Mai Kao is an artist and researcher whose creative work explores materiality and texture through sound design and musical performance. As a producer and DJ, they draw from the tangible world – gelatin, glass, crystalline needles – to construct fantasy biomes and hi-res sonic landscapes. With features on lineups like Recombinant Festival (2024), they actively perform in the local club scene and revel in composing sets that weave together the soft and hard, continuity and catharsis. They have released solo work on Seattle’s Ommaya Records (2024) and San Francisco’s Club Moniker (2023). Currently they live in San Francisco and hail from Southern California. They hold a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, where they specialized in materials design for skin-inspired electronics.