Gunpowder sparks music-themed toon

Gunpowder & Sky
founder Van Toffler

Fledgling digital-first studio Gunpowder & Sky has developed an animated series based on little-known stories featuring legendary musicians such as Elvis and Louis Armstrong.

Drawn & Recorded is currently in production and an announcement revealing the show’s distribution platform will be made in the next few weeks, Gunpowder & Sky said.

The production company has partnered with Oscar- and Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett, animator Drew Christie and music television producer Bill Flanagan to develop the series.

With narration by Burnett, the series will shine a light on “buried fables” covering the creation of great music, chance artist meetings, untimely deaths and freak occurrences that altered the course of modern music.

“Music is very mystical and with animation we can get into that realm to explore it without being subject to the laws of gravity or time and space,” said Christie.

Gunpowder & Sky was set up at the beginning of this year by former Viacom and MTV boss Van Toffler, with backing from Peter Chernin and AT&T’s Otter Media.