Art-based

Album: Minimalistic Album Covers
Artist: Various
Cover Artist: Ty Lettau
Design Studio: Sound of Design

We’re a little late with posting this one but Ty Lettau) has created a series of minimalist album covers. Why? No reason it’s just what designers do. The set has been pretty successful for Ty on Flickr. You might think Ty is an unemployed designer with nothing better to do? But he’s actually the designer [...]

Album: New Ameryka Part Two (Return of the Ankh)
Artist: Erykah Badu
Cover Artist: Emek

Israeli-born illustrator Emek is one of the talents keeping poster art alive. Described by Henry Rollins as the “thinking man’s poster artist”, Emek continues many of the traditions of 1960′s psychedelia. His work is always hand drawn and heavily layered, mashing the political and personal; the organic and technical.

Album: Ladyhawke
Artist: Ladyhawke
Cover Artist: Sarah Larnach

Pip Brown, the New Zealand-born multi-instrumentalist better known as Ladyhawke, has overcome a fair bit of misfortune in her young life. At the age of ten she was diagnosed with a disease called erysipeloid, which is common in seagulls but hadn’t been seen in humans in 20 years. If that’s not bad enough, she’s allergic [...]

Album: Person Pitch
Artist: Panda Bear
Cover Artist: Agnes Montgomery, Rob Carmicheal
Design Studio: Seen Studio

Agnes Montgomery is a Philadelphia-based artist that works in collage. Her work has been been getting heaps of attention since she was tapped by Animal Collective member Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) to create the cover art for his highly-acclaimed solo release Person Pitch (2007).

Album: New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
Artist: Erykah Badu

There’s a difference between batshit crazy and eccentric. It’s a fine line but Badu manages to stay firmly on the right side of it. By every measure, 2008′s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) should have been a total disaster.

Album: Fever Ray
Artist: Fever Ray
Cover Artist: Martin Ander

A paranormally gifted woman stands in front of a barren, twisted and wintry landscape, her face expressionless and intentions unclear. The mysterious cover of Fever Ray’s self-titled debut album invokes a pitch-black, pagan sensibility.

I spent all of my teenage years listening and obsessing over metal. Then with the arrival of ‘Grunge’, I shamefully denounced the hair spray genre, swapping my denim jacket & cowboy boots for flannel shorts and Doc Martins. Then a few years later retired my flannel shirts for the indie/alternative music scene.

Album: Merriweather Post Pavilion
Artist: Animal Collective

Yes, it’s a jpeg successfully masquerading as a gif.

Album: Infidel
Artist: At War
Cover Artist: Claudio Bergamin

For die-hard fans of thrash, the release of Infidels is a major event. At War were an important part of the underground thrash scenes in the 80’s and were well known for the pro-military themes that run through their work.

Album: Daydream Nation
Artist: Sonic Youth
Cover Artist: Gerhard Richter

“One has to believe in what one is doing, one has to commit oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once obsessed, one ultimately carries it to the point of believing that one might change human beings through painting.” Gerhard Richter 1973