Hardformat

This version of the album is a remix of the design produced for the rerelease on Nonesuch. The album was originally released on Kip Hanrahan’s criminally underexposed American Clavé label. Both share the same imagery, but place significantly different emphasis. Fittingly in my view, the predominant image in the newer version is Piazzolla himself, captured in deepest concentration playing his bandoneón. The dancers, man’s tongue extended, his partner’s head thrust back in pleasure is relegated to the CD tray, revealed by removing the CD itself.

The rich red duotone colouring applied throughout underline the passionate experience of the music while the shiny metallic finish applied to the outer sleeve imparts a fascination to the whole design that can’t help but awaken the inner magpie in its beholder.

Here’s the original cover:

Dust-to-Digital proudly inaugurates its vinyl imprint Parlortone with the earliest intelligible recording of the human voice: an historic 20-second version of “Au Clair de la Lune” made in 1860, 17 years before Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. This single-sided 45rpm record comes complete with an etched back, a descriptive essay and a reproduction of Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville’s original phonautogram.