Steve Aoki Partners with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios to Produce DOMINION X

Debut Short “Level 1” Coming to Nifty Gateway on August 2nd featuring ground-breaking interactive NFTs with built-in rewards

2X Grammy-nominated artist and NFT creator Steve Aoki joins forces with Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the studio behind the Emmy Award-winning Robot Chicken and the upcoming stop-motion series Ultra City Smiths, to present Dominion X, the first episodic series to launch on the blockchain. It arrives on August 2nd via Nifty Gateway, the exclusive NFT marketplace owned by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and on www.DominionXshow.com.

Dominion X is a 21st century animated short directed by 2X Emmy Award-winner Eric Towner (Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.) and produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, whose flagship program Robot Chicken just received a 2021 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program. The concept is based on Character X, a character who first appeared in Steve Aoki’s debut NFT drop Dream Catcher (with Antonti Tudisco.) Stoopid Buddy Stoodios handcrafted the physical characters and sets, while meticulously filming the animation frame by frame, which was then set to original music scored by Aoki. Using revolutionary interactive NFTs designed with assistance from Ether Cards, fans are being offered a once in a lifetime chance to own a piece of a show, both physical and digital, before it ever premieres on traditional television or streaming. 

"I first met Seth and the team at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios when I was invited to do a cameo on Robot Chicken back in 2015,” Steve Aoki recalls. “Ever since then we've been trying to find another chance to work together. The idea of launching the first ever ‘TV’ series on the blockchain really excited me. We realized that through NFT's we can combine the traditional stop-motion animation that Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is known for with innovative fan driven concepts that I'm passionate about: collectibles, community building and gaming. And I love the fact that we've been able to bring Character X, a creature that literally personifies me, to life in a completely new world with new characters & new adventures."

Minted from a custom smart contract with unique interactive traits built directly into the NFT via Ether Cards, Dominion X is Aoki’s third major NFT project in 2021 alone, following his successful Dream Catcher and Neon Future drops. Dominion X’s Debut Short ‘Level 1’ introduces us to the world of Character X, a character personified with Aoki’s signature fang face logo, and his obliviously contentious relationship with the diminutive Chonk and Swole. You can watch their worlds collide in this “1 of 1” animated NFT debut short as well as get a chance to own any one of the 15 individual scenes that make up the short and win one of the physical puppets used in the actual making of the short.

“Collaborating with an artist like Steve Aoki guarantees you’ll make something unique, accessible, and out of this world,” states Seth Green. “We love pushing the boundaries of entertainment through technology and are beyond excited to bring this experience to an audience.”

Dominion X's debut short “Level 1” as well as a series of limited edition vignettes will be minted on the blockchain one time only and available to purchase through Nifty Gateway, allowing fans to participate in the creation of new IP in a revolutionary way. Thanks to a partnership with Ether Cards, each individual NFT will have a built-in layer of functionality that will reveal itself in the weeks and months after the sale. This added layer of utility will allow collectors to be rewarded with both NFTs and physical pieces used in the making of the show. 

By minting these shorts on the blockchain first, Steve Aoki and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios are allowing the public to own a piece of the show, both digitally and physically, before it airs anywhere else. Moreover, the episode and eventually the full series will live on the blockchain forever, guaranteeing the public’s ability to view it regardless of distribution and exclusivity rights seen in traditional TV and streaming formats.

“2021 has been an incredible year of growth and creativity in the crypto space and it inspires me to see artists and teams pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” Tyler Winklevoss adds. “Launching the first episodic series on the blockchain that fans can now own is the kind of novel use-case that only the NFT medium can provide. I am thrilled that this is launching on Nifty Gateway.”

For the full details of the NFT drop, please visit www.DominionXshow.com

About Steve Aoki:

Steve Aoki, the two-time Grammy-nominated producer/DJ is one of today’s most successful American cross-genre artists, collectively counting 2.8 billion music streams on Spotify. As the founder of the trendsetting record label, events/lifestyle company, and apparel line Dim Mak Records, which he founded in 1996, Aoki has helped launch the careers of global acts like The Chainsmokers, Bloc Party, The Bloody Beetroots, The Gossip, and The Kills, among many others. Dim Mak today counts more than 1,000 official releases from the biggest acts and most buzzing newcomers across EDM, indie rock, hip-hop and beyond over its two-decades-plus discography. As a solo artist, Aoki boasts a lauded discography that includes: Wonderland (2012), his debut solo album, which garnered him his first-ever Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album; hip-hop centric Kolony (2017), and the Neon Future series, which includes ‘Neon Future I’ (2014, certified gold by the RIAA), ‘Neon Future II’ (2015), ‘Neon Future III’ (2018) and the recently released ‘Neon Future IV’ (April 2020); which has rocketed in streaming to date and received praise from singles such as “Maldad” ft. Maluma and “Let It Be Me” ft. Backstreet Boys. Recognized by Forbes as one of the top 5 world’s highest paid DJ’sand the world’s hardest working DJ, Aoki is “one of the most in-demand entertainers in the world” (Billboard), counting more than 250 tour dates per year. In 2012, Aoki founded THE AOKI FOUNDATION, which primarily supports organizations in the brain science and research areas with a specific focus on regenerative medicine and brain preservation. Most recently, Steve Aoki released his critically acclaimed memoir entitled BLUE: The Color of Noise published by St. Martin’s Press.

About Stoopid Buddy Stoodios:

Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is an artist-friendly collective that houses some of the finest talent in all of animation and live-action, showcasing a knack for creating unique visuals and telling character driven stories with an uncanny sensibility. Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is home to the longest running stop-motion show on television, the Emmy Award-winning Robot Chicken, as well as the Emmy Award-nominated SuperMansion with Bryan Cranston. The studio recently wrapped production on Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K., which is now streaming on Hulu, and is currently in production on season 2 of Crossing Swords, and a new half-hour, stop-motion, animated baby doll series titled Ultra City Smiths, both of which are set to premiere this year. Stoopid Buddy Stoodios’ multiple-building campus and state-of-the-art facility located in Burbank, makes it one of the largest studios specializing in live-action, puppetry, stop-motion, 2D and CG animation in California. The company’s work covers the entertainment gamut, ranging from charming hand-crafted animation all the way to high-end live-action feature films.

About Ether Cards:

Ether Cards is an NFT gamification and monetization framework that connects real-world utility with the digital space. This framework allows talent, celebrities, and projects to connect with their communities in engaging and unique methods, while simultaneously unlocking new monetization channels. The team behind Ether Cards consists of industry veterans and experts throughout the blockchain sector. With more than 50 years of combined experience behind them, they have supported some of the biggest names in the industry, including the Ethereum Foundation and Consensys. To learn more, visit ether.cards, find out about more exciting announcements on the Ether Cards blog, and follow @ether_cards on Twitter.

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