| Artist | Pics 1-5 The Lullaby League, 6-8 The Refractors |
| Title | Pics 1-3 Filia Melusine, 4-5 Cantus, 6-8 Eight Year Sleep |
| Label | Dynamophone |
| Year | 2007-9 |
| Designer | Dynamophone |
| Music | “Euphonic experimental and ambient” |
| Notes | Gorgeous and hand-made, Dynamophone designs are a real treat. They’re like something you’d make for your lover. Part 2 next week. Confession: we have no idea what the format is of those last three pictures! |
Stefan got in touch recently with a rather wonderful design he’d done with his friend Thomas:
It’s based around a gatefold vinyl that doubles as a submarine-themed board game. The cd booklet is a fold-out game board too with a different layout. Rules are on the back of the cd/gatefold and player markers are on promotional postcards or you can make your own.
We did the whole thing as a hand-made stencil painting and invented the rules over a bottle of whiskey one evening.
More pics and a video here: ramastudio.dk/peace%20boat/
| Artist | Portugal The Man |
| Title | The Satanic Satanist |
| Label | Equal Vision Records Inc |
| Year | 2009 |
| Designer | Austin Sellers and John Baldwin Gourley, Photos Zach Carothers and Emily Dyan Ibarra |
| Music | Melodic, rousing |
| Desktop | Download image (soon) |
| Notes | Austin Sellers got in touch many moons ago to ask whether we’d be interested in featuring his design for Portugal The Man. We said for sure, but it then got lost transit. It was his last copy so all hope was eventually given up more than 3 months after it was posted, only for it to suddenly appear one day in the Hard Format letterbox. Hallelujah! This design is a wonderful piece of phantasmagoric eccentricity. Awash with strong (water)colours, it unfolds into a pyschedelic narrative of sorts.
We encourage you to check out Austin’s website for other designs, don’t delay. |
Great to hear of new work from the recently defunct Designers Republic. Looks like a cross between Sunn O)))’s Monoliths & Dimensions and Autechre’s Incunabula. Maybe. It’s out in March, double heavyweight vinyl, CD and digital:
Wonder what the music’ll be like!
| Artist | Simon Fisher Turner |
| Title | Caravaggio – Sound Sketches for Michele of the Shadows |
| Label | el Records |
| Year | 1986 |
| Designer | Sleeve photography by Mike Laye |
| Music | Soundtrack |
| Desktop | Download image |
| Notes | Caravaggio is one of my favourite soundtracks, like the best of such musics it has its own life independent of Jarman’s wonderful visuals. The sleeve design is elegant, dark, mournful and romantic – a fitting companion to the music and the film. |
The always interesting NYLVI has a good overview of last year’s box sets – it’s well worth checking out. Your ever-reliable Hard Format has covered, er, exactly one item in their list. We hope to be covering the Kraftwerk box and the Gristleism one day… Aw c’mon record companies please send us promos! Sighs.
Happy new year everyone!
