Shackleton artwork by Zeke Clough

Link: Zeke Clough
Link: Boomkat 
Link: Juno

Three years since the closure of the Skull Disco logo and Shackleton has issued a lavish new package via his Woe to the Septic Heart label. Long-delayed, it incorporates three 'Drawbar Organ' EPs plus the Music for the Quiet Hour album that are on sale as a box set and also individually. The packaging utilises the unmistakable illustrations of Shackleton collaborator Zeke Clough although, unlike earlier releases that may have been a bit too close to the morbid imagery of death metal, this now appears to involve some more refined (yet still psychedelic) Robert Crumb-like penmanship.

Nice

Hampshire University Records releases by Julian Montague

Link: Montague Projects

A collection of faux record covers imagined as listening materials for a character within Secondary Occupants: an exhibition by, artist, Julian Montague. In addition to his book and poster designs, each audio item picks up on some of the niche interests of the described collector whilst, in the case of the featured field recordings/Library Music offerings, inadvertently highlights the demand for this type of vintage esoterica.

Keysound Recordings artwork

Link: Fabric blog

Martin 'Blackdown' Clark has posted an interesting overview of the visual aesthetic associated with, his label, Keysound Recordings. You'll find it on the Fabric blog via the link above. Keysound also hosts Room 3 at Fabric tonight - complete with sets from LHF, Dusk & Blackdown, LV, Sully, Logos and Vibezin.

AtomTM - Winterreise

Link: Raster Noton

"Winterreise is the audio soundtrack to a series of photographs with the same name produced by AtomTM. The series was exhibited during 2011 in Tokyo and Frankfurt. Excerpts are included in the packaging of the Winterreise CD edition.

The Winterreise soundtrack may be considered a sequel to the Liedgut (r-n 99) album, in the sense that the resulting photo series was conceived as a consequence of the contextual framework which Liedgut both initiated and provided. Winterreise though, is a far more abstract piece of work, with its accent in soundscapes and textures. With a balance between the romantic and the scientific, this album evokes, not just accompanies the visual aspect of the Winterreise project in a perfect manner, by painting grainy sonic images that visualize the tradition and the future of the romantic subconscious. A limited edition of original art prints of Winterreise photos (45 cm x 60 cm and 70 cm x 110 cm) will be available at Raster Noton's store."

Can - The Lost Tapes artwork by Julian House

Link: Julian House
Link: Mute


Following his sleeve for Clark's Iradelphic on Warp, Ghost Box and Intro creative Julian House builds on his imagery for Can's Sacrilege remix package with artwork for the band's highly anticipated The Lost Tapes.

Due for release by Mute in June, this box set of rarities from the Krautrock pioneers looks like it will boast a visual aesthetic derived from House's 'pulp' influences. In this case, these seem to be based around the music as artefact with details that play with the pseudo-scientific and retro-futuristic graphics associated with recordable analogue media. There is currently just the one image available, but - with finished copies being a three CD set - we might expect to see this pre-aged lo-fi style explored much further.

Jeroen Erosie interview at Dummy

Link: Jeroen Erosie interview

“Doing the artwork for a wide range of producers is a nice way of looking for this Gesamtkunstwerk approach. In the end, all of this is concentrated on this plastic disc with a piece of cardboard around it."

Clark - Iradelphic material visualised by Julian House and The Vikings

Link: Julian House
Link: Ghost Box
Link: Clark
Link: Warp
Link: The Vikings

The latest long-player from Clark was released by Warp this week - complete with artwork from Julian House.

Part of the Intro partnership (where he has created sleeves for the likes of Can, Primal Scream and Oasis), House has additionally been busy with his own Ghost Box label. The imagery for the Iradelphic album appears to touch on the hazy memories triggered by his more recent projects and some of that crackled nostalgia recounts elements found embedded in the words and pictures of The Focus Group and Belbury Poly. The irregular 'Clark' text additionally appears to be related to the type he applied to Broadcast's The Noise Made By People.

With a rather different aesthetic, a film featuring Clark's melancholic 'Black Stone' was additionally released today with direction by The Vikings.

Bullion - 'Love Me Oh Please Love Me' by The 2 Group and Aaron Larney

Link: The 2 Group
Link: Aaron larney
Link: Bullion

After similar approaches were found in the artwork for Gonjasufi's MU.ZZ.LE and Main Attrakionz's 808s & Dark Grapes II, it seems that Bullion is the next artist to succumb to some stereoscopic detailing. With a cover by The 2 Group and Aaron Larney for his upcoming 'Love Me Oh Please Love Me EP', that retro styling [printed on 300gsm shrink-wrapped sleeves] is the visual accompaniment for four stripped-back self-written songs plus a cover of Robert Wyatt's 'The Age of Self'.

Available on pre-order now with a date of 30th April, the digital release - via Bullion's own DEEK label - will also include, a further track, 'Keep a Document'.

For The Record #5: Jeroen Erosie

Link: Jeroen Erosie
Link: 3024world
Link: The Designers Republic
Link: Autechre 

Co-running the brilliant 3024 label with Martyn, Jeroen Erosie also maintains a career as a lauded street artist. Recently bringing the two together through a series of beautifully chaotic collage-like sleeves for the likes of Mosca, Redshape, Julio Bashmore, Addison Groove and Jon Convex, he reveals that his own favourite record cover is the minimal/maximal solution by The Designers Republic for Autechre's Tri Repetae.

"Plain from the outside," he observes, "visually linked to the music on the inside: it made a big impression when I first saw and heard this. And still does. It seems it all came from the same weird planet, so consistent and subtle."

Konx-om-Pax work for Lone

Link: Konx-om-Pax
Link: Lone
Link: R&S Records

A musician in his own right [actually signed to the magnificent Planet Mu], Konx-om-Pax has been busy developing visuals for the R&S-released material from Matt Cutler's Lone project. Culminating in the upcoming Galaxy Garden long-player, he's depicted a pulsating rave universe complete with writhing tentacles. A single, 'Crystal Caverns 1991', is out today while an animated album sampler video augments the project rather nicely.

Lone - Galaxy Garden - Album Trailer (R&S Records) from Konx-om-Pax on Vimeo.