Autechre – LP5
Previous Record as Record Player Next Jimmy Giuffre 3 – 1961
| Artist | Autechre |
| Title | LP5 |
| Label | Warp |
| Year | 1998 |
| Designer | Updated: Autechre |
| Music | Electronic |
| Desktop | Download image |
| Notes | This is one of my favourite designs. Given that one of my formative experiences was an eight year old’s love of the UK version of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, that may not be so surprising. LP5 is a wonderfully minimal experience, from the industrially functional black plastic, the embossed lower case typography, the single thick white card insert bearing just the track titles and nothing else to the suitably unmarked, anonymous compact disc itself. It’s as though the uncredited designer/s were given just the delightfully succinct album title to go on.
You may have noticed the white mark on the front – that’s where a label was attached, here’s what it looked like (thanks to Google):
I prefer my own version, just as I like the touches of rust and warped metal of another all-time favourite design of mine, the Chain Reaction metal cases. LP5 has taken such a long time to appear here on Hard Format because it’s steadfastly refused to look good in any photographs I’ve taken over the last couple of years. The pictures above are the subject of a moment of impulsive determination, fairly neutral light outside and a deal of post-processing. I’m sorry to say that, at the time of writing, LP5 has been out of print for some time. See also: |
The typography is lazy. Too big, too tight, boring default choice, yawn.
And it looks better without the sticker, just the remnants
This was done by Autechre themselves as far as I know, they did EP7 as well which is, in my opinion much better with the frosted plastic
The Real Ross Kemp: you’ve missed the point.
Kevin Foakes: thanks for the info. I find LP5 is a much more cohesive design than EP7 (both of which bear wonderful titles). I don’t see the connection between the frosted casing and the generative software graphics.
I’ve always loved the Chiastic Slide covers (especially the vinyl). There are so many beautiful details that shift and jump out with light. They are incredible.
-Steven
rob and sean did this themselves.
it struck me as a little paradoxical that one of their most accessible releases has such an opaque cover so to speak- but what can one say against the design.
Crap.
Type is too clunky. They should have stuck with Designers Republic, the masters of Helvetic handling.
Classic case of band narcissism ‘I’ve got photoshop, I can design the cover!’
A death knell sadly heard way too often these days.
Don’t agree at all. Its lack of design and its minimalism is what makes LP5 so brilliant. Nothing to do with Photoshop and everything to do with the materials, the presentation of the physical packaging and its interaction with the minimal type. tDR, however brilliant, could never have produced LP5.