In 2014 The Soul Santas first, and only gig at a Christmas School Fair was a roaring success, after which they decided it couldn’t be bettered so didn’t try. Until, that is, some rehearsal recordings were found on a phone. These recordings inspired Christmas Crackers Vol.1, recorded over 2 days in October 2020 at Invada Studios
The album was released last winter digitally and is now available on LP for the first time in lucky-dip green or red vinyl from Invada
BEAK> 'Oh No' 'Ah Yeh' 7
A design paying homage to the 80s magazine that wallpapered over the wallpaper of a million teenage bedrooms, ‘Smash Hits’ - or in this case SmaShits - comes this Beak> 7” single for your listening and hopefully viewing pleasure. Only other thing I wish I had done was to have a printed inner lyrics sheet including all the ‘do-do-da’s’ etc. Available now on black or yellow vinyl in limited numbers from Invada
Peter Gabriel Merch
Lately I have been putting together some new, but old, and new new T-shirts for Peter Gabriel. I trawled the archive and found various tour t-shirts from over the years, and then set about redrawing those designs with just a little added to keep those originals, well, original.
The first three are on show here, with three more in the pipeline, purchase these and look out for new designs at the PG store
Susana Baca - Palabras Urgentes
An icon of Afro-Peruvian music, Susana Baca is now in the 50th year of her musical career and celebrates the milestone with a forceful musical statement. Recorded as a form of protest and to spark debate, each of the ten songs on ‘Palabras Urgetes’ is an individual chapter of an all-encompassing narrative, taking the listener on a journey: a unique musical reflection on the traditions of Peru.
"Age casts a different light upon the world and this album seeks to express freely and honestly those things that I love most intensely. At the age of 76 it is time to stop thinking of always having to please others and deliver an album truly from the heart. These ten songs seem to be mostly premonitions of the difficult times we are now living through. They weave music from my deepest roots with urgent words, of hope and condemnation, to seek out a mature and cherished truth. With my own spirit and the hearts and talent of all those who have contributed, we offer this album as a renewal of our traditional music. I hope those listening to this album feel both a love for life and a love for living truthfully." Susana Baca
Released on LP/CD and digital format by Real World Records, with beautiful photography by Javier Falcon throughout.
Craig Safan - L.A. Ex
‘L.A. Ex’ is Craig Safan’s love-letter to the Los Angeles he grew up in. He explains "I call this album L.A. Ex, which obviously is a play on the airport, but also because a lot of what I wrote are things that now exist only in my memory," . Through a mix of digital samples and live musicians playing real instruments, Safan creates sonic expressions of sounds, feelings, and images of people, places, and things in Los Angeles and it's environs that have resonated in remembrance for a lifetime. I really enjoyed listening to Craigs tales of LA in this time, its an era that i’m very interested in, in a place I love to visit. On the cover is a photograph of the iconic Theme Building at Los Angeles International airport; Brightly and colourfully lit, I love that ‘populuxe’ architectural style and mid-century modern design oft associated with the West coast. The inside booklet contains further pictures from the period and notes from Craig on the infuential times he has spent there.
'Berlin' - Clint Mansell and Clint Walsh
Clint Mansell & Clint Walsh’s reimagining of Lou Reed’s 1973 album “Berlin”, a tribute to Mansell’s late partner Heather who passed away in 2014.
“Grief, loss, pain, are by no means unique to any individual, no one is spared. And while the experience is universal, it’s also the most lonely place. Heather died on October 16th, 2014.
In ‘Levels of Life’, author Julian Barnes lists the ‘lasts’ he shared with his Wife before here death. The last film Heather and I watched together was the Julian Schnabel film of Lou Reed performing ‘Berlin’ live at St Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn in 2006.
Reimagining this music, with musician and producer Clint Walsh - a friend who became a great friend through this experience - is part of what lifted me over a wall of grief that I had previously been unable to climb.
So this is dedicated to Heather, and Lou, with love.” Clint Mansell
Doing something simple is often so very difficult. Clint had given me a photograph taken by Heather shortly before she passed, and that picture said more about this recording than any design ever could. It was/is a beautifully simple yet complicated captured moment that creates a narrative all of its own, and a perfect accompaniment to the sounds beyond. Printed to-scale then applied gloss-spot varnish, very little else was necessary. I took a pencil and wrote the title and track names, added some small typographic elements, then finished it off with a hot-pink vinyl. A beautiful record, available now from Invada.
Skate BoA
Helping to raise money to build a local skatepark I recently designed a skateboard wheel (inset) and T-shirt for ‘Skate BoA’. The shirts are part of a bigger project including an exhibition of bespoke boards and prints from artists in the South West - will post more on this nearer the time. T-shirts (and bags) were made in a variety of colours and sold very well at a recent event. Limited colour editions will be available online soon.
Loney dear - A Lantern and A Bell
Worked recently with Swedish singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and very nice guy Emil Svanängen, who makes records under the name of Loney dear. ‘A Lantern and A Bell’ is Loney dear’s second album for Real World, following 2017’s self-titled release. Sea birds, distorted noise, and then the line “Mighty ships hung over ground” – the marine theme not only begins but makes its mark throughout the album and graces the artwork too, which uses international maritime code flags thoughout. Further details and links to purchase this beautiful album on CD/LP here > https://realworldrecords.com/features/blogs/a-code-of-signals-exploring-the-symbolism-of-loney-dears-album-art/
Little Thief - Under The Patio
Recently worked with ‘Little Thief’ on the design for their new album ‘Under The Patio’. Heavy woodblock printed type on top of David Keeping’s brilliant collages. Record being pressed as I type, so keep an eye/ear out in the near future.
LP sleeve opened up to see back cover through to front.
Peter Gabriel 'Plays Live' Promo Poster
To promote the reissue of the Peter Gabriel ‘Plays Live’ LP, I put together a promotional poster based on an original 1983 magazine advert at the time of initial release. I have produced a poster for all of the forthcoming live album reissues and will post here soon.
Burger with relish
‘Infused with the personal freedoms and camaraderie experienced on a recent trip to San Francisco, in 1969 the graphic artist Barney Bubbles (born Colin Fulcher 1942; died 1983) took occupation of a three-storey building in Portobello and transformed it into a creative commune at the heart of the Notting Hill counterculture. The ground floor became a design studio which Bubbles named Teenburger, the letterhead styled as a wrapper featured a composition of Letraset fragments arranged in the form of a hamburger. This very limited edition shirt celebrates the brilliance of Barney Bubbles and evokes his wish for “a groovy scene... with lots of hard work and fun play’.
A design hero to many, Barney Bubbles was a prolific graphic artist who made a distinctive, imaginative and energetic contribution to design, and particularly design for music, during the 70s and 80s. In 1969 (for one year only) he opened a design studio on Portobello Road, London, which he named ‘Teenburger Designs’.
“Do Not Adjust” - Limited edition Barney Bubbles' silkscreen printed T-shirt, delivered in an overprinted brown burger bag with screen printed serviette. BB Burger and typography was reverse engineered from source and reproduced faithfully and in the spirit of original intention. Produced by Daniel Mason at Something Else, Daniel puts it much better than me, so for more on this (and other SE productions) visit instagram @danmason1932.
WOMAD at Home
Social media campaign design for ‘WOMAD at Home’ - Featuring eight artists from a cross-section of musical genres, ‘WOMAD at Home’ offers a unique, 360° immersive audio experience designed specifically for headphones. More on this ongoing project here > athome.womad.co.uk/
Peter Gabriel Live
Shortly to be released (if not already at time of reading) are these four vinyl editions of Peter Gabriel ‘Live’ recordings. A couple (‘Plays Live’ and ‘Secret World Live’) had been designed to a large extent previously so only a nip and tuck with a little extra was needed for those, although both were remade using rescanned and rephotographed artwork so the best presentation was achieved. ‘Growing Up Live’ and ‘Live in Athens 1987’ were an entirely new build, using fantastic photography by Armando Gallo and Guido Harari throughout.
On The Pulse
Design for Invada Records ‘On The Pulse’ T-shirts for Summer 2019.
We were looking to make something that had an 80s home video feel, something with motion, eventually settling on the ‘pulse’ idea here.
DEVS
Original Series Soundtrack by Ben Salisbury, The Insects & Geoff Barrow
Triple LP/CD with insert poster design for the FX on HULU Sci-fi series ‘DEVS’, incorporating beautiful images from the series. Available from Invada Records on limited edition dark blue and also heavyweight black vinyl.
Billy Nomates
Billy Nomates, the fierce, funny, outspoken force of nature who hails from Melton Mowbray and now flits between Bournemouth and Bristol, has arrived to rattle cages.
The songs on her debut album all come from a place of defiance. Rebellion against Brexit. Against soul-sapping, dead-end jobs and zero-hours contracts. Against gender inequality, sexual harassment and festivals with obligatory female acts hidden in the small print. Billy’s songs lampoon the same bleak reality satirised by her beloved Scarfolk website and explored so abrasively in the fringe theatre she finds solace in.
CD/LP/Tour Merch. Black and white sleeve with metallic spot typography. Photography by Cindy Sasha.
Calm With Horses - Blanck Mass
Blanck Mass’ first feature length, synth-heavy score to ‘Calm With Horses’ on LP and CD.
Shown is the limited edition Invada mail order exclusive variant, pressed on red, black and white marble vinyl.
Composite cover and film stills throughout.
This Train I Ride - Warren Ellis
The Australian musician (Dirty Three, Bad Seeds, Grinderman) has scored a number of high-profile films (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Hell or High Water, The Road) and his latest score – ‘This Train I Ride’ is for a documentary film directed by Arno Bitschy.
“…My idea was to record, collate and produce the music on trains, in the spirit of the women in this documentary. Brian was so encouraging with this approach and told me about a train journey he had taken in the 80’s with no fixed destination. Over the next month I sat with my computer, loops, iPhone, Reface DX synthesiser and forgotten ideas and composed the music on the Metro and Eurostar and in various hotels while working on Ghosteen. I would send the pieces to Arno from the train, or wherever I was located, and he edited them into the film.” – Warren Ellis
The film tells the story of women hopping freight trains around America and follows the life-journeys of these women living on the fringe in a rapidly changing country, in their quest for identity, freedom and finding their place in the world.
I really enjoyed watching this film, listening to the score and consequently doing the design. Motion was the most important aspect I wanted to convey in the artwork – motion of the trains, the people, the landscapes and the sense of time passing on your own terms. The film is rich with wonderful imagery of an America we rarely see on out televisions. I was keen the sleeve art should be abstract, and fortunately so was Warren and Arno, so I set about taking screen grabs from the edit – blurry, glitchy, but alive with movement.
The Virtues - Various Artists
Utilising on-set shots from photographer Dean Rogers, the double LP soundtrack to the award-winning Channel 4 series ‘The Virtues’, featuring 6 new PJ Harvey compositions including “The Crowded Cell” song. The album also features music by Aphex Twin, Toydrum, Set Fire To Flames, Mono, Micah P Hinson, Laura Hannigan , Ted Barnes & Gavin Clark , Gazelle Twin.
There will be two vinyl versions. Double White vinyl exclusively available from Invada and a 180g Double Black vinyl retail edition (available in good record stores worldwide). The soundtrack will also be available on digipack CD .
Les Amazones d’Afrique – Amazones Power
A creative force that embraces international voices; sweet, strong harmonies that summon the rights of women; a meltdown of heritage and new gen talent. Les Amazones d’Afrique – Amazones Power, the sequel to their widely acclaimed 2017 debut album, Republique Amazones.
2 x colour vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve and CD digipack. Photography by Karen Paulina Biswell.