This week

I will be moderating on that panel at Un-Convention at the People's History Museum on Saturday. Before that, I'm teaching on 'Introduction to Media', 'Introduction to Popular Culture' and 'Critical Thinking and Writing'.

My teaching obligations have actually meant that I don't have time to do the classes that teach me how to teach this semester. I've had to postpone those until January. [When I should also be doing the second year 'Music Journalism' module again.]

There was an additional university offer of learning another language for free but timetable clashes have meant that I won't be able to expand my French vocabulary beyond ordering beer for a while. Oh, and I've officially started on my PhD. I had a great time online ordering books the other day. It's like Christmas here. Only every 'present' turns out to be a book of some description.

I also think that I've passed my Masters. Officially I won't know for sure - specifically regarding grades - until January. But due to my PhD offer based on a condition of MA completion, Lawrence had to give the past year the nod so that I could start on this pretty epic study.

A bit gutted that I'm alone on this one, by the way. I'll miss Amy, Dave and Nicky.

Un-Convention Poster Separations

The poster I proposed for Un-Convention will be getting printed and displayed as part of the conference/festival. I've just been doing the separations for it and, given how much time I've spent there already this month, it will be nice that it will be someone else at Hot Bed that will be printing them.

The stipulated colours are respectively a metallic silver, a chartreuse-like shade [picked as #381] and black. Obviously, Pantone colours are less useful within a screen-print studio but that's just a guide. Anywhere between a yellow and acid green would be nice. And I think the poster stock tends to be cream.

Mosca - 'Tilt Shift'

MP3 Links:
Tilt Shift
Square One EP
Square One VIP

Following on from the last post there was another idea I'd played with involving the QR-Code's aesthetic. This was developed for a forthcoming independent release by Mosca that really doesn't suffer from any issues of utilising supposedly corporate elements. In fact it subverts that idea in an attempt to display an underground artist/producer as a branded commodity complete with a bold logotype.

Other influences for this included a colour reference to Mosca's previous 'Square One' on the excellent Night Slugs label plus a nod to some psychedelic-edged/retro-futurist 'seeping' style that was triggered by the track's often amorphous and percolating structure. But, visually and sonically, that's a very personal interpretation. I dare say that the official release may come with a more literal reference to the tilt shift photography that gives the record its title.

Electronic Battle Weapon

The Chemical Brothers began their 'Electronic Battle Weapon' series in 1996 so that fans and DJs could obtain the records that the duo had created with their own club sets in mind. Now ten strong, some of those tracks have since featured on official Chemical Brothers releases although, at the time of their issuing, they were very much part of an underground tradition of promotional material.

I wanted to propose a design for a hypothetical number eleven that would address a number of issues. Firstly there is the problematic nature of big selling artists maintaining those undergroud credentials. I put something in my report about the 'under-design' being used to suggest "a dependable realness" or what Redhead described as "a regime of truth" (Redhead 1993:121).

Particularly identified in subcultures that retain elements of exclusivity through the shared self-identification of being an outsider, there can be a rejection of anything approaching mainstream assimilation. In clubbing circles, this can manifest as a rejection of commercially-minded major labels. But the problem regarding a major label promoting material that it wants to be taken seriously outside of the Top 40-oriented demographic also related to my own desire to utilise QR-Codes within this project: as much as I love their pixelated nonsense and what they can do, they just seemed too corporate. So the idea here was to go back to a quote from producer Andrew Weatherall (who remixed The Chemical Brothers' first single, by the way) about the notion of the future as being this sleek, shiny techno vision. He believed that his 'future' aesthetic is one where the world is falling apart. I wanted to allow that to be used with this contemporary gadgetry. While also relating a proposal to the more underground design that is used to promote low budget, independent dance releases - the white label and the crudely applied stamp [figure 3]. So basically, after some deliberation, I wanted to revise the QR-Code as a deteriorated rubber stamped, monochromatic image across a 12" single.

For the vinyl itself, I went back to the laser-etching approach for a disc with one playable side. But the design was very much about going back to roots - albeit while acknowledging the year 2010 - so it additionally took layout inspiration from the pair's oldest 'Dust Brothers' releases through the Junior Boy's Own label. While it emulates the rubber stamp, given the size it is actually screenprinted using a pre-deteriorated digital image.

The B-side will feature a 'correctly' printed QR-Code directing users to a similarly rough looking Chemical Brothers microsite with all info, a MP3/WAV version, mailing list sign-up [for upfront details of new tracks] and a gateway to other currently available purchases including more general releases.

Dead Formats series

Bockingford Ex Rough 300gsm haunted by the ghosts of music past.
Set of three.
Edition of 20.

The Big Pink - Tapes

A format proposal for the Tapes compilation put together by The Big Pink for the K7 label. This takes 'Tapes' to its most literal conclusion yet it also uses the unplayable format to highlight how the majority of the compiled music doesn't even exist in a physical form. The package also attempts to create intrigue by secreting the information (download links, sleeve notes, etc) inside the spool-less cassette. The opening of the case with the supplied screwdriver forces the purchaser to invest effort and time into the download process culminating in a forced ritual aiming to heighten anticipation.

External text is laser-etched on card and internal text is printed on lightweight tracing paper. Initially there was a suggestion of incorporating a 'euro hole' for hanging the card as "product" but, later, it was felt that a more minimal approach captured some of the eeriness of the 'haunted' hypnotic tracks selected by The Big Pink's Milo Cordell. A key influence in the use of restrained aesthetic was Cordell's description of it as "the sound of America slowly dying" so, like some of the other deliverables for this semester's project, it tries to communicate a sense of 'the memorial'.


*Additional note: I should have mentioned that the dimensions of the pack was determined by the kind of media mail packaging that amazon uses for DVDs, books, etc. The hand-in will be presented in one of these. The additional layer is not just to post the item: it relates to Tal Brosh's comments about opening an item which, of course, influenced the deliverable itself.

Fabric series

I was thinking about the serial nature of music releases and how this contributes to collectability. So I considered the Fabric and Fabriclive catalogue which has been issued with some interesting artwork. A large amount of it has employed esoteric illustration/photography but, as a series, it does shift after a few releases; seemingly created as a smaller series before a new batch, employing an alternative style, arrives. However the promo versions (pictured) have eschewed the full artwork for a more consistent and simple colour-based series.

From my own perspective these reverse board slip cases have become a visual shorthand for the releases and I now recognise the one by Martyn as green, Buraka Som Sistema as yellow, Filthy Dukes as orange, etc. I decided to use Fabric's logo to devise an alternative code system that would work together visually in some way yet rely on a more complex form for recognition.

The dogtooth image Fabric uses immediately presents an opportunity for it to be used in a number of alternative ways as a tesselated pattern. Subsequently I created a few alternatives that would then be used in conjuntion with a circular form [owing to the fact that there is a relationship between the circle and the music format]. The idea is that these lightweight card options - perfect for mailing as part of a membership series - are issued with their respective download links as decorative objects. Alligned, multiples make up further shapes (that are dependent on their number and order) that I felt were almost sci-fi in their approximation of a representation of music. In fact one of the kids I was working with thought that it looked like the Death Star from Star Wars which I'm sure has something to do with the created illusion of a sphere.

More cuts

More lasered text

The letter forms, mentioned in the previous post, are probably clearer in this picture. (More variations of this to come.)

Immortal Melodies (dead)

I got around to lasering some other items today. I'll post more at some point. Anyway, I realised that the machinery's cutting funtion is different to the etching function in as much as the software traces the basic outlines of the jpeg. This also offered the option of altering the contours of the outlines. So I further simplified the serif stencil-friendly typeface I had used so that it was bolder and more 'custom'. You can see how it was used on the 'Immortal Melodies' 7" that finally had its date with destiny. The message reads "WHAT GOES AROUND".

Un-Convention panel

Just a quick update on the other Un-Convention activity that I whispered about earlier. I will be moderating a panel about Music Art as part of the conference (http://www.unconventionhub.org/). The venue is the excellent People's History Museum and it is pencilled in for starting Saturday 2nd October at 4.30pm. The panel features Mark Brown, Simon Rowlands and Si Scott with a couple of other names that are still to confirm.

I'm stepping in for Tash on this. Those are some big shoes to fill.

Taylor Deupree interview

Sound artist, record company owner, photographer and graphic designer Taylor Deupree is responsible for the elegant 12k label. Despite being consumed by explorations of minimalist music and forward-thinking electronic/acoustic combinations [and then working out visual solutions for the respective releases], he very helpfully offered his views regarding physical media and the role of music artwork.


What's the approach to formats for the label? Why does having physical media matter when the music can be sent rather easily via iTunes?

As a listener, lover, and creator of music, music, to me, is more than just a generic list of text on a computer screen. while the convenience of iTunes is fantastic, and I'm a big user of iPods and the like, think we are seeing a generation of kids being brought up on the idea that music is disposable. The ramifications of this are huge. Among other things, music is about mystery and suspense... about putting that CD or record on, and reading along as you listen, or enjoying a bit of what went into creating the album, or learning something about the artist. Maybe these are becoming old-fashioned ideas, but if they aren't preserved then the music itself will suffer. Fortunately, in a lot of the creative and forward-thinking musical genres there is some wonderful packaging going on that either combines a downloadable format with a beautiful package or retains the CD and creates identity.

What legacy do you think there is for specific formats? How important is collectability? And 'a visual manifestation'?

I think someone's library defines who they are. Whether it's a library of books or a library of music. These stacks of books and records help create a person's identity and show off their passions. There are many ways to do this, of course, but a music library is one of them.

Also, have you seen the 'Totem' format for the new Matthew Dear album?

Yes, this is what I'm talking about.. a fantastic marriage of a downloadable format with an object... and where I hope music heads if the CD dies out. Unfortunately, a package like that is out of the reach of most small record labels to make. And if you start to have 1000 of such objects in your own musical collection... well, it'll end up being a lot bulkier than your CD collection ever was. But, there can be a balance and a blending of media, working together to create a creative whole.

How does your role as a designer fit in with those roles as label boss and artist? How important is it for you to find what you see is the 'right' visual solution for a release? And does it matter to the music? Does it alter the listening experience?

I'm not sure a CD cover directly alters the listening experience except in perhaps the first impression someone has on the music. I buy a lot of music based on album design and, similiarly, pass up a lot of music if it doesn't LOOK like something I'd like. So, in this sense it's a curatorial device, very often. When I'm preparing a release for the label I will always have a discussion with the artist about what they are envisioning for the album cover. Many times the artist themselves will have an image that they'd like me to use, and other times they'll want to use one of my photographs. It's important, of course, that the cover image has a relationship to the music; either an abstract visual representation of the sound, or something more literal... such as the new Seaworthy + Matt Rösner CD cover with a photograph they took in the Australian wetlands as they were recording the album.

What has been the response to the making available some of the artwork as ltd prints? And do you think it changes the meanings behind the imagery when it is removed from the packaging and the music?

In the case of 12k, I think many, not all, but many, of the cover images can stand alone as photographic art on your wall. Stripped of all text and branding. Most of the images were initially take as "photography" and then applied to a commercial package. The problem with selling prints like this is the production cost is quite high and people have trouble paying a couple or few hundred dollars for a print. But, hopefully that won't stop everyone.

Any influential music artwork that you think is worth referencing?

When I was a teenager growing up in new england I would go to the closest great record store to my house, which was about 40 minutes away (and is sadly not there anymore) and buy a lot of records based on album art alone. Many times it would be a band I'd never heard of yet I'd get home and 95% of the time I'd like the music. when i paid attention to the liner notes I started noticing a pattern... I was buying a lot of albums by the same designers... Neville Brody... Peter Saville... and in turn starting to pay attention to record labels, which I hadn't before... and the whole experience was teaching me about record labels as identities and creative wholes.. Factory Records, or 4AD come to mind as big influences of how to create a record label with a visual identity.

This all ties in to your first question.. and certainly is how I grew up and how I got into music... but the visual aesthetics are quite simply what introduced me to so much music and have always been and important part of my musical life.

http://www.12k.com

http://www.taylordeupree.com

http://www.twitter.com/taylordeupree

http://www.itunes.com/taylordeupree