Plastic Circles

Marble Music releases

2012-02-17T20:17:00.015Z

Link: Marble Music

It has almost been a year since France's Institubes label came to an end and announced the launch of, a replacement, the Marble Music logo.

What's followed has been a succession of releases that in part utilise the kind of design template that has typified the Deutsche Grammophon-evoking artwork of the associated Sound Pellegrino alongside a decidedly 1980's-themed postmodern edge. The latter brings to mind memories of Memphis and Barney Bubbles with its art direction, design and illustration from such talents as Museum Studio, Ill Studio, Partel Oliva, Benbo George and Jonathan Zawada.

Meantime the music - let's not forget - has been courtesy of Institubes lynchpins like Surkin alongside the new wave of Gallic music makers that are known for representing the likes of the lauded Club Cheval.

Ssaliva - 'RZA EP' by DimRun

2012-02-16T14:08:00.011Z

Link: Vlek Records

Originally limited to a run of just 300 10" gold vinyl singles, there are just two copies of Ssaliva's 'RZA EP' left at Vlek Records' shop. From the alter-ego of Cupp Cave [who also has an album poised for the UK's Ramp label] it has been made even more collectable due to its lovingly assembled, hand-screenprinted and embossed sleeve by designer/DJ DimRun.

So while the Belgian label takes its name from Brussels slang for "junk" - the kind of cheap rubbish that falls apart as soon as you touch it - this "Vlek" appear to be anything but that.

JJ DOOM logo by Steve Powers

2012-02-16T08:49:00.009Z

Link: Lex Records
Link: Steve Powers

Man behind the metal mask DOOM (né MF DOOM) has teamed up with, rapper, Jneiro Janel a new project titled JJ DOOM. The pair's hip hop collaboration culminates in, album, Key to the Kuffs that comes on Lex Records in May. [A taster may be found on 21st February when the twosome DJ together for a Boiler Room session.]

Meantime there's a logo created by Steve Powers: a renowned artist that first gained attention for his graffiti in Philadelphia under the ESPO pseudonym. Previously he also provided the artwork for Tommy Guerrero's Soul Food Taqueria long-player that was issued by Mo Wax back in 2003.

Hubro releases by Yokoland

2012-02-06T12:33:00.013Z

Link: Hubro
Link: Yokoland
Link: Grappa Musikkforlag

I first spotted the releases of Norway's Hubro label when Australian designer Heath Killen included them in a blog post. You can find that here.

Anmyway, largely photographic - using found images or those taken by Aslak Gurholt Rønsen and Thomas Nordby of art directors/designers Yokoland - there's now a series of lovingly crafted physical releases for the kind of Scandinavian jazz and improvised music that has come to typify the Hubro aesthetic. Actually a sub-label of Grappa Musikkforlag - Norway's leading independent - each album is linked through the use of hand-written text plus an illustration of the Eagle Owl. (Or, as that bird is known in Norwegian, the "Hubro".)

New Liberation Technologies imprint with design by Ben Drury

2012-01-27T09:08:00.008Z

Link: Liberation Technologies
Link: Ben Drury
Link: Mute

Mute is proud to announce the launch of a brand new label, Liberation Technologies.

Following on from Mute’s long tradition of working with innovative artists, Liberation Technologies plans to extend that freedom and vision. Within this remit the label will work with highly distinctive and pioneering electronic musicians, some established, some new. Citing reference from Mute’s original and continuing statement of intent, the label exists to give space to and encourage artists to experiment and challenge themselves, anonymously if they choose.

Liberation Technologies is headed by A&R man Patrick O’Neill, whose list of associates previous to joining Mute include Actress, T++, Moritz Von Oswald, Joy Orbison, Darkstar and Zomby.

As important as the music itself, will be statement design, a commitment to vinyl product and inventive methods of releasing each work.

The first release on the new label will be the ‘Spring EP’ by King Felix, a producer from Ann Arbor, Michigan who lives in Brooklyn and has also released music as Laurel Halo. ‘Spring EP’ is released on download and vinyl 19th March 2012.

Says Mute founder Daniel Miller: “Electronic music is part of Mute’s DNA and history, and this label is the latest expression of that.”

The Fool's Gold Artist Series presents Haze

2012-01-26T19:42:00.015Z

Link: Haze
Link: Fool's Gold

The third event in the Dust La Rock curated Fool's Gold Artist Series boasts Eric Haze.

Responsible for the iconic logos used by Public Enemy, Stussy, EPMD, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys, Haze now brings new imagery including limited edition t-shirts and prints to the Fool's Gold label's store at 536 Metropolitan Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It all happens 27th January.

Toddla T - Watch Me Dance by Peter and Paul

2012-01-25T19:22:00.014Z

Link: Peter and Paul
Link: Toddla T
Link: Kid Acne

Peter and Paul's artwork for Toddla T's Watch Me Dance album on Ninja Tune involved the making of t-shirts for its various tracks. Some of these featured illustrations by, fellow Steel City maverick/Peter and Paul collaborator, Kid Acne and specific designs were also photographed individually for their respective single releases.

Meanwhile, demonstrating the approach's versatility as a promotional device, a selection of the garments have also been offered as merchandise plus as competition prizes through the producer/DJ's Facebook-based 'Tbay' giveaways.

Smart.

Florence and the Machine - 'Only If For A Night' Secret 7" designs

2012-01-23T12:33:00.031Z

In conjunction with Record Store Day and Teenage Cancer Trust, the Secret 7" project will consist of records that are released anonymously.

Sleeve designs for the likes of The Cure, Bombay Bicycle Club, CSS and DJ Shadow have been submitted and voting is open for the next three days to determine which artwork is put into production.

Florence and the Machine contributed the track 'Only If For A Night' and, perhaps reflecting Florence Welch's popularity, the amount of entries has been overwhelming. Although many of those that have been enthusiastic to take part seem to have overlooked the 'secret' aspect: with plenty including a picture of the artist and, in some cases, the band's name and track title. However there are still a fair number that don't feature some flame-haired damsel. Just two of those are found below while there are more to be found over at Secret 7".

Shigeto - Lineage by Michael Cina

2012-01-13T11:41:00.011Z

Link: Michael Cina
Link: Ghostly

More great work from Michael Cina and this time it's for the latest release from Shigeto - a.k.a. Zach Saginaw.

Intensely personal, the front cover for the mini-album features a photo of Saginaw's great-grandfather's house from 1916 in Hiroshima, Japan. The back cover also includes a photo of his great-grandfather, Shigeto Ohmur. This was taken at the Amache Internment Camp in Grenada, Colorado after his family had been transferred from Tule Lake Internment Camp.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war against Japan, many Americans believed that Japanese-American citizens were spies or traitors. Thus, why Saginaw's family members ended up in these camps.

A limited edition screenprinted sleeve will be available from the Ghostly Store at a later date. The digital version plus pre-order for the vinyl will be available on 31st January 2012. Image one is the digital version of the artwork. Images two and three are the vinyl versions.

Boys Noize & Erol Alkan - 'Lemonade' re-release

2012-01-12T12:46:00.008Z

Coming soon on Phantasy/Because Music is Boys Noize & Erol Alkan’s ‘Lemonade’ - a single that's available in a very special limited edition vinyl format. Yes, that is the vinyl down there. Remixes come from Gesaffelstein and Justin Robertson.

Gonjasufi - MU.ZZ.LE mini album

2012-01-09T20:53:00.010Z

Link: Gonjasufi
Link: Warp

Gonjasufi's new mini-album, MU.ZZ.LE, is released 23rd January 2012 across four physical formats. Choose from a screenprinted A2 poster that's limited to a hand numbered run of just 500, the CD version, double 10" vinyl or a bundle featuring the latter plus one of the posters. MP3s are included with all purchases.

Great stereoscopic artwork throughout.

Jacaszek's Glimmer by Michael Cina

2012-01-05T22:12:00.011Z

Link: Michael Cina
Link: Ghostly

As well as showing up in end-of-year lists for artwork including his creations for Benoit & Sergio and Peter Wolf Crier, Michael Cina is someone that I repeatedly refer to. He has the ability to shift from the loose, textured and painterly through to the clean and geometric and then there's last month's album from Jacaszek - a design that juxtaposes the two: with the delicate imperfections of gold leaf plus an elegant grid on the reverse.

There's additionally an interview with Cina about this project and its typography at http://rockthatfont.com/

Redefine Mag's Best Cover Art of 2011

2012-01-04T21:40:00.008Z

Link: Redefine Mag
Link: Planet Mu
Link: Sam Chirnside

With the likes of D&AD joining Creative Review in the discussion of music artwork, there's been a real recent focus on what's happened ever since Alex Steinweiss first invented the album cover. Plus there are also the end-of-year lists in circulation that provide a review of what graced 2011's releases.

An extensive version of the latter - complete with credits, music samples and interviews - has been put together by Redefine Mag [link above] and features, amongst others, this psychedelic solution by Sam Chirnside for the Tropics album on Planet Mu.

Creative Review - The Music Issue

2011-12-24T13:01:00.007Z

January's Creative Review is the magazine's music special with a focus on everything from state-of-the-art apps to a new breed of music magazines. There's also some highlighting of some great labels that produce interesting visuals to accompany their sounds. Some that have been featured in posts here and others that I hadn't been aware of. All in all, pretty essential reading.

E17 - 'Stay Another Day (Frank Eddie remix)' by Fred Deakin

2011-12-19T11:25:00.010Z

Festive fun courtesy of Airside and Impotent Fury with this version of East 17's Christmas hit. Available as a 7" single in a die-cut sleeve as a limited edition of just 500 copies, get it for £8 from Airside.

Stay Another Day (Frank Eddie Remix) by impotentfury

Demdike Stare - Elemental (Parts 1 & 2) by Andy Votel

2011-12-08T22:16:00.012Z

Link: Modern Love

The return of Demdike Stare has meant that Andy Votel has been back conjuring up some creepy visuals - and this time it takes the form of a some kind of pagan deluxe gatefold that's additionally decorated with flowers [a response to, track titles, 'Chrysanthe', 'Violetta', 'Rose' and 'Iris']. Containing parts 1 & 2 with space to house 3 & 4 [due in 2012], it's again a nice accompaniment to Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty's eerie sonics and culminates in a package that might just blur the distinction between 'fun' and 'funereal'.

Available from Boomkat.

Also worth checking out is the Jean-Claude Vannier box set on Votel's own Finders Keepers label that similarly comes on coloured vinyl but additionally features a selection of inserts, illustrations, photographs, bonus mixed material and a piece of tablature sheet music.

Neil Landstrumm - Bambaataa Eats His Breakfast by Remote Location

2011-12-07T18:36:00.014Z

Link: Planet Mu
Link: Remote Location

Just listening to Neil Landstrumm's 2009 album, Bambaataa Eats His Breakfast - complete with its warped ice cream van-like melodies and heavy bass - and thought that the artwork by Remote Location needed a post. Commissioned by the always interesting Planet Mu label, it takes its influence from the title and features a head-dress of the type once sported by the electro and hip hop visionary and, presumably, what the Universal Zulu Nation figure usually has instead of Rice Krispies (croissants, it seems). Photography by Sam Robinson.

Bleep.com 100 Tracks 2011 'gift card' by Give Up Art

2011-12-04T16:17:00.010Z

Link: Bleep.com
Link: Give Up Art

London graphic design studio Give Up Art have created a stylish physical product for Bleep.com's 2011 music round-up.

Incorporating an embossed 90gsm card wallet with clear foil containing a folded A3 poster, the gift package provides a visual referent for over nine hours of modern music across a host of genres. With pre-orders being taken now, lucky recipients of either the MP3 or FLAC formats will be unwrapping music from James Blake, Fennesz, Burial, Modeselektor, Battles, Photek, Rustie, Martyn, Soul Clap, Nicolas Jaar and many, many more come December 25th.

YCN/Warp Records design by Oli Marsh

2011-11-29T10:05:00.008Z

Link: Oli Marsh

University of Salford MA Communication Design student Oli Marsh provided a winning response to YCN's Warp Records brief.

His concept was based around an ever-evolving album artwork that involved a release's title being die-cut into an outer sleeve before being customised by further complimentary imagery released via the web. Marsh chose to illustrate the idea by using Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma long-player with his inky example of text and image (top) having a nice relationship to his Droplet font (bottom). Other work of particular note by Marsh includes his text based on audio waveforms that he utilised on a poster design for the Sonar festival.

More work from Alex Jenkins

2011-11-26T21:49:00.023Z

Link: Alex Jenkins' Tumblr
Link: Alex Jenkins' Twitter

I previously posted some artwork by designer Alex Jenkins and have since been sent some better quality images by the man himself - including a number of projects that I hadn't picked up on.

As in-house designer for XL Recordings, Jenkins produced a series of memorable sleeves for The Prodigy dating back to 'Firestarter'. His Tumblr documents some of this material alongside additional photography credits and the stories attached to their creation - including the un-used 'Kebab' cover for Fat of the Land that involved a £13,000-£14,000 shoot with the surplus doner meat finding its way into the stomachs of London customers. [Doubt the same fate was dealt to the crab that was used for the finished album.] Another meaty offering also came in the shape of his cleverly vacuum-packed 'salami' CD that featured a sample of tracks from XL's roster.

Anyway, it's a diverse collection that followed on from Jenkins' uni hand-in that consisted of his re-imagining of the packaging for Orbital's first album, and - as a single body of work - appears to be united by the employment of gritty textures. The most complete sets have to be the beautiful deteriorated and stained Breakbeat Era campaign (complete with budget-busting bookbinding materials) plus his collection of nocturnal urban imagery for The Streets (including that iconic Clipper lighter logo that knowingly taps into stoner culture). The latter was developed for 679 Records as a freelance project while Jenkins' other non-XL commissions have come from the UK garage-oriented Locked On label, the progressive house-biased Y2K imprint and Freskanova Records' The Freestylers. However, what's not featured below is a succession of Jenkins' identity/branding assignments for other industries that only further demonstrate his ability to shift from fairly niche products to design for high-profile clients.

Mute Audio Documents by Adrian Shaughnessy/This Is Real Art

2011-11-24T09:33:00.007Z

Link: Shaugnessy Works
Link: This Is Real Art

Re-visit of an Adrian Shaughnessy design for a retrospective of the entire output of Mute Records that catalogues distinct periods in the history of the company as documents.

It's posted here as a reminder that Adrian Shaughnessy also has a publishing company, Unit Editions. The latter has a week left on its sale with 50% off selected items including the Supergraphics and Studio Culture books and a number of Wim Crouwel posters.

Link: Unit Editions

Kosmik Kommando - Analogue Android limited edition box set

2011-11-19T09:53:00.008Z

Link: Machine Codes

With a run of just seven box sets, Kosmik Kommando's Analogue Android album is a proper limited edition. The small number demonstrates how much time and effort has gone into each one with its series of hand-painted labels. The standard vinyl is also a bespoke offering with an airbrushed cover plate and vinyl containing individual messages.

[Thanks to Marc Bessant for pointing this out on Twitter.]

Artwork by Optigram

2011-11-10T10:40:00.025Z

Link: Optigram

Optigram is the design company operated by Manuel Sepulveda whose commissions include sleeves for Steve 'Kode9' Goodman's Hyperdub plus the similarly lauded Warp, Planet Mu and Citinite labels.

Some of the work involves tessellated shapes akin to Andy Gilmore's art whilst a few of Sepulveda's Terror Danjah sleeves have a 1980's-ish retro-futuristic feel complete with the kind of geometric monoliths not a million miles away from La Boca's work for The Emperor Machine. Much of the Optigram output is playful in its use of colour, but I'm also liking these moodier monochromatic offerings including the imagery that adorned Ikonika's album.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - 'Garden' by Big Active

2011-10-31T12:06:00.005Z

Link: Big Active
Link: Maurizio Anzeri

A track that has really done the rounds having previously been released in different forms on Greco-Roman and Play It Down, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs' 'Garden' has cropped up all over the place including its re-emergence as the soundtrack to the latest Nokia advert. This may be due to a major label push/its re-issue through Polydor.

Artwork for the latter incarnation (top image) is by Big Active with the art direction and design handled by Mat Maitland, photography by Stephanie Sian Smith and embroidery added by Susie Cowie. I haven't seen any mention of Maurizio Anzeri as being attached to the concept despite the artist's embroidered photographs (bottom image) being what could only be described as "rather similar".

Coverscaping: Discovering Album Aesthetics by Asbjorn Gronstad and Oyvind Vagnes

2011-10-30T20:51:00.005Z

Currently I'm reading Coverscaping: Discovering Album Aesthetics by Asbjorn Gronstad and Oyvind Vagnes - a book that's a truly critical study of album artwork.

As its authors note, many publications about sleeves tend to be of the coffee table variety but this has got some real academic depth. Personally, I always liked Adrian Shaughnessy's introductory text within Intro's Sampler series of books. This takes some of those sorts of discussions further while also delving into a whole range of other ideas about audio-visual relations.

Amazon link: Coverscaping: Discovering Album Aesthetics

Massimiliano Pagliara - Focus For Infinity by Doeller & Satter

2011-10-30T08:27:00.008Z

Link: Doeller & Satter

2011
Massimiliano Pagliara:
Focus For Infinity
Live At Robert Johnson Records
Various
Record Sleeve, CD Packaging

Andy Votel prints

2011-10-29T17:47:00.014+01:00

I last posted something about Andy Votel when his work graced Demdike Stare's Tryptych. More often found rummaging through weird old vinyl, he has seemingly put some time aside to dig through his own visual archives and has subsequently got together a series of prints that are now available from illustrator Stanley Chow's print shop.

See them, plus work by Chow and Barney Ibbotson, via the link:
The Stanley Chow Print Shop

Massive Attack vs Burial - 'Four Walls/Paradise Circus'

2011-10-10T21:29:00.011+01:00

From: VF Editions

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Massive Attack vs Burial - 'Four Walls / Paradise Circus'
Inhale Gold / The Vinyl Factory
£ 25
Given the limited nature of this product we are limiting it to one copy per user.

The subject of prolonged rumour and intense speculation, Inhale Gold and The Vinyl Factory are proud to present Massive Attack’s long awaited collaboration with Burial, Four Walls / Paradise Circus.

These new Burial mixes of previously unreleased Massive Attack track 'Four Walls' and Heligoland favourite 'Paradise Circus' are available exclusively as limited vinyl edition of only 1000 copies worldwide.

Pressed on heavyweight 180g 12” vinyl housed in a stunning, hand numbered, gold glitter screen-printed sleeve designed by Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja (3D), this edition has been crafted by The Vinyl Factory, and is sure to become a highly coveted collectors item.

As you’d expect from these two acts these are no ordinary remixes and Burial has completely rebuilt both tracks in his own unique style providing a masterclass in production. Listen to 'Four Walls' here.

At around 12 minutes each, both 'Four Walls' and 'Paradise Circus' have been given the time and space to evolve and develop going way beyond the scope of normal remixes, with the end result two highly original, in every sense of the word, pieces of music. 

Product Details:

* Both tracks exclusive to this limited edition
* 1000 copies worldwide
* Artwork by Robert Del Naja
* Screen-printed cover with gold glitter
* 180-gram heavyweight vinyl
* Each edition hand numbered

Creating music samples with vinyl records by Ishac Bertran

2011-10-08T13:33:00.009+01:00

From: Ishback

Analog Vinyl Sampling from Ishac Bertran on Vimeo.

"Music sampling has been done for years using different techniques. Currently samplers (either as a piece of hardware or as software) is the most extended tool for playing samples that can come from digital formatted music, live recording, vinyls or tapes. One of the most old techniques for sampling was cut&paste the audio tape. I love this video from Delia Derbyshire using reel-to-reel recording, creating loops by cut&pasting the audio tape, and sync the samples to create music.

Driven by my devotion for vinyls and analog processes (perhaps a bit of Dj wannabe too), and emulating the audio tape cut&paste technique, I tried to make the vinyl sampling a bit more analog – literally cut and paste pieces of vinyl to create samples.

I bought some second hand vinyl records, different music styles: Supertramp, Wagner, Paul Anka, Chicago, Lil Jon and some random ones to make the first tests. I spend a couple of hours browsing and listening to old records – I remember thinking “all projects should start like this”."

Full details of the project at the above link.

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know by Shynola

2011-09-26T21:06:00.007+01:00

A special edition version of Laura Marling's A Creature I Don’t Know album (featured on the video below) comes with illustrations by the Shynola collective. The special edition is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide and is available domestically in the UK and Australia. You can still order the boxed version here (£39.00): A Creature I Don't Know

Alternatively you can order the now standard and boringly non-physical album from the usual download sources (although the iTunes album includes two music videos, lyrics and, an iTunes exclusive track, ‘Flicker And Fail’) plus it's on CD for just £6.99 at Amazon: A Creature I Don't Know

Modeselektor - Monkeytown (Deluxe Edition)

2011-09-21T19:04:00.008+01:00

Now available on pre-order from Bleep and Boomkat is the super-limited and super high-quality edition of Modeselektor's anticipated long-player, 'Monkeytown'.

The edition of just 500 comes as a deluxe hardcover book - 12" in size - with 28 picture pages including various unseen and exclusive full page black and white pictures from Modeselektor (including images that document their studio plus travel and portrait shots). The double album of Monkeytown additionally comes in exclusive clear vinyl while all books are signed and hand-numbered by Modeselektor. Digital versions too.

Dan Sicko

2011-08-29T13:17:00.031+01:00

I was saddened by the news that author Dan Sicko was suffering from ocular melanoma when it was reported by Beatport two days ago. The story came with a link to an appeal to assist with hospice care given how advanced his condition was. I had already planned to post that link here - just in case it would help contribute anything towards raising additional funds - but then I heard yesterday that the 42 year-old writer of the definitive Techno Rebels book had passed away.

Dan Sicko's condition had already been outlined by his brother Matt at http://mattsicko.blogspot.com/ and it is still possible to make a donation to help his family at http://www.gofundme.com/DanSicko. The money that had been specified for care staff will now be directed towards an education fund for his daughter.

I didn't know Dan Sicko personally. I sent him an email a while ago to pick his brains for my own research work as Techno Rebels had inspired elements of the project I'm involved in. If you haven't read it, by the way, and you have more than a passing interest in electronic music, buy a copy (Amazon link). What I particularly found interesting was how he considered the visual material that existed within the genre rather than simply writing it all off as 'anonymous'. This understanding and interest may have been linked to his job at Detroit creative agency Organic, Inc. In any case, it's a lovingly created account of the development of a form of music that Sicko truly championed and - a fine legacy - I'm sure many will be revisiting his writing for years to come.

Further links:

Journalist Shared Detroit's Techno Music With World
Loss of a Techno Rebel: Why Dan Sicko Will Be Sorely Missed
RIP Dan Sicko
RIP Dan Sicko: A True Techno Rebel

Raffertie - 'Visual Acuity EP'

2011-08-21T20:15:00.009+01:00

Released by Ninja Tune is Raffertie's 'Visual Acuity EP' with its sleeve photography courtesy of Meg Sharp. There might be a bit of a link with the Warp 10 artwork of yesteryear through that rather mundane architecture and it's purple-ish tones. The simplicity of the 'V' and 'A' of the title - that's reduced to some nicely balanced geometry - also stands out as quite lovely.

Mmmmm, triangles.

Need For Mirrors - 'Alabama/Erotic Relapse'

2011-08-19T19:12:00.005+01:00

New vinyl from drum & bass duo Need For Mirrors that's also the debut release on their Zoltar label. Limited to 400 copies, it comes in a silver die-cut sleeve revealing a hand-drawn inner: a nice touch that is likely to be repeated via subsequent releases.

"There seems to be a lack of visual expression with the way music is packaged and branded, often it's very difficult to add imagery to music and it's better to leave it faceless and let the music play. But with Zoltar we wanted the action to be visually led. Also by creating a physical product which will stand up as much as the music and add a another dimension to our experience."

Plaid - Scintilli package

2011-08-13T13:43:00.008+01:00

Link: Warp
Link: Plaid
Link: Scintilli microsite
Link: Pre-order at Bleep.com

Already being a much-delayed album, the Warp label is hopeful that the Sony/PIAS warehouse fire won't be affecting the release of Plaid's Scintilli too much - meaning that it should be in stores 26th September.

Sadly, some of Warp's back-catalogue will not be physically available again following this week's loss but this offering from the London-based duo is busily being manufactured alongside new albums from Rustie and CANT. There's also a limited edition version currently being offered via pre-order of a ‘Muda na Mono’ puzzle pack: that name taken from a Japanese phrase meaning ‘pointless object’. It contains two die-cut rings and a CD which can be assembled as per the featured diagram. If correctly aligned, the completed sphere allows the track titles to be read.

"The packaging reflects a desire to give the CD an ornamental function, beyond its one use as a basic storage device for music."

The Work of Shaun Bloodworth & Give Up Art

2011-08-12T09:21:00.017+01:00

Link: Rinse
Link: Give Up Art
Link: Shaun Bloodworth

Rinse Presents:
A Visual Retrospective – The Work Of Shaun Bloodworth & Give Up Art

12th – 21st August 2011
The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
020 7770 6000 | www.trumanbrewery.com

A ten-day exhibition celebrating the design and photography of seminal London-based radio station and label, Rinse, and their championing of the wider underground music world.

Vulture Music artwork by Ben Roth

2011-08-11T14:02:00.007+01:00

Link: Freisprung

Based in Berlin/Tel Aviv, Ben Roth has developed a lovely series of work for lauded French label Vulture Music. Monochromatic yet dream-like, it additionally seems to make full use of the form of the letter 'V' in a number of different ways. However, the cover of the Visitor release does remind me of the imagery for Darkstar's 'Aidy's Girl is a Computer' by Remote Location: what with the dominance of that retro-futuristic monolith. Still, while splitting his time between doing print and video work, I'm keen to see more from him.

Jay-Z & Kanye West - 'Watch The Throne' artwork by Riccardo Tisci

2011-08-10T19:12:00.013+01:00

The week's events in UK cities could suggest that we avoid hyping up the kind of product that fits the whole 'luxury goods' aesthetic. Still, when has Kanye West ever shied away from celebrating high-end consumerism? His collaboration with Jay-Z - the Watch The Throne album - furthers this [even the couture of Martin Margiela is referenced in his lyrics]. The artwork also features a very luxe finish courtesy of Givenchy artistic director Riccardo Tisci. Not sure if it quite manufactures the desire for designer products that some MPs might claim would drive a youngster to loot a branch of JD Sports or Greggs. But, in any case, it looks fancy and is released next week.

Anyway, should your local high street not be functioning correctly, you can get it via the following Amazon links:

Standard CD - Watch The Throne
Deluxe edition - Watch The Throne

According to Tisci, he decided to create the artwork to symbolize the “masculinity of two of the most iconic rap figures of our time."

The artist meticulously incorporated a variety of religious symbols, animal faces and symmetric shapes, giving the album an embroidered feel, while leaving the inside artwork with a painted and printed feel.

"I am honoured to have been asked to be part of this incredible music moment with such amazing artists," Riccardo Tisci told AllHipHop.com. "I am impressed by the amount of respect they have for music and art. We share the same way of working : like a family."

Jamie xx - 'Far Nearer/Beat For'

2011-08-08T08:44:00.008+01:00

Link: Far Nearer
Link: Remote Location
Link: Numbers

Judging from his acclaimed set at Field Day, Jamie xx appears to be going from strength to strength. It's then worth revisiting his debut solo single on the lauded Numbers label, 'Far Nearer/Beat For', that came out earlier this year.

Assumedly, the sleeve is by Adam Rodgers and Neil Morton of Remote Location who - on top of their artwork for Numbers (and the previous, related labels of Wireblock, Stuffrecords and Dress 2 Sweat) - have also completed work for clients including Warp, Planet Mu, Hyperdub and Craig Armstrong. Described by The Fader as looking "like a Russian constructivist strawberry daiquiri", this die-cut vinyl also references We're New Here: the previously blogged Jamie xx-remixed version of the late Gil Scott-Heron's last album. Itself being a cover that seems to pick-up on the layout of The xx's Mercury Prize-winning long-player.

Round Table Knights - 'Cut to the Top' by Rosario Florio & Larissa Kasper

2011-08-07T17:50:00.011+01:00

Link: September Industry
Link: Rosario Florio
Link: Larissa Kasper

Freshcuts Recordings
We Love It (Series)
Vinyl 12″

Record cover for “We Love It”. A series of exclusive releases pressed on vinyl by Freshcuts Recordings. Limited to 300 copies. This is the first 12″ of the series. The photography concept is based on an evolution of the picture. With every release an object or something else from the artist or the song will be placed in the picture. So the content grows until the last release. The finished series with all releases will be available in a wooden box.

Font: Apercu (customized)

Battles artwork

2011-07-07T19:59:00.010+01:00

Link: Warp

The latest from Battles is the Gary Numan featuring 'My Machines'. Release date is 15th August. Warp is issuing the track on silver limited edition vinyl [mirroring the 'flavoured' versions that accompanied, last single, 'Ice Cream'] while its sleeve furthers the 'pile' motif of the Gloss Drop album.

The design is uncredited for the more recent offerings but the long-player's cover was photographed by Leslie Unruh with the art itself courtesy of the experimental rock/math rock band's own Dave Konopka.

Animated Covers app from Radio Soulwax

2011-07-02T08:54:00.009+01:00

Link: Radio Soulwax

My good friend Gary Ryan tipped me off about this just as seemingly everyone else seized upon the latest project from Radio Soulwax AKA 2 Many DJs AKA the Dewaele brothers.

Reiterating what's been said elsewhere, it's an ambitious undertaking where Radio Soulwax have followed their acclaimed genre-crossing mash-ups with a series available as apps. The most interesting aspect of this copyright flaunting set - for me, at least - is that they've also animated the artwork from the original releases. The work for 'INTROVERSY' can currently be viewed via the link above.

Richard Eigner - Denoising Field Recordings sleeve by Hans Renzler

2011-07-02T08:38:00.008+01:00

Link: Wald Entertainment
Released: 2009

Denoising Field Recordings documents an early attempt at using denoising-techniques in a creative and compositional manner. Instead of utilising noise-reduction-algorithms for their intended purpose (the restoration of damaged audio signals), these processes are applied to various field recordings of trains, streets, swimming halls and public transport. Due to the fact that these recordings consist entirely of noises this operation transforms the originals into an uncanny hybrid of newly introduced processing artefacts, occasional silence and sporadically audible traces of the original field recordings. What kind of sound-aesthetics can emerge while denoising field recordings? Which audible parameters are able to resist this »audio-erasement-process«? How are these traces comparable to the visual remanences of Robert Rauschenberg’s erasure of a de Kooning drawing?

Denoising Field Recordings is released as a limited edition of see-through 12" vinyl with an intruiging white-on-white cover [printed exclusively with varnish] designed by Hans Renzler.

Mark Bradford - Pinocchio is on Fire

2011-06-24T08:24:00.003+01:00

From: White Cube
Link: Pinocchio is on Fire

'Pinocchio Is On Fire' is a limited edition, vinyl LP that features a recording of the artist speaking in the guise of a quick-witted performer who is being interviewed for a fictional radio programme.

Interspersed with a funk/soul soundtrack, Bradford’s entertainer is a combination of Pinocchio and Teddy Pendergrass, the legendary soul singer of the 1970s, whose stage persona was one of exaggerated heterosexuality. His image was destabilised after he was involved in a car accident with his passenger, who was a transsexual model. Bradford conflates the narratives of Pinocchio and Teddy, and introduces aspects of his own autobiography to create a third character, at the heart of which is a social, ethnic and cultural absence, which Bradford compares to ‘that moment of finding the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain’.

2010
Edition of 150
Vinyl Record
Ø 12 in. (Ø 30.5 cm), 26.13 mins

£ 200.00 +VAT

Mat Maitland from Big Active selects covers from his record collection

2011-06-12T22:18:00.004+01:00

The Modular label highlights the London-based creative director's discussion of those sleeves that dominated his youth.

Link: Crate Minds
Link: Big Active
Link: Leopardtreedream

The Vinyl Factory by Tom Darracott

2011-06-02T08:52:00.006+01:00

Link: Tom Darracott
Link: The Vinyl Factory

Tom Darracott received a lot of attention for the design/illustration work put together for, London club, Fabric. He also devised the art direction for Mark Ronson's Version album and its successful campaign. Plus there's also the identity work for the Vinyl Factory that is featured below [a company, by the way, whose own lovingly crafted output has already appeared in this blog quite a few times).

Bug Kann & The Plastic Jam - 'Made in Two Minutes'

2011-05-30T22:30:00.011+01:00

Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - We're New Here

2011-05-28T16:11:00.007+01:00

Limited box set released earlier this year. Original album comes on pink heavyweight vinyl wrapped in fold-out green sheet housed in die-cut sleeve. Instrumental version comes in green heavyweight vinyl housed in pink sleeve. Original album also included on a pink compact disc housed in a pink card sleeve with the instrumental on green compact disc housed in green card sleeve. Also includes 2 black and white photographic prints.

Design by, XL Recordings creative director, Phil Lee [seemingly referencing his artwork for The xx's self-titled long-player] and manufactured by Think Tank Media.

The Alexandria Quartet - Light Drawings by Grandpeople

2011-05-23T09:36:00.004+01:00

Link: September Industry
Link: Grandpeople

"Identity and album artwork for Norwegian pop/rock ensemble The Alexandria Quartet. After touring all over Europe with their debut material for two years, The Alexandria Quartet went back to Bergen, Norway, to work on new material. Coloured by the dark, rainy clouds and the harshness of Norwegian winter, the songs seemed to take on a darker, more psychedelic cloak. With their new sound, and the album title Light Drawings ready, the band contacted us for a visual make-over.

We wanted a look that reflected this new musical direction, which led us to shoot the band in a dark studio setting, and ultimately to combine photography with illustrations and handmade textures.

For the vinyl edition of the album we created a pattern that was engraved into the b-side of the second disc."

The Stepkids - 'Shadows On Behalf' vinyl by Jeff Jank

2011-05-03T12:37:00.004+01:00

Link: Stones Throw

Another great package from art director Jeff Jank for the Stones Throw label. The Stepkids' 'Shadows On Behalf' 12" is limited to 1,000 copies and comes with a print-free embossed sleeve and marbled translucent vinyl. The music's great too.

The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck by Marc Bessant

2011-05-02T16:14:00.004+01:00

Link: Marc Bessant
Link: Merge Records

Josef Albers for Command Records

2011-04-25T17:09:00.009+01:00

Bauhaus-associated artist, educator, typographer, poet and writer Josef Albers also created a number of album sleeves for Command Records between 1959 and 1961. They include these beautiful examples:

Releases by Jamie Woon

2011-04-12T08:51:00.005+01:00

Coming through Polydor, the artwork from Burial-produced Brit School alumni Jamie Woon has taken influence from the title of, his album, Mirrorwriting. The latest in this type-oriented set comes as part of Record Store Day when Woon's 'Lady Luck' is made available as a limited edition picture disc.

It's out April 16th - alongside a whole raft of exclusives that include a remastered blue vinyl issue of the Art of Noise's influential 'Into Battle With...EP', a Bibio and Clark split single that prompts the first use of the classic purple Warp sleeve in four years, a new Mark Farrow-designed Deconstruction offering and a delicious Toddla T feat. Roisin Murphy 'Cherry Picking' 12".

Work by Andy Gilmore

2011-04-11T20:17:00.009+01:00

Having already created imaged for Gold Panda and Africa Hitech, Andy Gilmore is perhaps the go-to guy for lovingly-crafted tessellated artwork. He additionally produces complex Spirograph-like images, but it's these more angular works and their tasty colour palettes that have grabbed my attention most. More can be seen at his site: http://crowquills.com/

[By the way, a copy of the Africa Hitech album - which is due out in May - actually arrived the day after I posted this.]

Revolutions: The Album Cover Art of Shepard Fairey

2011-03-03T09:18:00.002Z

EXHIBITION DATES:
3/12 - 4/23/11

ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY C2
2525 MICHIGAN AVE
SANTA MONICA, CA 90404

OBEY GIANT ART X SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS X ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY ARE PROUD TO PRESENT REVOLUTIONS, A PROJECT FEATURING THE ALBUM COVER ART OF SHEPARD FAIREY. ON EXHIBITION FROM MARCH 12TH THRU APRIL 23RD AT ROBERT BERMAN'S C2 GALLERY, WILL BE OVER 80 PIECES OF PUNK, ROCK, NEW WAVE, JAZZ, AND HIP-HOP INSPIRED ARTWORK BASED ON THE 12" RECORD COVER FORMAT. TO MARK THIS OCCASION, TWO SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION ALBUM COVER PRINT BOX SETS WILL BE RELEASED FOR THE EXHIBITION.

"LONG BEFORE I KNEW ABOUT ART GALLERIES OR EVEN STREET ART, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT ALBUM COVER ART, IF ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS THE VISUAL COUNTERPART TO THE MUSIC ON THE RECORDS I LOVED. ALBUM COVERS CONJURED A EUPHORIC ASSOCIATION WITH THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE. MOST OF MY EARLIEST HOME-MADE TEE SHIRTS WERE STENCILS BASED ON PUNK ALBUM COVERS. I'VE HAD SOME VERY MOVING ENCOUNTERS WITH ART IN MY LIFE, ESPECIALLY IN THE STREET, BUT ALMOST NOTHING CAN COMPARE WITH THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THE BOOTS MARCHING AND FIRST CHORD OF THE SEX PISTOLS' HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN, OR THE AIR RAID SIRENS LEADING INTO "TOO BLACK, TOO STRONG" ON THE INTRO TO PUBLIC ENEMY'S IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK, OR THE OPENING GUITAR SCREAM OF BLACK FLAG'SRISE ABOVE. THOSE SONGS DID, AND STILL DO, MAKE MY ARM HAIRS STAND UP. MUSIC IS VISCERAL AND ACCESSIBLE, BUT ALSO HAS THE ADDITIONAL POWERFUL LAYERS OF THE LYRICS, WITH THEIR CONTENT AND POLITICS, AND THE STYLE, POLITICS, AND PERSONALITIES OF THE MUSICIANS THEMSELVES. NO MATTER HOW MUCH I LOVE ART, OR TRY TO CONVINCE MYSELF OF ITS RELEVANCE IN SOCIETY, THE FACT REMAINS THAT MUSIC IS A LOT COOLER AND WAY MORE ABLE TO REACH PEOPLE'S HEARTS AND MINDS' BUT I'M A POPULIST AND I LOOK AT THIS WAY: I MAY NOT PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, BUT I'M GONNA ROCK IT HARD AS NAILS ANYWAY. WITH MY ART I TRY TO CAPTURE THE SAME ENERGY AND SPIRIT THAT MAKES MUSIC SO POWERFUL AND DEMOCRATIC. REVOLUTIONS IS A CELEBRATION OF ALL THE GREAT MUSIC AND ACCOMPANYING ART THAT HAS INSPIRED ME OVER THE YEARS."

- SHEPARD

Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records from the USA

2011-02-27T14:50:00.003Z

Soundscreen’s recent book, Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records from the USA, is a celebration of nearly 25 years of labor intensive 7-inch record packaging and design. Curated by Brian Roettinger, Mike Treff, and Diego Hadis, it features over 300 records and 600 bands, with an introduction from the always insightful Henry H. Owings, and essay contributions from Simple Machine’s founder Kristin Thomson, Amphetamine Reptile founder Tom Hazelmyer, Three One G founder Justin Pearson, and many more.

Amazon link: Touchable Sound

Autechre - EPS 1991 - 2002

2011-02-15T15:17:00.005Z

Autechre
EPS 1991 - 2002
(Warp)

_________________________________________________________________________

This 47 track collection brings together material from Autechre's EP releases (now mostly out of print) from between 1991 - 2002 years. Including:

Cavity Job (1991 - First Autechre release from before they signed to Warp and not available on CD before)
Basscad EP (1994)
Anti EP (1995)
Garbage (1995)
Anvil Vapre (1995)
Peel Session (Transmitted 1995, released 1999)
Envane (1997)
Cichlisuite (1997)
EP7 (1999)
Peel Session 2 (Transmitted 1999, released 2001)
Gantz_Graf (2002)

All versions come with 3 High Quality Videos:
Second Bad Vilbel (Chris Cunningham)
Gantz_Graf (Alexander Rutterford)
Basscadet (Jess Scott Hunter)
_________________________________________________________________________

AVAILABLE NOW

320 MP3 and Video

WAV and Video
_________________________________________________________________________

PRE-ORDER NOW -
5x Deluxe CD Boxset
Designed by The Designers Republic

CD version comes with WAV and 320 MP3 Downloads and Video

CD SHIPPED & RELEASED 11TH APRIL 2011

Amazon Link: EPs 1991 - 2002

Sleeping Beauty Ballet Suite sleeve by unknown designer

2011-02-12T17:10:00.003Z

Link: Re:collection

Archiving Australian graphic design artefacts, Re:Collection posted this World Record Club sleeve from the 1960s. Unfortunately there is no designer credit so it's impossible to determine who devised this graceful suggestion of movement.

Various Production work by David Bray

2011-02-10T21:15:00.008Z

Link: David Bray
Link: Thee Soft Verge
Link: Various Production

David Bray has been a longtime collaborator with the enigmatic Various Production. Initially he gained attention for his quirky illustration style but some of his recent sleeves have employed more photographic elements. Still, they are just as compelling.

For The Record #2: Nitzan Hermon

2011-02-09T19:28:00.009Z

Link: Nitzan
Link: Edit by Edit
Link: Fine Art Recordings
Link: Sebastian Onufszak

Already involved in some very inventive music packaging through his Fine Art label, Designer Nitzan Hermon recently received a massive amount of internet love due to his coordination of a stunning series of music genre-themed screenprints. After the dedication he's demonstrated for that point where music and art collide, I was keen to know what his favourite sleeve was.

Almost an impossible task, Nitzan agreed to pick just one of the sleeves he has been impressed by: the RGB solution for Michael Fakesch's Exchange - as prescribed by Polish-German illustrator, designer and art director Sebastian Onufszak.

Radio Slave - 'No Sleep Part Six' by Red Design

2011-02-09T19:13:00.004Z

Link: Red Design

Brighton's Red Design just unveiled its new website. That's probably reason enough to post the great sleeve that the studio created for Rekids' Radio Slave.

Harald Grosskopf - Synthesist special edition

2011-02-07T15:03:00.003Z

Link: Boomkat

Finally touching down in a deluxe metallic reverse-bound jacket, this long-awaited reissue of Harald Grosskopf's influential solo debut from 1980 is finally here, complete with a 60-minute bonus CD including re-workings from James Ferraro, Oneohtrix Point Never, JD Twitch, CFCF, Stellar Om Source, Arp, Blondes and much more.

Having long been touted by connoisseurs as one of the great "lost" electronic albums of the early-80's 'Synthesist' was created as the New Age of the '80s was dawning and the titans of Krautrock had largely left their best work behind them. Harald had worked with the very best of them, playing drums on seminal albums by Klaus Schulze, the notorious Cosmic Jokers, Ashra, and Tarot before he retreated to the West German countryside with a MiniMoog and Revox Reel-to-Reel in 1979 to create his personal opus.

The album feels like a symbiosis of two eras, the proggy excesses of the '70s reigned in by percussively pulsing arpeggiations which would signal Techno on the horizon, especially on the jaw-dropping '1847 Earth' and the joyfully funky ecstasy of 'Transcendental Overdrive'.

His legacy is faithfully handled on the remixes, the best of which appear in CFCF's dreamy remake of 'B. Aldrian', JD Twitch's emphatically NRGetic mix of 'Emphasis', the wormhole experience of OPN's 'Trauma' and James Ferraro's slyly charming interpretation of 'Transcendental Overdrive Zone' under the Keyhole Voyeur alias, retitled 'Wishmaster'.

Photography by Detlef Maugsch.
Original artwork by Siegfried Kottler.
Liner note translation by Mike Burns.
Art direction by Kevin O'Neill.

Punks Jump Up - 'Block Head' by Michael Willis

2011-02-03T22:59:00.008Z

Link: Other Scenes

Michael Willis of Other Scenes has seemingly taken inspiration from the title of, Punks Jump Up's latest Kitsune release, 'Block Head' and created artwork linked closely to Ian Dury & The Blockheads.

This 'mask' artwork obviously owes a huge debt to Barney Bubbles including a typographic style that's suggestive of the one devised for the influential Stiff Records.

If you like that, get Paul Gorman's great book on Barnely Bubbles in its fairly new-ish 2010 edition: Reasons to be Cheerful

Gavin Lucas on rubbish box sets

2011-02-02T19:22:00.003Z

Link: Creative Review

Ellen Allien - Dust Remixes by Pfadfinderei

2011-02-01T21:24:00.006Z

In general, designers appear to have a bit of a problem with the generic CD jewel case: it's possibly the Comic Sans of music packaging. That may be why I like this fairly simple and unabashed BPitch Control release by Florian Sebald of Pfadfinderei: the Berlin collective that created a lot of artwork for the label [including that striking Modeselektor 'monkey' logo].

Vintage record company logos by Milton Glaser

2011-01-29T12:20:00.003Z

Link: Container List

John Cage & Terry Fox - High Fidelity

2011-01-29T10:04:00.012Z

Link: Edition RZ

A beautiful gatefold sleeve for a John Cage and Terry Fox project.

(Further releases from the experimental Edition RZ label are also worth seeking out - particularly the minimal artwork created by Ott + Stein.)

Ranta Lewis Plank - Mu

2011-01-28T19:58:00.005Z

Link: Boomkat

Housed in a luxurious linen box and limited to just 300 copies (Vinyl) and 500 copies (CD) - these amazing recordings from 1970 feature unbelievable material from seminal engineer and Kraftwerk producer Conny Plank alongside noted percussionists Michael Ranta and Mike Lewis, complete with a 16-page booklet translated to English, German and Dutch by Belgium's Metaphon label.

Hailed as "a masterpiece" by Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton, 'Mu' was recorded at Conny Plank's studio only a few months after the legendary Wired session which ended up on Deutsche Grammofon's Free Improvisation boxset in 1974. Limited only by the length of the tapes available, the trio created the four sections of 'Mu' in one night and mixed the whole album down the following morning, showcasing a masterful handling of freeform sonic abstractions and sublimely minimal psychedelic improvisations.

Their music is suspended in a timeless, spiritually resonant space, connecting threads and fragments of purely esoteric sonics into an organic matrix of otherworldly shapes and aural apparations, Plank using the studio as an instrument restricted only by the very outer bounds of possibility, imagination, and his own unquestionable talent. The results are genuinely breathtaking, delivering one of the most visceral, abstract and engrossing Krautrock experiences imaginable. We urge you to grab one of these beautiful editions while you can.

Hip Hop logos by Eric Haze

2011-01-27T15:26:00.010Z

Link: Eric Haze

Some seminal hip hop iconography here courtesy of Eric Haze: a NYC graffiti artist whose work also includes marques for LL Cool J and Stussy plus the tidying-up of Chuck D's original Tippex and Xerox-made Public Enemy logo.

Moritz von Oswald Trio - 'Horizontal Structures' by Will Bankhead

2011-01-26T12:27:00.002Z

Link: The Trilogy Tapes
Link: Honest Jons

The latest episode in the riveting Will Bankhead for Honest Jons saga. "Out soon".

Fenech-Soler work by Kate Moross

2011-01-25T19:49:00.013Z

Maybe it's because it wasn't uploaded to Kate Moross' site or because the shops I'd frequented had decided not to stock, but the last batch of work for Fenech-Soler had passed me by. Odd really as I had been aware of the earlier - and less interesting - output by this electropop band.

Anyway what Moross has commendably managed to do here is retain the essence of the 1980s that more blatantly permeated their early visuals yet stayed true to her own passion for geometric shapes. The typography has an Art Deco revival feel but that, for me, only adds to that eighties aesthetic. Plus there's a lovely metallic sheen courtesy of Jane Stockdale's phototography.

I hate to say 'retro-futurism' again, but it is all a bit like Miami Vice in space.

Perhaps.

John Foxx and The Maths - Interplay by Jonathan Barnbrook

2011-01-25T17:43:00.007Z

Typography demi-god Jonathan Barnbrook announced on Twitter that he was designing a cover for John Foxx and The Maths' Interplay album. Just seven minutes later he posted a link to it. Is this some kind of record?

Anyway, it reminded me of Fischerspooner's Odyssey: a sleeve I had previously admired for its pharmaceutical company logo-like simplicity.

Various Production feat. MC Vex - 'Drink It' video by Voyeur

2011-01-24T08:59:00.006Z

I'm sure there are those really technical people that are less impressed, but I'm in awe of the abstract animations that crop up on Vimeo as unofficial music promos. This may have something to do with my own disastrous attempts to get to grips with Autodesk's 3D Studio Max. Anyway I can now really appreciate the patience that goes into these projects and, when the end result is as compelling and as odd as this one created by Voyeur for the mysterious Various Production, I'm glad that someone else makes the effort.

If you like this kind of esoteric eye candy, perhaps seek out Form + Format's audio generative's motion piece that's set to the Shlohmo remix of Robot Koch's 'Gorom Sen'.

Skinny Ships' 10 x 10

2011-01-23T10:18:00.011Z

Link: Skinny Ships

Lists of records are great. However Richard 'Skinny Ships' Perez is a designer from San Francisco and he has compiled his top 10 albums of 2010 as a unique visual collection.

They're currently viewable on his Flickr photostream and fall somewhere between alternative cover art and (via the inclusion of release date, number of plays, etc) infographics. The Kanye West one - with the halftone on the painted text - is my personal favourite.

Demdike Stare - Tryptych by Andy Votel

2011-01-22T10:16:00.021Z

Link: Modern Love

I really like Andy Votel. His enthusiasm is tireless but always stops short of exhausting. He's the only person that's ever insisted that I buy a particular record while personally offering a money back guarantee should I not completely fall in love with it. I really admire how he's completely submerged in music and design and film and art yet is still driven by the passion to find something new. Even when that 'new' turns out to be something so old and so obscure that even the creator of the work isn't aware that it ever existed.

So to his work for Demdike Stare that follows on from his sleeves for Twisted Nerve, Grand Central, XL Recordings and Finders Keepers. The latter re-issue label is obviously one of Votel's own babies but it is also one that relies on input from Sean Canty - one half of Demdike Stare. With Miles Whittaker of Pendle Coven and MLZ, he released a trio of occult-dabbling drone and dub-oriented sonic curiosities that have now been collected together (with bonus material) for Tryptych. Votel supplies the bewitching artwork. And I'm especially loving the ouija board that was first spotted on 'Forest of Evil'.

Amazon link: Tryptych

Off The Page

2011-01-21T14:57:00.006Z

Link: Sound and Music

Date: Friday 11 - Sunday 13 February 2011

Venue: The Playhouse, Whitstable

Produced by: Sound and Music and The Wire

In February 2011, Sound and Music and The Wire present Off the Page, the UK’s first ever literary festival devoted to music criticism. Taking place at the Playhouse Theatre, Whitstable, on the South coast, this weekend-long event will feature a host of internationally-renowned critics, authors, musicians and artists discussing the current state of underground and experimental music in a programme of talks, presentations, panel discussions and workshops.

Schedule:

Friday 11 February, 7pm – 10.30pm
Doors open at 7pm
Presentation: Robert Wyatt on his favourite music
Short films hosted by BFI and introduced by Jonny Trunk: Tristram Cary on film

Saturday 12 February, 10am – 10.30pm
Talk: Ken Hollings on the post-Cageian universe
Talk: Rob Young and Matthew Herbert on the impact of musique concrète on contemporary sonic culture
Talk: Steve Beresford and John Kieffer in conversation
Talk: Kodwo Eshun on his favourite music writing
Talk: Dave Tompkins on the history of the vocoder, from its use in the Second World War to its role in the era of Auto Tune
Talk: Teal Triggs on Fanzines
Presentation: Christian Marclay
Short films hosted by Lux: Cage On Cable

Sunday 13 February: 11am – 5pm
Writing tips from The Wire (limited capacity)
Panel discussion: Salome Voegelin, David Toop, Daniela Cascella on the philosophy of listening
In conversation: Green Gartside with Mark Fisher discussing politics and cultural theory in pop culture and music
Performance lecture: Claudia Molitor, Jennifer Walshe, Sarah Nicholls on music notation

ADVANCE TICKETS ONLY

Tickets are available from Ticketweb:

Early bird weekend pass: £25 + bkg fee
Weekend pass: £30 + bkg fee
Friday pass: £12.50 + bkg fee
Saturday pass: £15 + bkg fee
Sunday pass: £12.50 + bkg fee

Book now

Please note: the Playhouse Theatre Whitstable has restricted wheelchair access

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes by Leif Podhajsky

2011-01-21T08:14:00.018Z

Link: Leif Podhajsky

After gaining attention for saturated psychedelic sleeves for Modular band Tame Impala, Leif Podhajsky's work for Lykke Li employs a moody monochromatic approach. It also abandons the symmetry that is usually associated with Podhajsky's imagery.

Released next month, the album Wounded Rhymes will additionally be available as a collectors edition complete with vinyl, CD and high quality digital files plus a bonus pre-order track and, for the first 500, a numbered lithograph print.

Limited edition: Wounded Rhymes
Standard CD edition: Wounded Rhymes

Popol Vuh - The Werner Herzog Soundtracks (Box Set)

2011-01-20T15:50:00.006Z

The divine music of Popol Vuh is inextricable from the Werner Herzog films it soundtracks. This lavish set includes five seminal film scores: Heart of Glass (1976), Aguirre (1972), Nosferatu (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987) in one lavish, beautiful box including a 98-page hardback book with rare photos and liner notes.

Scoring Herzog's 'Aguirre', Popol Vuh, lead by Florian Fricke, established a longstanding relationship with the director, providing him with a milestone of electronic music which is still regularly cited as a masterpiece. Fricke's innately moving compositions presaged the electronic ambient and new age genres, incorporating avant-garde classical, religious music, prog and krautrock themes into a substantial, harmonically rich sound.

Over the next fifteen years Fricke's musical evolution was charted by his work for Herzog, weaving increasingly elaborate instrumentation into the electronic fabric of his compositions. Between his captivating choral work for Nosferatu, the operatic classicism of Fitzcarraldo, or the breathtaking lushness of Cobra Verde, Fricke and Popol Vuh inspired a generation and re-defined the art of the soundtrack.

Boomkat link: The Werner Herzog Soundtracks
Amazon link: The Werner Herzog Soundtracks

For The Record #1: Lone

2011-01-20T13:04:00.012Z

Link: Lone
Link: Boards of Canada
Link: Magic Wire Recordings

Lone is Matt Cutler - a production talent whose deep and tripped-out electronic compositions have found their way out via labels like Actress' Werk Discs.

Asked to select his favourite artwork for Plastic Circles, he has opted for Music Has The Right To Children by Boards of Canada. Cutler has repeatedly cited this duo as a major musical influence, yet this design [by Boards of Canada themselves for release on Skam and, latterly, Warp] also appears to have a visual connection to, his own current long-player, Emerald Fantasy Tracks. The similar use of the hazy holiday snaps perhaps then being an ideal accompaniment for a sound that audibly reconfigures past memories into something that is simultaneously strange and familiar.

Sleeves of Desire: A Cover Story

2011-01-19T22:41:00.009Z

Link: ECM

Often typified by a combination of European sans-serif type with intriguing imagery, the ECM label has built an archive of influential sleeve design around its classical and jazz releases.

Sleeves of Desire - A Cover Story compiled many of the key moments from the back-catalogue including the abstract approach of Barbara Wojirsch. Anyway, I've routinely had the library copy at home and was beginning to think that I should get one for myself. Although now out of print, I was shocked to see that the best price I could get on a used copy was £200. So, basically, if you see one knocking about in a charity shop, snap it up. Then drop me a line and I'll give you back the 20p that you paid for it.

Failing that, a more reasonably priced alternative that focuses on ECM's output is more widely avaible. Granta's Horizons Touched - The Music of ECM can be ordered via ECM's site for €29 [link above]. Meanwhile Lars Müller Publishers (the company that printed Sleeves of Desire) has issued Windfall Light - The Visual Language of ECM which places considerably more focus on some of the photography-based artwork.
That one is currently discounted at Amazon via the following link:

Windfall Light: The Visual Language of ECM

Beck - Modern Guilt by Mario Hugo

2011-01-19T18:58:00.010Z

Link: Mario Hugo

Here's some beautiful typography for Beck's Moden Guilt that actually turns out to be just one of six treatments that Mario Hugo pitched. All of his ideas were actually great. Yet none of them were used. The final artwork has also been pasted below and, while I happen to be more of a fan of Hugo's approach, I suppose you have to respect Beck Hansen's right to go with his own instincts. After all, he has been a great patron of good design throughout that recording career of his.

Let's just hope that Hugo gets to use those letter forms elsewhere.

The Designers Republic 2011 retrospective

2011-01-19T01:16:00.010Z

Link: ginza graphic gallery

The 295th Exhibition
Ian Anderson / The Designers Republic Come Home

The Designers Republic (TDR) gained a wide following around the world beginning in the 1990s with its music-related artwork, including album covers for the Warp record label, and other striking visuals that reinterpreted or reconstructed familiar corporate logos, symbols and katakana characters in ways that strayed from their original meaning.

Japan was hardly immune to the phenomenon. Indeed, TDR had an enormous influence that extended even beyond the realms of music, fashion, games, and graphic design. TDR founder Ian Anderson, whose designs often incorporate Japanese pop culture elements, was deeply influenced by the swirl of consumerism he discovered in the youth culture hot spot of Shibuya—a Blade Runner world of clamorous neon. Though committed to working primarily from Sheffield, the group called Tokyo something of a second home, even opening a TDR store called The Peoples Bureau for Consumer Information in Harajuku’s shopping paradise in 2002.

When the UK design blog Creative Review first ran reports of TDR’s dissolution on 20 January 2009, the news instantly reverberated among designers around the world. It was a shocking event that left many feeling a kind of stunned resignation, but Anderson insisted from the start that TDR would be back. He continued pursuing his own work and before long, though without fanfare, again under the TDR name. One could say, perhaps, that the current event in Tokyo, TDR’s home away from home, marks the beginning of its next chapter.

TDR design—communicating with others through the questions and dialogue generated when preconceived notions are overturned—is alive and well. At last, the world of TDR, and the pleasure of expectations betrayed, descends upon ggg.

ginza graphic gallery (ggg)
Friday. February 4 – Monday. February 28, 2011
DNP Ginza Bldg., 7-7-2 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Tel: 03-3571-5206
11:00am – 7:00pm (Open until 6:00pm on Saturdays)
Closed on Sundays and holidays. Admission free.

Gallery Talk: Ian Anderson is scheduled to give a talk sometime during the exhibition period. Further information will be provided on our website once all the details have been confirmed.
Note: ggg Books 96: The Designers Republic will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.
Note: TDR-related events will be held and products sold throughout Tokyo during the period of the exhibition. Additional details will be posted to the website as they are finalized.

The Emperor Machine artwork by La Boca

2011-01-18T19:34:00.017Z

Link: La Boca

Despite justifiably receiving a lot of attention for the geometric approach created for Muse, I'm even more enamoured with La Boca's designs for The Emperor Machine. Maybe it's the retro-futurism of the typography or the quirky yet unsettling lo-fi imagery [that seemingly recounts obscure old library recordings and Krautrock oddities] but - either way - it's a strong aesthetic that fits perfectly with The Emperor Machine's spaced-out psyche-disco.

Moritz von Oswald Trio - 'Restructure 2'

2011-01-18T09:00:00.012Z

Link: Honest Jons

With a restrained design by Will Bankhead (for the always excellent Honest Jons label), the famously Basic Channel-linked Moritz van Oswald Trio has its 'Restructure 2' currently available. Additionally, there's a rework by Mala on the B-side.

"This new stepper swells out of thin air like a monstrous child of Krautrock. Immense and minimal, twelve minutes of propulsive groove is overlain with the blues abstraction of Tikiman's guitar, the swing and effects of Marc Muellbauer's double bass, Delay's digressive steel percussion, and the otherworldly keys of Loderbauer and von Oswald.

With characteristic intensity, Mala's rebuild ratchets up the drama and dread. A mounting barrage of bleeps rains down on a vicious, clopping drum pattern and red-alert synths, with transfixing bass."
Boomkat

Mala is of course integral to, dubstep doyens, Digital Mystikz whose 2010 Return II Space album also featured some pretty elegant artwork.

Blue Monday

2011-01-17T20:13:00.002Z

Pack shots

2011-01-17T19:48:00.007Z

The past few years have seen a great burst of elaborate music packaging. Sure, there have always been design-conscious CD journals, screen-printed sleeves and embossed boxes, often celebrated in books such as the Sampler series by Adrian Shaughnessy and Julian House and sites such as Colin Buttimer and Justin Amphlett’s Hardformat.org.

Yet this trend has accelerated with the release of some of the most elaborate creations ever seen, as specialist companies such as Artists In Residence and The Vinyl Factory promote limited-edition artefacts that are more like artists’ books. Many such editions foreground artwork over sound carriers as layers of embossed or laminated card open to reveal CDs, DVDs and vinyl...

Full article link: E ye

Häpna artwork

2011-01-17T19:32:00.004Z

Link: Häpna

I like Swedish label Häpna's inclusion of hand written text - especially when it's in pencil. It recounts what Rick Myers did for some of the Lamb sleeves. Particularly the reverse of the 'Gorecki' digipack.

Arcade Fire Wins FWA Website of the Year Award

2011-01-16T17:49:00.004Z

Link: The Wilderness Downtown

Arcade Fire's interactive online film The Wilderness Downtown has won the FWA Site of the Year Award for 2010.

The site, which was created by director Chris Milk in collaboration with Aaron Koblin of Google Creative Lab and digital production company B-Reel, was made to promote the track 'We Used To Wait' from Arcade Fire's recent album The Suburbs. It was chosen by the judges as the best site of the year, from a shortlist of 12 sites, the favourites chosen each month on the FWA site...

Full article at Link: Creative Review

'Cover Versions'

2011-01-16T10:07:00.005Z

Link: Record Covers as Pelican Books set

I had already posted Little Pixels' records as vintage books elsewhere but then just stumbled on the set again. Last time I was interested in the use of Penguin/Pelican's 'Marber Grid' [which also appears to have influenced the design of the previously mentioned Ghost Box label]. I do also like the suggestion of more basic print techniques.

Broadcast artwork

2011-01-15T11:30:00.011Z

Link: Broadcast
Link: Ghost Box Records

The pairing-up of Broadcast with Intro designer Julian House produced some startlingly original artwork. Rather than just being part of some 'job' that shifted from pitch to Mac to invoice, there was a sense that House was completely immersed in Broadcast's output right from the issuing of 2000's The Noise Made By People release. Yet there was evidence of a mutual admiration that manifested via further collaborations. Such as when the Warp act performed an improvised soundtrack to a short film made by the designer and, of course, those subsequent sleeves.

The relationship was further cemented when House launched the Ghost Box label: a lovingly crafted outlet that has followed a similarly haunted approach to Broadcast's own music; where experimentalism has met the kind of lost sounds more usually found on dusty old library records. In fact, following the passing of Broadcast's Trish Keenan yesterday, Ghost Box stated that the band was its "central and primary influence". What's left now is a legacy of beautiful audio/visual work that should continue to inspire for years to come.

Trish Keenan

2011-01-14T15:23:00.003Z

A statement issued by Warp Records today:

It is with great sadness we announce that Trish Keenan from Broadcast passed away at 9am this morning in hospital. She died from complications with pneumonia after battling the illness for two weeks in intensive care.

Our thoughts go out to James, Martin, her friends and her family and we request that the public respect their wishes for privacy at this time.

This is an untimely tragic loss and we will miss Trish dearly - a unique voice, an extraordinary talent and a beautiful human being. Rest in Peace.

BRIT Awards rebrand

2011-01-13T20:42:00.017Z

Link: Music

As the nominations have just been announced, I thought I'd post some images from the BRIT Awards rebrand completed by, Manchester design agency, Music.

Not only completely shifting away from a logo that was overtly 'yoof', the project has additionally involved sleekly reworking the statues that will eventually grace the downstairs toilets of pop's finest. Plus probably the one belonging to Katy Perry too.

Additionally, these trophies are to be customised each year with the first featuring a design by Vivienne Westwood. The new B identity, meanwhile, offers a multitude of options for contrasting photography to work alongside that nice new silhouette.

Winner.

Mr Oizo - Moustache (Half a Scissor)

2011-01-13T19:51:00.010Z

Link: Brainfeeder

In a week of Flying Lotus action (what with him unlocking some bonus material via electrickery involving his Cosmogramma album and a webcam), the man's own Brainfeeder label is re-releasing a Mr Oizo album.

The Flat Eric favourite's Moustache (Half a Scissor) has been cited by FlyLo as a hugely inspiring piece of work hence its re-appearance as just 1,000 vinyl copies. And it additionally presents another opportunity to look at the visual work by Oizo - a.k.a. Quentin Dupieux - of which Moustache is just a small part. Rubber, for example, is his film about a murderous psychic tyre which is rumoured to be getting a wider release in 2011. Seriously.

Dubfire visuals by Human Studio

2011-01-13T14:29:00.009Z

Link: Human Studio

Following the success of Deadmau5, some clubbers probably expect more of a visual experience. Former Deep Dish fella Dubfire delivered this via the project that he commissioned from Nick Bax's Human Studio.

Already having proved popular in 'big room' establishments like The Warehouse Project and Ministry of Sound [plus the SCI+TEC event at Miami's Winter Music Conference], it is additionally available to view via the following link: Dubfire video.

14 Tracks from Planet Mu

2011-01-12T08:33:00.019Z

Link: Ben Curzon
Link: 14 Tracks From Planet Mu

The new 14 Tracks from Planet Mu compilation features photography from Hilary Walker with design by Ben Curzon. The latter also devised that explosive motif that has graced the label's single releases and, previous collection, The Mu School: a really striking identity that has unified disparate releases from a roster of highly individual music makers.

As he puts it:

Planet Mu Records required an identifiable and expandable design system for an indefinitely numbered release schedule series of 12” singles. The design also needed to be simple and iconic to work equally effectively as small thumbnail images on digital download stores such as their own webstore at www.planet.mu and Bleep.com. A simple flash-like motif was created to display the key information of each release (Artist, Title, catalogue number and RPM). The structure remains identical, with colour changes and photography identifying each release...

The flash motif became so synonymous and immediately recognisable as part of the brand, it was applied to T-shirts, embroidered onto hooded tops, record bags and printed turntable slipmats.

The Cover Art of Reinforced Records

2011-01-11T21:32:00.006Z

From: FACT

The Cover Art of Reinforced Records is a new book celebrating, you guessed it, the cover art of Reinforced Records.
Founded by 4Hero’s Dego, Marc Mac, Gus Lawrence and Ian Bardouille, Reinforced was one of 1990s club music’s most important labels, with a discography spanning hardcore, jazz/soul-fuelled drum ‘n bass and broken beat, including stone cold classics by Rufige Cru, Manix and Seiji. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the imprint’s formation, and to celebrate 4Hero have put together this ‘Collectors Guide’.

Available in hardback (£29.95) and paperback (£19.95) editions, The Cover Art of… exists thanks to Blurb, a boutique web service that allows users to design their own books and have them manufactured. The book will be available exclusively from Blurb, and for a limited time only. As well as images of more than 200 records in the Reinforced catalogue, the book includes a full discography, and it’ll make a fine addition to the bookshelf of the rave survivor/aficionado in your life. From a design perspective, it’s interesting to see how punchy hand-drawn cover art gradually gave away to fussy computer-generated imagery as the label grew older and technology evolved – there are easily as many monstrous sleeves in the Reinforced catalogue as there are beauties, which only serves to make the book more enjoyable.

For more information, and to thumb through an online preview of the book, click here.

Impotent Fury sleeves

2011-01-11T17:11:00.013Z

Design: Airside
Made by: ThinkTank Media
Record Label: Impotent Fury

Keeping the physical format alive are these lavish limited edition 7” sleeves designed by Airside with Fred Deakin supplying the the tracks inside.

Processes : hand screen printed in white onto 6 different coloured porous cairn boards clear foil blocking + numerous circular die cuts.
Pushing the boundaries of music packaging alive as ever.
A superb collection of unique unbranded sleeves for ultimate creative license.

As Creative Review noted, the use of printed varnishes around the die-cuts gives the impression of further layers.

ThinkTank, meanwhile, has facilitated some other great packaging solutions including projects for NinjaTune, Radiohead and The xx.

Bloc Weekend promo video

2011-01-11T16:32:00.008Z

One of the most interesting festivals in my opinion - with a line-up featuring Aphex Twin, Laurent Garnier, Matthew Dear, Modeselektor, Joy Orbison, Mala, Ramadanman and more - the Bloc Weekend also has some nice promo material.

The following video, for example, comes with visuals from David Terranova, a 'Windowlicker'-esque track by Kritical Audio and branding from the always interesting Give Up Art. Essentially it's one of the most exciting adverts for Butlins I've ever seen.

Dot Dot Rock

2011-01-10T12:37:00.010Z

Zoë Street Howe on the black art of ‘metal umlauts’

‘Metal umlauts’ echo the ‘devil horn’ rock salute, carry a menacing whiff of Gothic mystery – and make us look twice. Yes, heavy rockers love a good diacritical mark, and it appears that the gratuitous umlaut, often presented in conjunction with dense blackletter script, has been good, in turn, to them. There is even a metal band called Umlaut. (Yet their name bears no dots. See what they did there?)...

Full article link: Eye
Below: Motörhead logo by Phil Smee & Joe Petagno

Worst Album Artwork

2011-01-10T09:37:00.007Z

Following on from all the discussion of the best packaging, there have also been a number of lists highlighting the supposedly piss-poor artwork that emerged last year.

Some overlap with entries on the 'best of' lists [Kings of Leon with that Desdemona-like font and murky palm trees, Anthony Ausgang's trippy cartoon for MGMT] but a variety of different sources selected Jeff Beck's Emotion and Commotion - featuring an image that couldn't be any more flag-wavingly American if it tried. Still, it's seriously classy when you compare it to some time-honoured examples such as the infamous Millie Jackson cover which I've placed, rather aptly, at the bottom.

For even more vintage terrible sleeves, there is also a cheap book available.
Link: Nick DiFonzo - Seriously Bad Album Covers!