Broken 3 Ways

Just thought I'd give a big shout out to Broken 3 Ways, an awesome local ska band who put in a great performance this Easter weekend. They played an hour slot at the OxJam festival...really got the crowd going. I decided to bring my camera along and try my hand at gig photography. You should really check this band out...if you fancy elevating your mood, having a bit of a chill, or an all out skanking session!

Here's their myspace

http://www.myspace.com/broken3ways

Sound&Vision

Well...just about recovered from TimeWarp festival in Germany. What an event. The very best in techno music, and some simply out of this world visuals. Credit goes to the star of the show Ali Demirel. He produces some stunning work for artists such as Richie Hawtin. The results prove that good collaboration is key to success with events such as these. The combination of incredible music and animation created a truly unique and effective atmosphere for the audience. In the end...it was just a spectacle. A real show. Thousands of fans stood and just simply witnessed the performance for two hours. Breathtaking.

Here's a link to give you a taster...not a patch on being there but you know...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBlvA1lY6VA&playnext_from=TL&videos=F4chNh2oIrA

Gesign

Well, I'm afraid they've gone and done it again.

Just picked up my copy of Plastic Beach; the latest offering from the ever experimental Gorillaz. They've reinvented themselves with each album, both musically and in terms of design. I'm a massive fan of their illustrative style and brilliant animation. The Gorillaz are a unique outfit, shrouded in mystery. They just get their heads down, and create excellent music; fronted by highly likable digital characters. A sublime blend.

Oh and the albums an absolute winner by the way...buy it

Reinventing Perfection

http://vimeo.com/1109226

Here is a link to one of the finest examples of creativity I have seen in a long time. To really appreciate it, you have to know (and probably love) the song 'Nude' by Radiohead. Here, art student James Houston has took the concept of remixing to a whole new realm. Using a variety of archaic technology, he has done something quite special and recreated the entire song using mechanical noises. It reminds me a bit of Luigi Russolo's 'Noise Intoners'...

I'm not alone in thinking this is a creative gem, right?

Book him ref

I thought it was about time I blogged about some of my own work for a change. Here is a selection of pages from a book that I have recently produced. My concept was based around creating the artwork for an album of my life. I've loosely based my ideas on album artwork, drawing inspiration from a range of artists and photographers to create something that I feel really reflects me both as a designer and a person.

The text may seem a little odd or vague, but this is because I've tried to blend the concept of song lyrics with my own personal thoughts and feelings. This I feel has added some depth to the imagery, and allows the audience to look at things from a different perspective.

I've tried not to over complicate the pages, and utilise the space I had effectively. With a CD booklet sized scale, space was a great concern for me. But I think that the space has been filled nicely; not too compressed, and not exactly bare either.

When it came to choosing a colour scheme, I looked to restrict myself as much as possible. Much of this book comprises of black and white, and pale shades of colour. This way, when I have opted for bright colours it really stands out. This limited swatch has helped to maintain a quite serious tone throughout the book, which was always one of my aims. I wanted the pages to share a consistent personality.

In_Rainbows

So I've just pretty much finished a book that I have been working on for a project, my basic concept being a CD booklet. I though that I would take this opportunity to discuss one of my all time favourite album art. 'In Rainbows' is the cirtically acclaimed album by Radiohead, famous for it's digital release where you pay what you want for it (you've all probably heard the story). Now I think that this concept is all well and good, you get fantastic music for as little as you want...the major downside for me is that you miss out on the fantastic design of the albums casing. This is one of the main reasons that I still buy albums (as opposed to digital download).

As a designer, there is so much to appreciate from this artwork. The typography is crisp and eprfectly balanced. The imagery is vibrant, and at times stunning. When you open up the case, it folds out to reveal some hidden gems, such as stickers and a really nice booklet. For me, these booklets are really important. If done correctly, the artwork can beautifuly compliment the music which creates a whole new level of appreciation for the artists. It really annoys me when to effort is put into the design of these booklets, it sometimes is clearly an afterthought. These tactile and visual qualities should not be overlooked.

Oh and if you don't own this album then I feel for you, it's borderline perfect

Keeping it Unreal...

I recently had the pleasure of watching Mr Scruff play at Leeds Uni. It was a pretty special night; 5 hours of music covering such a vast array or genres. As a rule, he plays right across the board...seemlessly blending styles together. By the end of it, the crowd were eating out of his hand, with 'Could You Be Loved' by Bob Marley closing the set.

However, I'm not blogging to just hurrah his music. As a designer, I'm really interested in his illustration work. He creates such querky little characters, but they work very well with the music, almost giving it a personality. Scruff provides a lot of the imagery for his music videos, as well as providing much of the soundtrack for popular iPhone game 'Rolando'.

Scruff is a hard working, honest guy who genuinly loves his work. That's all we can ever want, and aspire to be

If your interested in Monsieur Scruff...visit http://mrscruff.com/

Burial & Four Tet - Moth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czl6-4lrr6Q

Now I'm not going to put this video up on here, I want you to click the link and check it out for yourself. Simply because through the 'Related Videos' section, you will discover a wealth of fantastic tunes. I strongly advise you take a peak at the featured video, 'The Field-Over Ice'....I think it's pretty special.

Now that the admin is out of the way, I'll discuss this link. It is a wonderful piece of music; the result of collaboration between two great artists - Burial, and Four Tet. I can't really describe to you what genre they come under, although ambient hip-hop may be a start. I think that this song and video come together to create a perfect audio-visual delight. It is a true example of how music and design can work as one, to communicate something pretty special. This is an area in which I am very passionate about...blending design and music is, well...made to be.

Please let me know your thoughts on this video, and what you think to the link between music and design, if indeed you think there is one.

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