ALBUM COVERS
Bell X1 – “Merciful Hour” (BellyUp Records)
Artwork and design for Bell X1’s eighth studio album, “Merciful Hour”, released in exclusive limited edition double gatefold, pressed on Seville orange and turquoise coloured vinyl. The surrealist collage-like direction for the album artwork extends to symbol artwork for each song, reproduced across the vinyl labels and the inside of the gatefold. Artwork extends across merchandise (t-shirt and clothbound lyrics book) as well as lighting for live shows. Vinyl & packaging manufactured by Dublin Vinyl. T-shirts made by The T-Shirt Company, Dublin. Books bound by Duffy Bookbinders, Dublin.
HousePlants – “Dry Goods” (Self-released)
Artwork & design for “Dry Goods”, the debut album by HousePlants, comprising the duo Paul Noonan (Bell X1) & Daithí Ó Drónaí (Daithí). The starting point for the art direction began with colour: Daithí spoke of the colours found in the artwork of Japanese new age and ambient music, as well as the brighter hues found in the animated films by Studio Ghibli. The abstract geometric cover art attempts to meet the group’s electronic and oftentimes introspective sounds, while the image was screenprinted for the added warmth and intimacy that this brings, the slight mis-alignment of the overprints in the screenprint also alludes to the vulnerable and human aspect of Noonan’s songwriting. The same abstract grid was also drawn from for the single artwork, where isolated shapes were presented in minimal, two-colour schemes. Gatefold layout by Brendan Canty. Vinyl & packaging manufactured by Dublin Vinyl.
David Murphy – “Cuimhne Ghlinn” (Rollercoaster Records)
Artwork & design for acclaimed pedal steel guitar player David Murphy’s debut solo album “Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar”, released on vinyl and digipak CD by Rollercoaster Records. “Cuimhne Ghlinn” comprises an all-instrumental debut album that recasts ancient Irish harp tunes and historic airs by O’Carolan, O’Riada et al into the 21st century, voiced by the mysterious, emotive and swelling sound of the pedal steel guitar. Art direction evokes the sweeping panoramic light-filled vistas that “Cuimhne Ghlinn” echoes, aided by the pedal steel guitar’s trademark rich sustain. The album’s roots in Irish traditional music is represented by the graphic constructivist-like image of an Irish landscape.
Cheval Sombre – “Time Waits for No One” (Sonic Cathedral)
The first of three records – intended to be presented as the same journey, both musically and visually – released by Cheval Sombre (Christopher Porpora) in 2021. Both albums “Time Waits for No One” & “Days Go By” are intended as a pair: envisioned by Chris like Blake’s books of innocence & experience, “…but releasing experience first, with a light at the end of the tunnel, with innocence second.” Art direction is following the concept of time, with earthly/celestial journeys represented by an austere, minimal bird in flight with horizontal/vertical stained glass-like flight paths over both records. Colour palette for TWFNO inspired by the paintings of Georges Rouault, the horizontal orientation details “the sensual journey between birth and death”. Crucially, the pair of LP covers overlap to form a super-imposed cross “linked together, suggesting the wholeness of human experience. Two birds flying in different directions, but the trail they leave behind, telling a subtle important story.” Records & CDs feature spot varnish sleeves, manufactured by DMS Vinyl. Art direction by Christopher Porpora.
Cheval Sombre – “Days Go By” (Sonic Cathedral)
“Days Go By” is the second part to Cheval Sombre’s pair of albums, beginning with “Time Waits for No One”, intended to be seen as a pair. Art direction is following the concept of time, with earthly/celestial journeys represented by horizontal/vertical stained glass-like flight paths over both records. “Days Go By” comprises the minimal austere bird flying vertically, to indicate a more heavenly, celestial journey, this celestial colour palette sourced from a magazine photo of a chapel’s stained glass windows. As Chris outlined: “… after folks had both records, the superimposition of both covers might convey a sort of cross ~ linked together, suggesting the wholeness of human experience. two birds flying in different directions, but the trail they leave behind, telling a subtle important story.” Key inspirations came from pamphlets of Thomas Merton and the early book jackets of modernist designer Alvin Lustig. Records & CDs feature spot varnish sleeves, manufactured by DMS Vinyl.
Cheval Sombre – “Althea” (Fat Elvis Records)
Cheval Sombre’s cover of The Grateful Dead’s “Althea” forms the A-side to this 10” , the reverse side comprises a Sonic Boom remix of “Are You Ready” – an album track from “Days Go By” – plus a cover of the Dire Straits song “So Far Away”. Art direction continues to develop conceptually from Cheval Sombre’s previous pair of LPs “Time Waits for No One” & “Days Go By”: sections of the stained glass-like flight paths are cropped so that both horizontal/vertical stresses are denoted by the central axis of both front & back covers. The track-list is also colour-coded and type is similarly set in both Edda & Caslon. “Althea” is pressed on transparent vinyl and includes an insert containing the lyrics to “Are You Ready”, the background featuring the cross-like, superimposed flight paths, therefore concluding the visual journey of these three Cheval Sombre records. 10” records with transparent vinyl manufactured by Pirates Press.
Villagers – “Fever Dreams Acoustic” (Domino)
Artwork for Villagers’ limited edition 10” record “Fever Dreams Acoustic”, released as a white label with tipped-in print. The artwork comprises of a linocut made from two plates stitched together digitally: the spiral staircase over the sea leading towards the sun; the portrait of Conor walking up the stairs. Both linocut prints are combined digitally and subsequently digitally coloured on computer.
Boa Morte – “Before There Was Air” (Gare Du Nord Records)
Artwork for Boa Morte’s third album “Before There Was Air”, released by London independent Gare Du Nord Records on vinyl and digipak CD. The artwork reflects both the recurring nautical themes in the lyrics, plus the heightened dreamlike state in the stream-of-consciousness nature of the album. The artwork also expressly draws to the album title, where the elements of both “fire” and “water” are present. The “Before There Was Air” artwork is made by a combination of linocut, ink and paper cut-out, before being made into a three-colour screen print: printing red, brown and transparent blue on cream paper stock. Album layout by Brian O’Shaughnessy.
You Tell Me – “S/T” (Memphis Industries, Dinked Edition)
Artwork and design for the limited Dinked Edition of You Tell Me’s debut self-titled LP on Memphis Industries. You Tell Me comprises the duo of Field Music’s Peter Brewis and Admiral Fallow’s Sarah Hayes, this is Dinked Edition (No.3) of the album, available at all participating Dinked record shops across the U.K. The sleeves are screenprintd by Little Canyon Printworks. There are 300 numbered LPs made for the Dinked Edition, they are also signed by Sarah and Peter, and pressed on white vinyl. I made a 2-colour screenprint edition (a variation of the Dinked Edition screen-printed sleeve) in navy/black for the U.K. tour, handprinted at Cork Printmakers in an edition of 100 signed & numbered copies.
Arborist – “The Mountain Will Come to You / A Heart in Minor” (Rollercoaster Records)
Artwork and design for Arborist & The Errigal Quartet’s double A-side 7", “The Mountain Will Come to You / A Heart in Minor”, released by Rollercoaster Records. The artwork is intended to be seen as sequential in nature, and uses the same colour palette; the vinyl’s labels continue the sequential direction (inspired by Richard McGuire’s sequential drawings for The New Yorker) where imagery from both songs are present and are seen to be transformed, as though by metamorphosis. Vinyl manufactured by DMS Vinyl.
Seán Mac Erlaine – “A slender song” (Ergodos)
Artwork for Irish composer Seán Mac Erlaine’s second full-length LP, “A slender song”, for Irish Independent label Ergodos. “A slender song” is sensitively curated from live recordings of improvised performances around Ireland over a four-year period. This reflection of life on the road (taking in the flavours and aspects of Cork, Dingle, Dublin, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Mitchelstown, Skibbereen, Sligo, Tralee and Wicklow) informed the direction of the artwork, and choice to make the artwork a painted collage. The front cover features an image of a road cutting through a landscape, while the back cover features an abstract grid. The album is pressed on to transparent orange vinyl, with design by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly.
Linda Buckley – “From Ocean’s Floor” (NMC Recordings)
Released as part of NMC Recordings’ Debut Discs series, “From Ocean’s Floor” by Irish composer Linda Buckley features Iarla Ó Lionáird (voice), Darragh Morgan (violin), Joby Burgess (percussion), Linda Buckley (voice, electronics), Isabelle O’Connell (piano), Crash Ensemble, ConTempo Quartet. Art direction stemmed from the english translations to the Sean-nós pieces performed by Iarla Ó Lionáird, where themes of grief, loneliness and love are powerfully present, particularly in the compositions “Gráinne Speaks Of Díarmait” (“Grief like the growing vine / Came with time upon me / Yet it is not through despair / I see your image still”) and “Entanglement” (“I speak to you tonight / From ocean’s floor / I speak to you every night / From ocean’s floor”).
Blind Stitch – “The Emperor’s Lung” (Self-released)
Artwork and design for “The Emperor’s Lung”, an album by Blind Stitch (Dublin-based cellist and composer Kevin Murphy, also of Seti The First and Slow Moving Clouds), released on CD format. A two-colour screen print edition of the album art was also made, in an edition of ten signed and numbered copies.
