio, announced today that it has partnered with AT&T AUDIENCE Network to distribute the fourth season of its original animated series, Drawn & Recorded: Modern Myths of Music on AT&T AUDIENCE Network, available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and AT&T U-verse May 4th.
Directed and animated by acclaimed animator Drew Christie, and co-produced by Van Toffler and music television producer Bill Flanagan (“Storytellers”, “Crossroads”), Drawn & Recorded tells the stories that fell through the floorboards of music history and brings them to the light of day via unique, hand-drawn animation and the raspy, baritone voice of Oscar and Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett. Sometimes hilarious, occasionally tragic, always compelling – these anecdotes show a side of people behind the melodies that may never have been known.
“Drawn & Recorded is all about telling great music stories that have been locked away in folklore, and to tell them in a unique way – which T Bone, Bill and Drew successfully did with the first three seasons,” said Toffler, CEO and co-founder of Gunpowder & Sky. “There are still so many stories to be told so we are excited to work with the team over at AT&T to continue to shine a light on some of the greatest in music history.”
Burnett added, “We have been having enormous fun telling these music fables about these all-time artists, and I am excited by the idea that an even wider audience will get to know these stories animated so beautifully by Drew Christie and his team.”
The 20-episode series will premiere on AT&T AUDIENCE Network, available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and AT&T U-verse, on May 4th and will feature songwriter Townes Van Zandt, country legend Sara Carter, rapper MF Doom and will tell the story of Leonard Cohen escaping Cuban authorities and fleeing the country after being detained under the suspicion he was a spy.
First 10 Episodic Descriptions
- EP01: Leonard Cohen – Field Commander Cohen
In a bid to stand up for a cause during the Communist Revolution in Cuba, Leonard Cohen finds himself in more danger than he anticipated. - EP02: MF Doom – The Mask of Doom
MF Doom was not always the music villain we now know him as. Once upon a time, he was Daniel Dumile, and his rise to villain-dom was a rough and painful journey. - EP03: Carter Family – Border Radio Waves
One lone radio broadcast from Mexico had some interesting and unexpected results involving the Carter Family, faraway lovers, and none other than Johnny Cash. - EP04: Townes Van Zandt – Waitin’ Round To Die
Townes Van Zandt gives fellow country singer Steve Earle a scare that he’ll never forget. - EP05: Bono, Buffett & Blackwell
Is there a better way to visit Jamaica than in a sea plane with Bono, Jimmy Buffett, and Chris Blackwell? You would think, except things don’t go quite as planned… - EP06: Parchman Farm
Sometimes a little time on a prison farm can forge you some of the strangest connections – Bukka White and Elvis Presley would know. - EP07: David Bowie – Bowie’s Brother
If anyone knows about loss, it’s David Bowie. - EP08: The Beatles – Magic Alex
The Beatles certainly got a taste of the “magic” provided by Magic Alex, but it’s probably not quite what they were looking for. - EP09: Grimes on the Mississippi
Grimes takes an adventure down the Mississippi River, inspired by none other than Huckleberry Finn. - EP10: Sister Rosetta’s Wedding
Sister Rosetta set a standard not only for rock ‘n’ roll, but also for the future of extravagant halftime shows.
This news follows Gunpowder & Sky’s release of the trailer and soundtrack details for Hearts Beat Loud, a touching ode to the bonding powers of music. Chosen as the Closing Night Film of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the music-themed crowd-pleaser is directed by Brett Haley (The Hero, I’ll See You in My Dreams), and stars Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation, Fargo) and Kiersey Clemons (Dope, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising) who become an unexpected father-daughter songwriting duo during the summer she is to leave for college.
ABOUT GUNPOWDER & SKY
Gunpowder & Sky is an award-winning independent global studio, dedicated to creating, marketing and distributing video content unrestricted by form, genre or platform. Gunpowder & Sky collaborates with both emerging and established talent to generate premium video content ranging from 90-second to 90-minute stories on all platforms. With in-house development, production, marketing and distribution capabilities, the company operates as a full 360-studio and oversees a library of over 1500 titles.
In 2017, Gunpowder & Sky released The Little Hours, starring Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke and Nick Offerman which premiered to sold-out audiences in NY and LA and nabbed the highest per screen average for its opening weekend. Gunpowder & Sky is also responsible for the Herbalife exposé documentary, Betting on Zero, which debuted as the number one documentary in the iTunes store, Ben Young’s Hounds of Love which won the Overlook Film Festival’s Jury and Audience Awards for Best Feature with Emma Booth winning Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival, and Spotify’s most viewed series Drawn & Recorded. The company also launched DUST, the first premium, digitally-distributed sci-fi brand showcasing stunning visions of the future from both established and emerging filmmakers.
Most recently, during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival the company acquired the North American rights to Brett Haley’s (I’ll See You In My Dreams, The Hero) Hearts Beat Loud, a touching ode to the bonding powers of music, and premiered the latest thriller from award-winning directors RKSS, Summer of ’84. Simultaneously, Trevor Stevens’ directorial debut, Rock Steady Row also premiered and won narrative feature jury and audience awards at the Slamdance Film Festival. Currently, Gunpowder & Sky is collaborating with HBO on two upcoming horror films, Totem and Like, Share, Follow.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in NY and London, Gunpowder & Sky was founded by Van Toffler, Floris Bauer and Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group.
