Visual Cover #04: Album Art in a Modern World

I had seen Andy Warhol’s iconic cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico LP before I knew who the Velvet Underground or Nico were. The poster of the Warhol banana screenprint, with no information and just his name, was a staple in numerous “head shops” and record stores. In high school, I was obsessed with all aspects of the New York scene: musical, literary, artistic and cinematic. I would get the Village Voice and started taking the train from Philadelphia to “The City,” spending my time around SoHo and the West Village. It was like magic being there then; art seemed like a very real possibility.

On one such trip, I got a copy of the LP (I think in Bleecker Bob’s). What I noticed right away was that the yellow banana peel was a sticker, and if you peeled it back, you got a print of the flesh-colored, phallic banana. It was a simple and bold provocation. It took the very mundane action of peeling a banana and collapsed it into a metaphor for discovery of the illicit and profound. I felt like I was carrying around some light porn, but I also felt very proud having it; I was also surprised, as it was on the very conservative Verve jazz label.

I wasn’t an instant convert at first play; the music sounded strange but dealt with adult themes (sadomasochism, drug use, deep alienation), and it seemed to do so in a very unselfconscious, open-ended way, almost like reportage. In time, I would read Ginsburg and Sacher-Masoch and Nelson Algren, I would also grow to really admire John Cale’s arrangements, but buying that record was like opening a door into a new chapter of looking at life. The status of that record has only grown over time, and it impresses me still just how far ahead they were.

To this month’s covers:

Mirt Rite of Passage (Monotype)

A painting, owing a lot to Eric Fischl’s work, shows two masked, hooded men, one with a carrot nose in his hockey mask, about to get into an El Dorado. They look to be in some isolated Southwestern zone. Bad things are afoot here. Each track is made in one take, using a modular synth. It is a dark and cinematic soundscape. In addition to music, Tomek Mirt is a graphic artist and works developing modular synths.

Shan Work It EP (Running Back)

A straight-up Miami deco graphic—teal, reds and blues. Pop, baby. Shan’s second release on this label, it’s breakbeat meets rave meets Jack Master stylings. These are some fun dance jams.

Camea The Hallway EP (BPitch Control)

A figure appears at first to be in a racing suit, but then you look closer, and the suit is screen-printed with a reel-to-reel and various components. The head is a stack of Bang & Olufsen turntable/receivers. It is a simple but jarring collage. Camea Hoffman brings the deep house and techno vibrations here.

DJ Guy Ancient Futures 1993-1997 (Nord Denmark)

A grainy photo depicts some arid landscape; there’s not much in the enigmatic image to place it in time. It’s a fitting cover for this work made in the mid-‘90s, but it’s just now seeing the light of day. What is striking is how fresh and contemporary this early techno sounds.

Luis Junior “Playing Tonight” (Kompakt)

In this series of four overlaid transparent circles, the mixes of the transparencies render thirteen specific zones of color. Starting with yellow, cyan, pink and violet, it produces greens and reds, blue and purple, and at its center, a rich black—a beautiful, minimal cover for this 12″ of minimal tech/house.

Paul Bennett On Before Off (Modernista)

Another simple but elegant modern cover, red, blue, black and soft grey rectangles form a loose column—a nice graphic inspired by the de Stijl movement. The track “Although Sometimes Appear” is a beautiful, head-nodding jam.

Mr. Jones Sounds for the Mute (The Public Stand)

In what appears to be a photorealistic pencil drawing, a hooded, faceless figure motions for quiet with his finger—a very intense tonal rendering. The LP is a hard techno exploration with touches of deep industrial sounds.

Mark Barrott “Sketches From an Island 3” (International Feel)

Okay, I am taking a break from severity. The cover illustration by Stevie Anderson for Mark Barrott’s upcoming 12″ depicts a lush and stunning coral reef—a perfect image to compliment the Ibiza-soaked Balearica presented here.

Ptaki Kalina EP (Young Adults)

A strong feeling of absence and memory is at work in this mysterious black-and-white photo of a corrugated building, a long, metal awning, and a heavy overgrowth of trees. This is true of the music as well: downtempo, atmospheric and rich. Foxy is a nice, driving jam that is screaming for a huge remix. This is a vinyl re-release of an EP that first saw some limited light last year.

Siren “Away” (Compost)

Full disclosure: I wrote and coproduced this record with Darshan Jesrani of Metro Area fame. I also had a hand in the art direction and cover design. The front image is taken from a 19th-century wallpaper sample; the back comes from an old Hollywood film still. The charging romp of a song features a nice vocal from Mr. Reed, while Faze Action drops a heavy-duty remix.

What are your favorite album covers of all time? Leave a comment below—we’d love to see what you vibe on.

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