Redefine Mag's Best Cover Art of 2011

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.

Coverscaping: Discovering Album Aesthetics by Asbjorn Gronstad and Oyvind Vagnes

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

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

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."

Best Art Vinyl 2010

From a shortlist selected by music and design industry figures, a public vote decided that Klaxons' Surfing The Void boasted 2010's best album cover.

With art direction and design by Richard Robinson, it beat the likes of Caribou's Swim, Skream's Listenin' to the Records on My Wall and The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. Which, to be fair, were all great. [Kylie's dire Aphrodite artwork also made the Top 20 - just to prove that, sometimes, there really is no accounting for taste.]