Parra Documenting Himself!! Brilliant

He sounds like a legend, and he’s in a band called LE LE!!! AMAZING it sounds like a lot of fun i’ll be checking them out pronto!

HERES THE LINK TO LE LE so you can hear their stuff they are brilliant!!!

Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures”

Now i know they are one of the worlds biggest and life long geniuses of music, but behind the band was an amazing Designer, and my all time favorite, NAY, my all time EVER Favorite!! Peter Saville is the master mind behind most of Factory records visual work, for the Hacienda, New Order, Joy Division and the Factory. This album is one of the most iconic album sleeves of the post punk era, the band were responsible for giving Saville the image, its a radio wave emitting from a collapsed star, i couldn’t think of a more perfect image to signify the band and its sound, isolation, desperation and bleakness. Depressing stuff…

However Saville doesn’t make the graphic stand out bold and in your face, its set centrally on the cover, surrounded by dark space, no type or text, he leaves that for the back  and it mirrors the image perfectly giving little away to its contents or song titles. Simply titled  Unknown Pleasures. For my album cover earlier on i used this as a pastiche for art work, inverting the colours, using the old stereo visuals to signify the death of music as the visuals fade and flat line. Check out my products in the category Ten Magazine Products.

Here’s the Design Museums link to Peter Savilles Bio.   – +

Thom Yorke ‘Spitting Feathers’ Single//Japanese Import.

There was radio head, and then there was Thom Yorke……and by far is he the greatest musician i have ever come across, yes yes yes i know they are famous, but his solo stuff is unreal! Anyway i wont go on about him, but the art work for both Harrowed hill and this expensive little import i own is that of Stanley Donwood. his work for this album is concerned with the happenings of apocalyptic scenarios.

“Fleet Street Apocalypse was cut into linoleum by Stanley Donwood during January and February 2008. It was printed on 4th March, 23rd July and 3rd September 2008 by Stanley Donwood and Richard Lawrence at St Bride’s Institute, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London, with assistance from Kim Vousden.
The printing press used was made in 1844 in Finsbury, London by Hopkinson & Cope. The paper is acid-free archival quality Somerset White 300gsm satin, with a deckle edge on all sides, and is made at St Cuthbert’s Mill, Wells, Somerset; the ink used is Cranfield Letterpress black.
The print area is 25″ x 38″ (640mm x 970mm approx), and the paper size is 30″ x 44″ (760mm x 1120mm approx).

Due to the large size of this linocut we had to think laterally when it came to working out how to print it. The picture was made up of two sections of linoleum, each cut separately and designed to fit on the platen of the Hopkinson & Cope press. The process we developed involved wrapping sections of the oily press with paper, rolling half of the large sheets of paper within a protective sheet and then printing the unrolled half. When the edition was done, we then repeated this process with the other section of lino. Registration of the two halves of the print was acheived with the archaic technique of making pinholes in the sheets during the first printing then lining up the pinholes for the second.
This process means that each print, though part of an edition, is unique.”

This is just the technical stuff taken from the site http://shop.slowlydownward.com/FleetStreetStore/fleet02.html. Go have a look at the work its amazing beautiful.

Simian Mobile Disco.

Another of my top favorite bands and album covers, in much the same vain as Daft Punk and Justice Simian Mobile Disco are our answer the the electronic music scene and have been said to be up there with the likes of chemical brothers, and i’d say they’re right! You may have noticed earlier that i showed you one of my favorite things and it was my SMD t-shirt by kate moross, unfortunately she wasnt on the scene when they have this album cover, but had she have been i think she might have had some part to play in this album sleeve. Right so the sleeve, design by Scot Bendall and La Boca, the photography was by Jason Evans http://www.thedailynice.com. But La Boca are the guys you want to check out, they play a lot with what looks like a cut and paste technique but using digital means to do so, apart from the remix album for simian mobile disco’s album, titled ‘Sample and Hold’ which was done completly by hand cut and paste. They have a very early arcade games design style to them, similar to the retro graphic of the 70’s.  These guys are a new find for me so i’m enjoying them as much as you are!

La Boca

Around The World Music Video

This music video was directed by the great Michel Gondry, who’s worked with the Chemical Brothers and Bojrk, as well as his Films working with Jim Carey on ‘Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind’, and ‘Science of Sleep’. His work is all about what you can use at hand, whether its a cardboard box, stuffed toy or an old rusty bit of metal, this man will make it into something else and turn it into gold. If your not familiar with his work, my favorite is ‘Science of Sleep’, his use of stop animation and film works so well together, in a delicate and beautiful way. He almost uses the same craftsmanship as that of a child, creating cut out spaceships, this element of nostalgia or foresight makes him completely unique. Enjoy the video!

Link

DAFT PUNK. ‘Discovery’

Daft Punk are probably my all time Favorite band and i love to tell the story of seeing them at 02 festival in 2007 and thus, made me change my course and direction in life after seeing their live show. So the reason im here blogging is all down to these guys and i couldn’t thank them enough for inspiring me. If you have never seen them live, you’ve probably missed one of the best DJ partnerships to have graced this planet, Seriously. Not only do they make great music and work with other artists like Sebastian Teller, they made a move called ‘Electroma’, that film sums up the men behind the helmets and their long journey through music, and their need and even want to finish their musical careers and become human again. They are a hugly conceptual pair, even though their music is all beats and funk, they obviously weren’t born as robots (although legend has it….) Part of me concludes that their use of robotic suits lends itself to the technology age in which we are all in some shape or form, computerised, be it numerically, bank cards, license plates, house number, we are in a database in a computer and have become a digital and electronic particle in the ever expanding world of technology. We also rely heavily on computer technology, our society couldn’t function without it now, much to its power, the machine is as fragile as we are and Daft Punk have caught the essence of this perfectly. This album is part of that step into this idea of the digital age. I’m in love with the type on the front cover, a liquid metal effect that glows the colour spectrum, a perfect combination of metal, electronic and spirituality. Their live sets encompass of of those feelings, and their music bonds the crowd together on a spiritual journey through their music. Just have a look for them on the web. they are everywhere so you wont miss them.

Justice Album ‘Cross’.

Quite possibly one of the best DJ bands to come out of France since Daft Punk (featured here) Justice has been on a roller coaster tour and promoting their first album ‘Cross’ and making it big in America (just how they like it). Justice are part of the Ed Banger Crew and are managed by Pedro Winter (who funnily enough managed Daft Punk for most of their career). Right so for the Design, SO ME is the man, and seriously his insight in to popular culture and the observed are why i love him. He’s designed everything thing for Ed Banger (literally) and has his own clothing line, he also DJ’s, so i pretty much look up to this guy. He’s also the mastermind behind some of the music videos for Justice. DNVO, D.A.N.C.E are both his and they are brilliant. This collaboration of art and music is why i love Graphic Design and Illustration so much. I’m completely driven by music, and i have such a passion for immersing myself in it, hoping to catch hold of the wave as it washes over me. DANCE FOREVER. Anyway enough about me. Lets get you set up to find some seriously cool stuff….coz you know i bring the PARTY!

SO ME’s Record Covers

Justice Myspace

Boys Noize ‘OI OI OI’ Album

The master of Electro and funnily enough and bit of a dude (i high fived him at the gig in Cardiff!) I’ve also just been to see him and modeselektor in Manchester at ‘The Warehouse Project’ Which i should post something about on here seeing as the design in that place is very f***ing cool! Anyway about the Album, well the skull is part of all of this. Much like the lastest Million pound art piece Damien Hurst produced (i dont believe in capitalist artists like Damien Hurst, its just dull and for the stupidly rich idiots and their oil blood money who love stupid art…enough said) No, this skull was made for the party scene, to fill those dance floors with the intense spinning lights and accompanied by sweet beats named ‘Disco Inferno’! The genius behind this is Christoph Steinmeyer, a pretty much unknown artist but has featured with this piece in Sies + Höke Gallery, Düsseldorf. If you go to their site you can see the installation piece their. Now onto the guy who designed the Album sleeve, Paul Snowden is from New Zealand but moved to Berlin to follow his carrer. He’s largely involved with the music scene in Berlin and thus teaming up with the likes of Boys Noize to create the album and the typeface for him. Boys Noize has his own record label and Snowden works on all the other EPs for the rest of the Boys Noize crew. Check out Snowden here.

Samim Album ‘Flow’

Samim is another Electro/house group i’ve fallen in love with in the past year, some seriously mellow beats and bass, but with that funny little funky style that makes him different to the mass in the scene. However it isn’t his music im interested in, its the illustration on the front and inlay that i love. These guys are called Tom & Leo, but unfortunately their webpage isnt up to much, and it just seems to be a means of getting in contact which i have with no reply. This is the only piece of work and design i have seen of theirs. The image on the front of the album is a crazy little world and all sorts are going on, with quirky little characters working in and out of the rest of the image. It’s defiantly a very contemporary piece of illustration, and if i find anything more about them ill post it up here straight away.

My Top 10 CD Sleeves//Starting with Primal Scream “XTRMNTR”

Primal Scream were one of the first Electronic sounds i got myself into before i heard new order, or the likes of Justice. These guys were rocking the rave scene in the early 90’s and with their album Screamadelica, heard the sounds of what was to become ‘rave’ music. This album though very glitchy and rugged bass lines is one of my favorites. The design team to work on the whole visual idea and outcome were a London based design studio called ‘Intro’. They’ve worked with many big named bands such as Oasis, Elton John and my other big time favorites The Prodigy. Not only do they design but they create stunning music videos, using animation and film, to conceptualise their work and bring the bands to life for some of their biggest hits! So check out ‘Intro’ and their projects, you’ll probably find something in their that you love too!