Chubby Wolf - Ornitheology

Another one featured at the very good Hard Format.

Artist	Chubby Wolf
Title	Ornitheology
Label	Foxy Digitalis
Year	2010
Designer	HMSlatex
Music	Enveloping ambience (excerpt)
Notes	Chubby Wolf was the solo project of Celer’s Danielle Long. Ornitheology is part of Will Long’s series of posthumous releases of her work. The combination of dreamy music, soft latex and the cassette cover’s downturned face makes for a subtly unsettling experience. The design was commissioned by Danielle from the Parisian latex designers HMSlatex and it makes for another wonderful, unusual object that takes its place alongside Celer’s pyramids.

Hurts promo package

Featured at: Popjustice

Nothing says sartorial elegance and remnants of a bygone era better than a Hurts comb in a lovely box. Lucky recipients also get the bonus of a CD version of Happiness - the debut album by the Manchester synth-oriented twosome. Although I suspect it's really all about the comb. And the box.

Beat that, iTunes.

Everything Everything - Man Alive

Manchester quartet Everything Everything obviously have design knowledge. (One of their singles was titled 'Photoshop Handsome'.) So it's perhaps because of this that the cover for the album that they're releasing through Geffen turns out to be pretty decent. I'm not sure who is responsible for the use of the interconnected broken typeface and the fox photo with the digital glitch details but it's a great combination of fairly unrelated elements.

Speaking of glitches, the band also got L.A.'s The Glitch Mob to produce a furious mash-up of the long-player that condenses it into just seven minutes. The label has been using this to promote the proper release via the downloadable/embedable [if that's a word] Soundcloud file featured below.

Everything Everything - Man Alive - The Glitch Mob Album Mash Up by EverythingEverything

Moldover CD packaging

Featured at: http://www.bandsanddesign.com

The CD packaging for this Moldover album actually has an inbuilt Theremin.

Monkey Journey From The West packaging

From: Creative Review
Date: 30/10/08

The Vinyl Factory - a company in London that owns Phonica record store, EMI's old vinyl pressing plant in Middlesex and FACT magazine, has recently started to produce limited edition musical packages for vinyl-lovers... The first package they did was a boxed edition of Beautiful Future for Primal Scream but we've just clapped our eyes on their second project – which packages sumputously the music and artwork of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's Monkey Journey To The West – and felt duty-bound to post up some images:

The red, cloth-effect box measures approx 40cm wide, 35cm high and 4cm deep

Open the box to find the text-free cover of a gatefold double vinyl pack...

Remove the gatefold vinyl pack and a folded print on bible paper to find a small book of artwork housed snugly in a foam surround...

Open up the vinyl pack to reveal more artwork on the inside and also on the two printed inner sleeves. The music is spread over three sides of the vinyl discs with the fourth side adorned with etched illustrations by Hewlett

Here's that etched vinyl

So, to recap - here's what you get when you purchase this box: Double vinyl pack, small exclusive book of artwork and an art print on bible paper - not to mention the code to download a digital version of the album

We can't deny that this box set is lovingly conceived and produced to a very high standard. In fact it feels like pretty good value for £65 - although we are left wondering how we'd store it at home... The fact is that we've become so used to storing music digitally that being faced with such a nicely produced, oversize box of vinyl and printed goodies is slightly discombobulating. And let's face it, this isn't something to keep with your other records. It's a collectors item that demands to be kept somewhere safely away from the harbingers of greasy fingerprints and clumsy hands...

The Vinyl Factory's Sean Bidder also told us that there will be a special edition of the Monkey box set that will cost £250. So what do you get for such a sum, we hear you ask? Sean sent us a list of what will be included within the clothbound, foilblocked box:

• Four exclusive Jamie Hewlett giclee-on-somerset prints, each stamped, dated and numbered, one signed.
• Exclusive hardback, cloth covered 78-page 12" size art book containing story, exclusive sketches and illustrations.
• Two super-heavyweight 200-gram vinyl LPs will be housed in the book, containing six bonus tracks not available on the commercial release. Pressed on the classic EMI 1400, with one-side specially etched.

Also, when you purchase the box, you also receive a digital version of the album. And, if you're among the first 500 customers to order the box set, you will also receive a custom-made special limited edition Monkey Om Box, with musical tones composed by Damon Albarn and artwork designed by Jamie Hewlett. As soon as this is ready (release date of the special edition is next week) we will endeavour to post up images here on the CR blog. In the meantime, read more about The Vinyl Factory's collectible box sets here.

Barbarossa - The Pallyacho Tapes

Designed by No Days Off, a limited run of 100 articles for the folktronica act. Hand-made at their studio by fixing plasticated sleeves with a neon latex seam along each edge, the fluro colour was mixed specially and is half way between orange and pink.

Various Artists - MVSICA by Sawdust

From: Creative Review
Date: 10/02/10
By: Gavin Lucas


MVSICA – a limited edition CD compilation of down tempo music by various techno producers. Limited to just 200 copies, the package, designed by Sawdust and printed by Generation Press - comes with a plastic tiddlywink so you can (if you wish) scratch off the gold latex panels that cover all text on the CD pack...

"Because it's a down tempo compilation by purists within the techno genre, the packaging was designed to reflect that," explains designer Rob Gonzales. "It's aesthetically minimal throughout from cover to CD. There isn't even a disc tray within, only a button to keep the CD in place." Label: Fine Art Recordings

[Sawdust also did the Fabrice Lig packaging that was posted previously.]

Underworld - Barking

Underworld's eighth studio album Barking comes out next month. The artwork - presumably by co-conspirators Tomato - is something of a departure. Especially given how their last long-player, Oblivion With Bells, was packaged in a moody looking monochromatic sleeve that appeared directly linked to the Xerox-like typographical montage created for, breakthrough album, Dubnobasswithmyheadman.

This one isn't mentioned on Tomato's site so I'm not sure what the concept is behind it. I've spotted the QR code amongst the chaos [it was also featured on, single, 'Scribble'] so wonder if it's some sort of comment on technology. Although I also think that I can see a black handprint here too - which I suppose would link the collage to Dubnobass...

It's not exactly my favourite Underworld cover ever. (That would probably be the inky one for the still brilliantly named Second Toughest in the Infants.)

Anyway, it's also coming out as a deluxe 10" edition with CD, DVD and a 32 page booklet.

Motive Sounds releases

Another label that puts considerable effort into its music packaging is Motive Sounds. It even includes a directory of the designers/illustrators it has used over at http://www.motivesounds.com/.

The Count & Sinden - Mega Mega Mega

The Count & Sinden's album, Mega Mega Mega, was released this week. The vinyl edition is another one that straddles the idea of physical collectability and technological convenience - albeit with bonus content. A gatefold double record set includes a coupon to download a special MP3/WAV package which includes full album instrumentals plus two brand new tracks.

Chris Coco - Feel Free Live Good

Artwork/packaging by Anthony Burrill in collaboration with No Days Off.

Historics by Will Work For Good

Packaging for Historics remix series titled Infinidelity featuring collages by Mark McCoy from Youth Attack Records and text by Chris Leo which can be read on his blog. The cover images are also supplied as folded large prints. More info at http://willworkforgood.org/.

LoAF music packaging

I referenced this series in a general post about Non-Format's work but this really deserves to be mentioned seperately too.

These LoAF releases boast a strong unified aesthetic despite including a variety of different formats and individual artwork. The combination of materials is great in creating the impression of a lo-fi, hand-assembled artefact that turns out to be more of a 'pack' than an individual music release. Plus, aside from the designers' own excellent input, the whole project from the Lo Recordings offshoot is a considered attempt to commission new imagery by other illustrators/artists to compliment particular pieces of music.

More info at http://www.l-o-a-f.com/

LoAF
–
Music packaging
–
2006–2007
–
3" CDs, 5" CDs or 7" vinyl accompanied by art
prints by various artists and image-makers.
Items are enclosed in a sealed plastic documents
envelope attached to a grey board cut to 12" or
16.5" formats, and then silkscreen overprinted.
–
LoAF01 – Music: Vincent Oliver. Art: Ivan Zouravliov
LoAF02 – Music: Motohiro Nakashima. Art: Sergei Sviatchenko
LoAF03 – Music: Charlie Alex March. Art: Yokoland
LoAF04 – Music: Spectac. Art: Manuel Schibli
LoAF05 – Music: Barbed. Art: Paul Winstanley
LoAF06 – Music: Vincent Oliver. Art: Ivan Zouravliov
LoAF07 – Music: Gavouna. Art: Athanasios Argianas
LoAF08 – Music: Batfinks. Art: Hellovon
LoAF09 – Music: Charlie Alex March. Art: Yokoland
LoAF10 – Music: The Lonesomes. Art: Alan Smithee
LoAF11 – Music: Andrea’s Kit. Art: Grandpeople
LoAF12 – Music: Kid Twist. Art: Sam Weber

Hot Chip work by Wallzo

I referenced some music sleeve/packaging designs over the past couple of weeks purely for their aesthetic style. Others I've posted as they take a different approach to physical products or have some thought-provoking rationale behind them.

One aspect that the Tom Hingston or Ben Drury posts touched on with regards to their respective Massive Attack and Mo Wax work is the idea of a series that can only come from a long relationship with a musician or label.

Many visually interesting music items are part of release 'campaigns' where a different designer will take on an album and its singles. The baton is then handed to the next studio for the subsequent long-player's campaign. I suspect that part of this is down to the the musicians or label owners having an approach to commissioning that is linked to curating a personal collection. Although there is a suggestion that a different aesthetic approach to each stage in an artist's career is in tandem with the alternate sonic 'direction' of each album: that these phases might require a markedly distanced visual style.

Hot Chip has avoided this creative 'relay' by instead opting to collaborate with designer Darren 'Wallzo' Wall for the band's three albums and each one's selected singles. This has resulted in a trio of clearly defined campaigns that still have very different solutions.

I thought that Wall's discussion of the development process for each of these was particularly enlightening. Additionally I can also see the benefit in a single designer being able to apply a rationale and depth of understanding to a catalogue of releases over a disparate design that comes from a single campaign pitch and that more fleeting involvement.

Following interview from It's Nice That.

Wallzo / Hot Chip

* Posted by Will 2 February 2010

Yesterday saw the launch of the fourth Hot Chip album, One Life Stand and with it saw London based designer Wallzo successfully design the third consecutive album artwork. With rave reviews filling many of the weekends papers and music press we thought we’d check in the Darren Wall (aka Wallzo) to find out more about the artwork.


Evening Darren, following on from The Warning and Made in the Dark you’ve just designed the latest record from Hot Chip, One Life Stand, does it get easier year on year?

Yes, I think I was a lot less nervous about this one. When I did the first album, The Warning, I created a cover with no prior understanding that it would become so well-known. Of course this was a really wonderful experience for me and I was hugely grateful for the chance to get my work seen by so many people, but when it came to sit down and tackle the second album cover I must admit I felt the weight of expectation upon me. That pressure is good of course – it makes for good work – but now its much more self-imposed than anything else.

Is there a conscious effort to do something completely different, keep certain things the same?

After each two year gap, personal influences and tastes are always a little bit different so between myself and the five band members, we always end up doing something different. I work closely with Owen Clarke from the band on the initial ideas, and we have hugely overlapping tastes, so after an evening talking about ideas we normally get to a core aesthetic that we can then experiment with. The band are generally happy if Owen is happy, so its good that we share such similar tastes. That said, we always seem to gravitate towards ‘mysterious objects’ that invite interpretation; the blocks from The Warning, the artifact from the Made in the Dark campaign, and now, of all things, a suspended marble head.

What’s the idea behind the current artwork?

When statues are installed or transported they are often lowered into place with large, colourful canvas slings. Owen had a few photographic examples of this in action and they seemed to create an interesting theme; classical forms intersected with bright stripes of colour. The idea of a head seemed to appeal to the band most of all, and from there it all came together after lots of experimentation. There’s plenty of Giorgio de Chirico and Hipgnosis reference in there too. I think its essentially quite an over-the-top image – like a prog-cover reduced to a screen-print. The most enjoyable part of the process was working with the Vinyl Factory who created the 12” versions of the album. The special edition is a 2-disc gatefold with an art print and we’ve even printed a pattern hidden on the inside of the sleeve.

What are you listening to at the moment?

A friend of ours; Rob Smougton operates under the name Grovesnor and makes music like a laser-guided Hall and Oates. He’s just been signed to Lo Recordings and his forthcoming album will soon be graced with a cover from none other than Non-Format. If his music doesn’t make you smile, then something has gone awfully wrong. You can hear his music here.

I'm very interested in Wall's approach for 'Made in the Dark' - Hot Chip's second album. Exploring the oxidising of copper for the print process (in addition to also devising a die-cut poster version), he developed a series of circular forms. Especially his discussion of the one from the album cover as 'the Artefact'. Plus, for me, The Warning's a whole catalogue of esoteric shapes/ambiguous objects also links Wallzo's work with the Matthew Dear 'Totem'.