[1] Kay was born in London, England on March 13, 1972, and raised in various locations including the UK, Barcelona (Spain), and Johannesburg (South Africa).
[4] In 1993, Sonny founded the cult independent record label Gold Standard Laboratories, known also as GSL, while attending the University of Colorado at Boulder.
From 2008 until 2013 he was creative director of Rodriguez Lopez Productions, a record label dedicated to releasing the works of guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and various other artists related to The Mars Volta, as well as its "parent" company, Sargent House.
Kay's digital collage illustrations and/or graphic design have appeared on album sleeves for artists including Omar Rodríguez-López (for whom he designed over 25 albums), The Mars Volta, RX Bandits, The Locust, Zu, Shooter Jennings, Le Butcherettes, The Glitch Mob, Red Sparowes, And So I Watch You From Afar, Thavius Beck, The Drowning Men, Sun Ra, Bosnian Rainbows, 311 and others.
In November 2010, Kay and painter Jeff Jordan presented a joint show of their work in Los Angeles, entitled Parallel Universes.