If popular culture has taught us anything, it’s that we should never trust suburban bliss. Whether it’s in classic films like American Beauty and Blue Velvet or small screen hits like Desperate Housewives, manicured lawns and picket fences are invariably a front for dysfunctions, neurosis and murder.

And so it is with the Grammy Award-winning artwork for Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, the 2008 collaboration between Brian Eno and David Byrne. While it initially resembles a screen shot from The Sims, upon closer inspection the picture gets much darker.

The packaging was designed by Stefan Sagmeister design house Sagmeister Inc,. “I loved the music right away” recalls Sagmeister “it was new; it was different from anything they had done before.” After a few listens, the designers noted the contrast between the “exuberant” music and the “dark edge” of the lyrics.

The inspiration for the cover was Home, one of the record’s key tracks, where Byrne sings:

Home – such a funny feeling
Home – no one ever speaking
Home – with our bodies touching
Home – and the cameras watching

While the track sounds sunny and uplifting, it’s clear that “not everything is all hunky dory”, as Sagmeister puts it. So after creating the pixilated perfection on the record’s cover, the designers then fill the booklet with “clues that allow the viewer to put his or her own story together”.

We make out a shady figure clutching binoculars in one of the windows. Band-aids sit on the back porch, while a condom wrapper can be spotted in the roof’s gutter. And that’s before we discover the ominously armoured door, which presumably leads down to a cellar.

But why the pixilated aesthetic? The answer may lie in the music. Brian Eno describes the collaboration as combining “something very human and fallible and personal, with something very electronic and mathematical sometimes.” He says that he and Byrne tried to “make that picture of the human still trying to survive in an increasingly complicated digital world.”

The incredible deluxe packaging comes in a tin (described by Sagmeister as a “jewel box”) that models the suburban environment in 3D.  Upon opening, a microchip plays the sound of footsteps walking down a corridor and slamming a creaky door. The experience is so rich that by the time you reach the great record by Eno and Byrne, it simply feels like a welcome bonus.

We may not be able to trust suburban bliss, but with designers like Sagmeister around, perhaps we can still rely on the simple pleasures of kick-ass cover art – even in our increasingly digital world.

This article originally appeared in Monster Children Magazine

I was thinking today about how it’s better to be #2. The #2 person tries harder and has a goal beat the #1 person, where as #1 can get complacent. And I think the same thing happens with independents musicians. They just have to try harder. That’s what I thought when I saw this post on Moldover’s debut album which contains a working Theremin. It also thought “WTF is a Theremin” that I realised when I checked Wikipedia that I should pretend like I already knew as those things are pretty damn cool and I want a real one too. (More info on my Theremin binge below)

I’ve ordered my Awesome Edition but rather than wait I’ll let the man himself explain the “Awesome Edition cover”

His official press release sums it up in a more sales type way.

A champion of do‐it‐yourself music making, Moldover would never hog all the fun for himself. That’s why he designed his album’s intricately beautiful, circuit board CD artwork to be a first‐of‐its kind light theremin. Moldover fans can not only enjoy his tunes passively, but actually create their own warped‐out swoops and
blorps, just by tapping the CD case.

The album comes in 3 editions with the one featured above $50 delivered or $60 for international people like me. Good to think the majority of that will go right to the artist.

I normally comment on the bands website on how it relates to the album artwork but the less said about Moldovers’s site the better. It’s functional at least.

I do like that he has put some real effort into putting videos on Youtube.

Here’s an album preview from over a year ago.

Here’s Moldover explaining his technique. Check out his Youtube channel for even more.

I love the DIY feel of this and just like my Night Vision Googles I ordered for CODMW2 I’m a sucker for unique and cool gadgets. This is much better than a well designed, yet unoriginal, booklet. Engagent commented saying “Sure it sounds a bit like you’re squeezing air through a pinched balloon and it costs $50 ($10 for CD-only or $25 for a Pocket Edition), but hey, give this guy some credit for innovation.” And I agree. Moldover, without the aid of a record label has created a news worthy album innovation and will hopefully get attention for an album that would have otherwise gone unnoticed to those not already fans.

I did enjoy listening to Moldover’s music although I should try and sample it at time other than midnight though as my brain enjoys more Boards of Canada during these late hours.

Side Note:It’s probably just me but Moldover looks to me like the love child of Trent Reznor, Screech from Saved by the Bell and Criss Angel.

Theremin’s Suck?
So still not sold on how cool Theremins are? Maybe these videos will convince you. I’m breaking one out at the next Xmas party.

How about the Mario Bros Theme

Seriously though what person would not smile if you broke out the Mario Bros theme. It’d have to be at a funeral not to get a smile and a WTF! out of everyone in the place.

Too geeky? How about Gnarles Barkey’s Crazy on a Theremin? You’d be crazy not to love this one!

Just how cool do you have to be to play the Theremin? This cool…

You could also just make your own but that looks like more work than doing the dishes so I’d rather just buy one

Now I just need to scrape the $500+ to buy an official Moog Theremin. and start pissing the neighbours off.

Are there any other albums with a working instrument as part of the packaging? The White Stripe’s Triple Inchphones don’t count.

This is one of only two albums I have bought without first listening to them and both were just for the CD cover. I got this in 1999 or 2000 and have listened to it once. I’ve since lost the CD but have the case and from memory it was a dull journey into an abient wank factory. But upon my tastes relaxing a little, I’ve found the Adlib track on the artist’s Myspace page enjoyable.

What drew me to the cover was the stark barren design. A few pixel representations of OS8 UI elements scatter the cover and the 8 page booklet. There’s very little info about the album and the website of the label Kraak. The musician is Kristian Peters a German who also works under the alias Novisad which seems to be the most active alias as it has the Myspace page.

The back of the booklet is a tiny radio button.

The booklet itself seems like a waste of paper.

The back cover has some info.

The white cover reminded me of a 1998 or 1999 cover of Wired that was all white with a Braille. It stood out like dogs balls in a sea of multi coloured magazines and that’s what this cover did in the record shop. It was the absence of design that made it work. Now with digital downloads being the big thing and people shopping for their music online, a cover like this vanishes into the background.

Note: I’m too young to have seen the Beatles White album in the shops :)

While searching Discogs I found this 1999 reissue which was limited to 50 copies and sent to friends as an Xmas present. It’s cover is the complete opposite of the original. I wonder if there was more to it than the simple wrapping paper sleeve?

The designer for this was the founder of Kraak records and can be found on Twitter as @DaveDriesmans. For those interested I can be found on Twitter here as @100ftzombie but I don’t Tweet that much about music or design.

Side Note: This is my first post in a while as Alex our new editor has been pumping out all the great the reviews lately. So you’ll notice a sudden drop in the writing skills and grammar.

Limited to 1000 copies and sold out in 12hrs means that if you forgot to check your email that day you would have missed out. Or maybe you were sick with the flu and missed out and are now trawling eBay (only 1 listing) for a chance to get your hands on this limited edition steel case for Autechre’s 9th album.

The design is by The Designers Republic and I don’t there is another company that could sell this design into a client or another band like Autechre that would buy it. Looking at the cover and then being told it’s a TDR piece you say “oh yeah I can see that”. Not knocking their work (big balls to do that) but it fits their M.O if you know what I mean.

If I had to describe the cover to a blind person I’d say “it’s as if a chronic stutterer were in court and the court reporter was transcribing their testimony verbatim with white san serif type on a flat blue background.”

But enough talk from me lets look at some photos courtesy of Martin Dixon Thanks for the use of the photos Martin.

Here’s two more photos from Alex Young

The album was intended to be a digital release (and was a full 6 weeks before a physical release) but in a Clash Music feature Sean Booth was quoted;

“The actual product is the FLAC file – but I don’t object to those who want to own something that they can hold”

As dumb as this sounds it’s the first time I have heard of FLAC. But I’m going to start using that term to seem even more elite. MP3s!! pffttt… I only listen to FLAC and in HD 24/96 too.

The actual Clash Music feature is a good read. This quote from them on the brief to TDR is great

“Our brief was really, really specific” he explained “the idea was to be type based, neat and producty. We knew if we went to our normal designer he’d take the piss as he’s just so creative he’d cut it right down. Designers Republic understood us immediately and the result is stunning”

Can’t wait until I receive a brief with the word “producty”.

The whole limited edition sold direct to fans is something NIN did well recently and for me is the future for many bands. Once you build a critcal mass of followers and you treat them well you can basically use them as a cash generating machine. A free digital album here, a few over priced tickets there and a limited edition USB stick for xmas. Everyone’s happy.

The standard cover is essentially the same design but in blue. Although you lose the complete sexiness of the laser etched steel it still is a nice, if very designy cover.

The poster and other collateral (website, Myspace) all followed the same design style. Here’s a poster (photos by Japanese Forms)

On a final note: Here’s a review from an eager Youtube Vlogger. Try this: Press play and close your eyes. Then half way through open them and see if the guy talking matches his voice. He has a good “radio voice” and I mean that in a good sense. He just looks so young.

For those looking for an actual album review check out Pitchfork or this one on Amazon

Do you think bands will have a future selling “limited edition” physical copies of 100% digitally released albums?

Q: I initially read somewhere about where and how this laser etched cover was produced but now I have lost the link. Can anyone help?

People who bought the standard CD version of the album also got this awesome Limited Edition Autechre hat!

Not really I just found this in the office and it reminded me of the album :)

Update: thanks to Mark for his info on the Quadrange EP.AE. I forgot about this when posting.

Each track released as FLAC (lossless audio) had minimalist artwork associated with it, so in iTunes it will change per song. Oh I love this big white square song :)

I have shrunk these down here but you can grab them from Discogs. Is this what you get from TDR if you’re budget is really small. But hey it fits the theme of the other artwork and it ties in with the name. Quadrangle is one of the few shapes I remember from school. I don’t know a rhombus from a trapezoid though.

They must charge per right angle :)

JAN 23, 2009 UPDATE: tDR is no longer. After 23 years they have closed shop. See article in CR here.

It’s hard to go past an album with a cute character on it that’s illustrated by an Aussie born in the same state as you were. Songs Without Words is DJ Mike Monday’s second album and contains a whole bunch of electronic tracks without words. Well technically there’s some samples which contain words so really the album title needs one of those asterisks you see on bank forms.

Just so it’s clear Mike Monday isn’t an outcast from the Blue Man Group, a Smurf cult or had a horrible skin condition that turned his skin blue he does wear glasses though and likes to sleep in trolleys as seen in this photo below.

The artwork was done by Drunk Park which is Aussie Expat Seb Godfrey, who is currently living in London. He was actually born in Tasmania (the little island at the far south of Australia) which also bred such talent as Nathan J. His work is fresh with a slight Pete Fowler feel. I look forward to seeing more of his stuff.

Here’s the full cover wrap image and a detail from it. I’ve been told there are desktop wallpapers of the artwork and I’m waiting for the link to those.

There’s a substantial amount of work done for each of the 3 EPs as well. Each cover is a wrap around scene with funny details. Here’s some details crops and the actual singles.

I asked Seb to send me outline views of this artwork. Not sure why I asked just thought it would look cool.

What I like about the little blue dude is that it gives Mike something to brand himself with. Just like Daft Punk and their robot helmets they have an iconic look that can continue into future albums. Let’s hope Mike continues the little blue dude on future albums. As much as some DJ’s love their own face the blue dude has more wide spread appeal and cut through.

OM Records are running a comp to win a limited edition (of 1) hand stitched Mike Monday doll. You can enter here. Entries close Nov 30. Trust me we’ve already entered this one as we love collectable dolls. In fact we take that back. Don’t enter or you’ll ruin our chances of winning!!

Seb also looked after Mike Monday’s logo or name type. Again this is an important part for all musicians to have clear branding that carries across all their music and merch. Metal bands knew this from the start other genres are catching up. I’m not sure if the MM logo on the blue guys shirt is also a logo for Mike Monday?

The little guy also made it to the homepage of Mike Monday’s website. Too bad the site sucks though. But seeing as they spent all the cash on the album artwork and videos they can be excused. (Site has been updated)

Seb also sent me a photo of the digi pack folded out in its final state.

And just when you think the visual smorgasbord would end (you’re scrolling finger is hurting right?) there is also a 3 part animation for the song “Catnip” produced for the album. These were animated by Joe Hamilton (another Tasmanian living in London).

Mike Monday – “Catnip” (Anim by Drunk Park & Joe Hamilton) from Drunk Park on Vimeo.

Note to all record labels: Upload your videos to Vimeo! The quality is so much sexier. You already made the clip it costs nothing to upload. (Thanks Seb for the new Vimeo link)

This post also brought us to the attention of the Beatport player. Which if It worked how it should would be great. However every time I went to grab the correct tracks it gave me a bunch of different results. Anyway here’s the best we could manage. It saves you having to go to Mike’s Myspace page to get a free sample.

P.S: We apologise for the slow updates. We’ve been busy taking over the world at Soap lately.

I think this would be the first “Christian” band we have featured here on Sleevage. But this isn’t the usual WWJD type band. If you’re a christian this is probably the funkiest Sunday church music you can find :)

(Note: My knowledge of Christian music is very limited. So if there is a funkier Christian band then please comment and I’ll investigate.

I was lucky enough to have Ryan send me not just the final art but the rejected covers too. He also made this feature easy by proving much of the text. From the horses mouth is better than my gramatical hindered text.

From Ryan Clark of Invisible Creature:

“My relationship as visual coordinator for the extraordinarily prolific Ronnie Martin (Joy Electric) began in 2003 with his 7th full-length studio album “The Tick Tock Treasury.” Ronnie and I saw very eye-to-eye regarding the visual interpretation of his music, and we’ve had a great working relationship ever since.

“My Grandfather, The Cubist” is the 6th Joy Electric album that I’ve designed, and my favorite to date. The work I’ve done for Ronnie has always been very graphic, very geometric illustrative design. With this record I wanted to explore a more organic approach, using pre-printed materials to build my image. Each block of color is a small clipping from a magazine, scanned in, scaled up (to expose the CMYK build), and cut into little shapes that I arranged into some sort of mathematical, celestial environment.”

“The type is meant to look like somewhat of a registration mishap, and it kind of plays tricks with your eyes as well, which I liked.”

“These were my very first ideas for the cover, which were pretty uninspired. Ronnie declined them, and I’m glad. Despite the fact that I was fairly pleased with the type, they look like generic techno covers.”

It’s interesting to see how different the final cover is to these initial ones. Not only in style but also in the amount of work that would have been involved to produce it.

“Here’s a photo from a shoot that Ronnie did for the album after we had completed the cover. Photographer Zach Hodges did a pretty great job of nailing the overall look of the artwork with some hand-made props.”

Here’s a recap of the previous covers done by Invisible Creature for Joy Electric. All of which don’t fit your typical “electronic” music album cover sterotype.

The type really does attract the eye as you seek to find focus. I like the texture of the piece as it really makes it look like a piece of art rather than a digital file.

You can sample the album on Joy Electric’s Myspace page.

You might also want to check out this article which gives some insight in the brothers at Invisible Creature. They walk the walk and rock the walk it seems. It’s good to see designers who don’t sport the black turtle necks and thick rimmed glasses style.

Australia is falling in love with Empire Of The Sun, Luke Steele (The Sleepy Jackson) & Nick Littlemore (PNAU). Their track Walking On A Dream has been storming the airwaves here and to our excitement on a slow wet Friday, Empire Of the Sun have given us a look at their new artwork, we just had to share it with you. We will follow this up with a more detailed report shortly. But for now, we like what we see!

While you are waiting, make sure you check out their stunning new video for Walking On A Dream. The video was shot recently in Shanghai, China by Josh Logue from Mathematics.

To download a remix, or more info check out their: Official Site, or Myspace

The hardest part about having a name like µ-Ziq is asking someone at the record shop if they have them in stock. Also where do you file it under M, under U or with the numbers?

The cover is as ambiguous as it comes. Is he waiting to interview people or just really likes the feel of wood grain? Or is he a mime (you cant see his face) about to perform on some decks?

The whole cover seems like it should be an interface for a website or interactive clip (ala Neon Bible). You just want to click his hands and start making music.

The photo is actually a good lesson for photographers. If you want to make your shots more interesting get creative with the angles. This shot from any other angle would have been boring.

The design studio behind this is Blue Source, who along with Big Active and Farrow do probably 85% of the music design in the UK. The photographer is Amber Rowlands who sadly hasn’t done any other cool music related photography.

µ-Ziq also released an EP for this with a similar concept. Although you lose some of the effect by showing less of the person.

I came across this album cover for ‘Efterklang’s’ mini-album ‘Under Giant Trees’ in the latest Communication Arts – Design Annual, a design publication that always publishes amazing and inspiring work, and this beautiful cover was a standout for me. So instead of me waffling on about it like a clueless idiot, i thought i’d let the creator of the cover Nan Na Hvass do the talking.

Although i will say the magic puzzle game has set quite a bench mark for me when it comes to the little extras to be found in limited edition releases.

“The artwork for this album was very special to do, because the band and label had decided to print a limited edition of deluxe packaging, and they wanted an extra feature like something unusual. So apart from the cover itself there is also a magic puzzle game, that can be laid in many ways… see the instruction here:”

“It took me a long time to construct this system, and now really I have no idea how i got to it… there was some calculating involved…”

“All in all this artwork took about half a year to complete, it was really a big project for me, and also a really important one! I think the way I worked on it sort of resembles the way Efterklang work with their music; hundreds of layers, and lot’s of time spent changing and adjusting little details, that probably only I would ever notice. But it was all worthwhile and I think this cover gave me a lot of other commissions.”

The final album for Funkstörung features their most subdued cover. Funny, this is how I imagined all the Funkstörung covers to be. Although having since checked them out this is not the case In fact none feature clean vector artwork at all. I guess their music made me think of minimal design and the fact I read most of the other covers were done by The Designers Republic.

While The Designers Republic did many of their covers, this and the previous “The Return to The Acid Planet” were actually done by Munich based The Purple Haze. Who have done other nice work too.

While the cover is a nice and simple minimalist affair the 24 page booklet is what caught my eye. It has a nice sense of humor about it and for German’s thats pretty big :)

Each page is an info graphic related to the duo, many of which appeal to the nerdy statistician all of us. Well all except the “wedding style” photo page. I’m hoping the copy (which I can’t read) pokes fun at the cheesiness of it.

One page depicts the average concert times, a visual representation of the music and another the plugs needed by the band while on the road.

It reminds me of Feltron’s Annual Report of his year.

Here’s a sample of the booklet’s pages.

You can sample some of the tunes from the album on the special mini site for the album here.

Although M.I.A.’s music can easily stand on it’s own, it’s the artwork which really completes the picture. A collage of bright colours, retro patterns and heavily pixelated type can be found in a variety of media, from her music videos, website and fashion to the visuals at her live performances.

I was lucky enough to catch one of her shows recently and the visuals, which are tailor made for each song took the performance to another level (see video for first single ‘Boyz’ below).

It’s hard to say who exactly is responsible for all of this but it appears to be a collaboration between M.I.A. herself, Cassette Playa (Carri Mundane) and Steve Loveridge (Steve also designed the sleeve for M.I.A.’s first album Arular). Most notable in the artwork and videos for latest album Kala is the work of Cassette Playa. Carri Mundane AKA Cassette Playa is making waves in the U.K. for her part in the London Rave revival (she also dresses the Klaxons).

The cover for Kala looks like it could have been made on early version of Photoshop. Maybe a take on roughly made club flyers made by people who’s job isn’t making club flyers. Regardless, the artwork absolutely complements M.I.A’s sound.

I initially thought these were life size. It’s only after studying it closely do you realize the small statues are standing on a dinner tray. The duo always feature themselves on the covers and this is probably the most elaborate way they have done it to date.

The back cover is the cover shot from a different angle. Looking at the cover you’d think it’d be in a fancy minimalistic apartment (ie unlivable) but the back photo makes you feel at home, well I do as my place is just as messy.

There is even a very slick promo site just for the album. That’s probably the best site I’ve seen just to promote one album.

The sculptures were made by French artist Xavier Veilhan. His site has photos and even work in progress shots of the sculptures being made.

The covers were art directed by “Lili Fleury” and “Laurent Pinon” is also credited for “artwork” although I can’t find any info on either of these two designers.

It seems they even made wooden ones too. Although these don’t seen to have been used for anything.

Two singles have been released from the album. Each featuring another photo of the sculptures.

The single “Mer Du Japon” shows a different type of sculpture. This is a low poly version. They look like the dog you put outside. C’mon let the guys in they’re cold.

Here’s the film clip from the single. Nothing too special from these film clips.

It’s funny. I’ve been a fan of AIR for a while but never paid attention to the film clips or the actual band. I always thought it was a female singing. It’s the same for me with Daft Punk. They could be sitting next to me on a plane and I wouldn’t know. Again another French duo.

Another album from my CD buying days. It’s like the control room in a James Bond (circa Sean Connery days) villan’s secret base. This album is an eclectic mix of sounds and it still sounds good today. Unlike his latest album which is a album filled with mellow sounding rubbish.

I didn’t realize until now this was done by Ben Dury. The designer of so many other great covers as well as serial James Lavelle collaborator. This site has a nice collection of Ben’s work and sketches.

The cover reminds me of this postcard I got from the Troy M. Litten “Wanderlust” book.

I’ve seen this around for years and I always thought it was “The Verve” remixed. Now I find it’s actually Jazz remixed I’m interested. Verve records has a good amount of info & media on the series here.

What makes this series stand out for me is the strong concept behind it. Each new cover is cleverly art directed and shot beautifully and continues the concept of the series on nicely.

You can also pick up the “unmixed” album containing the original recorded jazz songs. These covers use the same set piece but photographed in a different environment or lighting.

Here’s Remixed2 and Unmixed2. reminds me of Athelete’s Tourist. “Remixed2″ came out in 2003 vs “Tourist” in 2005 for those interested.

The sculpture titled “Sound Installation #7″ by David Ellis seems to be a working musical instrument.

And Remixed3 and Unmixed3.

The sculptor David Ellis has the “Double bass boombox fiddle” available for $15,000. It’s an edition of 3 as is a functioning tube powered stereo. Pretty sweet if you’re Platinum credit card needs a work out.

The majority of the credit lists I found only credited “Hollis King”, the VP, Creative Services at Verve but a few credited “ReHab” which must have rebranded to Graphic Therapy who have the series in their portfolio.

The only photography credited is for Rick Guest for Remixed2. He may not have shot the others though. His portfolio it’s filled with lots of other great music work from Depeche Mode to Jamiroquai.

Verve released a deluxe box of all the albums (with a rather boring cover) in 2005, which begs the question when is Remixed4 going to be released?

It’s interesting that what a band wears during their live gigs becomes a trademark. I guess Kiss worked this way too.

This cover which features two skulls (Paul and Phil Hartnoll actual X-rays) wearing headlights in a Skull & Cross bones design feels like a metal cover and not the usual slick imagery we see for Electronica bands.

Also if you’re into X-Ray photos (and not the voyeur kind) then check out Albert Koetsier’s X-Rayography.

Orbital became known for wearing head mounted lights during live gigs which probably started more as a practical thing. How else will they see all the knobs? Although Spanish DJ Chimo Bayo (not related to Scott Baio) claims he originated the trend.

Here’s half of Orbital.

And here’s Chimo Bayo.

The US 2 disc version was coloured red. Probably for no other reason than it looks tougher.

This is another Farrow Design cover who are still producing some of the nicest work I’ve seen out of the UK and making my job easier on Sleevage by having a huge portfolio of music work to draw from.

Off Topic:
And just because I love The Simpsons and this is what came up a lot when searching for X-Ray Skull here’s Homer Simpson’s skull X-Ray.