The Music Issue / 1
The Music Issue / 3
06
CONTRIBUTORS // FAVOURITE ARTIST OR BAND
09
HOW DOES MUSIC INFLUENCE YOUR FASHION?
12
RAP WARS
16
DRAWN SOUNDS
25
POWERFUL MUSIC ARTISTS
33
ALBUM ART
38
YOUNG & OLD
44
PLAYLISTS
30
23
09 44
25
38
12
16
33 The Music Issue / 5
Kathryn
CK
Tara
Katelyn
Edwina
Jeremy
I’m an artist who loves a good set of watercolour paints and listening to spine-tingling music. I adore Studio Ghibli movies and enjoy anime.
I adore people + being outdoors. Plus a bit of an Ed Sheeran fan.
With sports, music, art and street culture behind me - I’m a radical expressive.
Minimalism is efficiency and simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Give me a piece of paper and pencil and I’ll be content. Maybe some plants and tea as well.
I’m a graphic + character designer who is really passionate about music and the aesthetics.
Samantha Byrne, 22
Tobias Evans, 24
Abbey Aslan, 30
Isobel Cootes, 21
Bethany Francis, 26
Liam Forcadilla, 23
Eminem because I can spit every lyric.
Rihanna. She’s a badbitch who’s evolved so much as an artist to get where she is today.
Valias Alps are my favourite. They’re an electronic music duo. All their songs have summer vibes and make me happy.
Probaby Muse. They have a song for every occasion - slow and sad to upbeat and happy, they encompass any feeling you can have.
Hanson. It’s fun lighthearted pop that reminds me of when I was younger. That, and I know all the words.
I love Lorde. Her lyrics are always poetic and she uses a lot of creative language. Also her themes and concepts are always relatable.
The Music Issue / 7
PHOTOGRAPHS + WORDS EDWINA WORNES
Most musicians dress based on their chosen genre of music and we can easily distinguish them through their own styles. Both music and fashion are forms of art and a way to express individualism and just like listening to a good song, a good outfit can make you feel strong, happy and ready for the day. More often than not, whether you realise it, style is greatly influenced by your musical genre choice. Musicians are in the public eye in a very specific way, the clothes they wear and the trends they set will be replicated by their fan bases. Remember growing up in the 90’s loving Furbies, chokers and jelly shoes wishing you were a part of a girl or boy band. Me too. I wanted to date someone from the backstreet boys and be a part of Destinys child because I idolised these artists. Everything they did, said and of course wore. Thanks to INXS everyone had blonde tips on their spiked hair, Tupac inspired us to wear bandanas and our pants low, Britney compelled us to sport crop tops and pigtails and Kurt Cobain made us cut holes in our jeans and want long hair. None of us can deny we spent the 90s surrounded by crimped hair, halter tops, acid wash, baggy pants and lots and lots of denim and this is of course thanks to our favourite artists. The list of influential music artists just from the 90s’ goes on forever but I bet
now you’re beginning to realise the impact of their influence and it doesn’t stop at the 90’s. The 80’s saw the emergence of dance and disco music due to an increase in the use of digital recording, while pop and rock continued to grow. This time period was one of the most experimental periods in style history thanks to enduring style icons such as Bananarama, Madonna, Prince, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper and Adam Ant. They had fans wearing shoulder pads, feather boas, crazy make up and leather, all with crazy hair. 80s fashion was all about colour, size, and experimentation just like music. The 70’s didn’t’ let us down bringing us fringing, platforms, glitter and flares through artists such as David Bowie an Cher and just like the 90s and 80s fashion trends we just can’t seem to shake them.
“Remember growing up in the 90’s loving Furbies, chokers and jelly shoes wishing you were a part of a girl or boy band” It’s unusual to enter a forever 21 or H&M store these days without seeing a ‘Nirvana’ or ‘Iron Maiden’ band tee, they’re simply everywhere. Their impact on grunge music so huge that it continues to inspire the grunge fashion style. Leather, ripped jeans and patent all essential items to a modern-
The Music Issue / 9
day fashionistas wardrobe. As Nirvanas front man Kurt Cobain was the face of grunge and a movement that revolutionised the culture of the 1990s. He took the flashy aesthetic of the 1980s and ran with it in the complete opposite direction. In ripped jeans and lumberjack workwear he changed the look of grunge by softening the exterior for a more radical unisex style. Being a known feminist and political advocate he made it ‘cool’ to dress comfortably in loose clothing no matter what your gender. If we flash forward a few decades, brands such as Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs are still using his free-spirited approach to dressing in their collections as well as models such as Cara Delevinge using it as her off-duty uniform. Pop taught generations that music was about celebration, display and escape. When Madonna came along, all fashion hell broke loose and certainly no one can deny that she’s an icon of pop culture and everything it involves. More specifically her fashion influence implicated a shift in the lives and attitudes of the women of that era; this unique and sexy style gave way to a sense of empowerment. She had previously reserved girls wearing fingerless gloves, draped in crucifixes with lacy black bras under white crop tops. She was edgy and brought a sex appeal to music and fashion.
“When Madonna came along, all fashion hell broke loose” The most memorable image of her career is arguably the wedding dress worn on the cover of second album ‘Like a Virgin’. The contrast of the white, pure wedding dress against the lace gloves with crucifix jewellery had the world waiting on the edge of our seat for more fashion inspiration and she certainly didn’t disappoint. Today if I google ‘madonna fashion’ multiple websites come up with inspired outfits and whole pages dedicated to recreating what she worked so hard to build and Time included her as one of the Top 100 Icons of all time in fashion, style and design. She is the ultimate iconic fashion chameleon. It is very apparent that music has had an eccentric leverage over fashion thus far and vice versa. We can now look back at trends we used to cringe at that have slowly crept their way back onto the runways. Fashion is evidently a never-ending circle, always growing, always evolving but it will also always have its basics. Just like music. Creativity knows no boundaries and these two art forms will always intertwine while we idolise music artists and tale interest in our clothes.
The Music Issue / 11
The war between the old and new schools of Rap and Hip Hop ILLUSTRATIONS + WORDS ISIKE KIPPAYA
CONFLICT
Westside
Rap and hip hop has forever been an expression that primarily african americans or the “black” culture as a whole has taken on as a platform to speak on issues that artists believe are relevant to their time and can voice those issues to hopefully raise enough awareness to make a difference. The debate between the old and new schools of rap/hip hop is one thats never ending, its said that the old rappers are only respected because they had grown up with a hard life, surrounded by guns violence, gun shot wounds, gang warfare, police brutality, drugs as well as dealling, lack of schooling and an overall over exposure of life at a young age. The issue with that school of thought is that its counter productive as its that cycle of life thats preventing the culture from moving from oppression and lack of real opportunities in the world other than the prescribed career paths of either rapping or basketball but old heads remain stubborn. Its that debate of new school rappers being invalid or not real rappers emerges, them speaking on the issues of substance abuse, battling with mental health issues which is a huge unspoken issue in black culture especially being something so disregarded speaking on it is so significant. The natural rejection that these “minor” issues even exist is not only in the mindset of those in support of old school rap, but something prolific in the thinking of of the older generations and is something that younger generations disagree with which is yet another means of conflict between the two school of Rap and Hip-Hop.
The only downfall these new age rappers suffer with is their inability to resist “flexing” which is the act of wearing an excessive amount of expensive and flashy gear whether it be jewellery, high end branded clothing and so on in an attempt to show off the amount of money they have which in the long term is poorly invested money as that cash could find its way into a multitude of more benefical ways such as funding schools, housing, foundations, sponsorships etc. to bring up the struggling culture that they’ve come from and is exactly whats wrong with the culture of rap, very few have found their way out of this cycle and are living a prosperous life.The irony of the new school of rap is that they’re aiming to make a difference through speaking on hidden issues such as mental health though they’re still stuck on the same issue that rappers as a collective cannot seem to move past, their failure to have financial literacy. One thing that can be owed to the older generation is that they were rapping to fight a cause, to “wake up” the people and empower them to fight for a better life, for respect and equality in what was and still is an unjust society, a pioneer in this element of rap would be tupac shakur who was suspiciously murdered at the young age of 25, a short clip of his thinking can be read below. “Why am I fighting to live? If I am just living to fight, Why am I trying to see? When there aint nothing in sight, Why am I trying to give, When no one gives me a try , Why am I dying to live, If I am just living to die?” Tupac Shakur The Music Issue / 13
LYRICAL COMPARISON
Another aspect that can highlight the dramatic difference between the new and old schools of Hip-Hop and Rap is not only the technical attention to the lyrics, but the meaning/message
that is both talked about and conveyed through words, below i’ll be comparing two pioneers of the genre, one from the new school and the other from the old school, Nas (Nassir Jones) and Lil Uzi Vert.
Artist: Nas (Nassir Jones)
Artist: Lil Uzi Vert
Song: 2nd Childhood
Song: Xo tour lif3
Album: Stillmatic
Album: luv is rage 2
“So he moves with his peers, different blocks, different years / Sittin on, different benches like it’s musical chairs.”
“She say I’m insane, yeah I might blow my brain out Xanny, help the pain, yeah Please, Xanny, make it go away I’m committed, not addicted, but it keep control of me All the pain, now I can’t feel it I swear that its slowin’ me yeah.”
Analysis: In verse 2 of 2nd childhood Nas drops a line “So he moves with his peers, different blocks, different years / Sittin on, different benches like it’s musical chairs.” which playfully breaks down the cycle that black/African American men are trapped in the cycle of. The songs about a 31 year old guy who lives in the hood and has just come back from jail, in which you’d assume he’d have learnt from his mistakes, though that isnt the case, he returns to the exact same habits that got him to jail in the first place, no maturity or lesson learning is apparent, as he steals from his mothers purse, smokes and slings drugs, “different blocks” being the corners he’s sold drugs on, “different benches” being the different spots he hangs at and “he moves with his peers” are the people he’s hanging around with who are clearly the bad influence on him.
Analysis: XO tour lif3 is a song that details the issues within the relationship between uzi and his ex girlfriend Brittany byrd alongside his struggle with substance abuse tying in 3 essential themes of drug mental health and females. The quote “She say I’m insane, yeah I might blow my brain out Xanny, help the pain, yeah Please, Xanny, make it go away I’m committed, not addicted, but it keep control of me All the pain, now I can’t feel it i swear that it’s slowin’ me, yeah” addresses all 3 of these themes directly through the mention of xannys a popular drug nowadays most commonly abused as an ‘escape’ through its depressant effects when taken and uzi uses this drug to “make it go away” from suicidial thoughts suggested through the words “blow my brain out”.
ALBUM ART
Old Album Art
New Album Art
An array of common themes from the older generation of rap idols make themselves present such as; a dullish colour palette, in the sense that theres very little use of loud colouring, theres a thug, crew/gang mentality shown in; 50 cent through the bullethole referring to the various gunshots wounds he’s suffered, mobb deep for their mugshot portraying criminal activity, nwa being on a wanted poster for being such a radical and 2 pac throwing u p a westside gang symbol as a reminder of the gang presence he’s grown up around, the rappers names are all placed as large demanding text eluding to the power and aggression they hold whilst all persons on the cover are looking the viewer in the eyes to add to the effect.
The new age of rappers and their album covers have revealed an almost opposing fashion, a more playful and creative take on opposition to the “hard” serious album covers of the older idols. Throughout the newer rappers albums are a larger range and brighter colour palette, very little advertisment of the rappers name or even the name of the album, money, drugs, fashion, and mental health are all portrayed through each of the exemplified albums, for these reasons mentioned as above is whats caused such a huge debate between the old and new rap scene, and why old rap heads refuse to accept these new rappers to identify as “legit” rappers. “If you are a supremacist, be unmoved by the opposition. Remain unscathed in the comfort of your own home, in your own realm. Demonstrate care for the youth’s future, white or black, black or white. Are you willing to risk your child’s future due to your own bigotry? The choice is yours, but your child will not stand for the hate. This generation will be loved, nurtured, heard and understood.” XXXtentacion - Look At Me Official Video 2017
The Music Issue / 15
Different people draw their response to the song ‘ Never Were The Way She Was’ PHOTOGRAPHS + WORDS TARA AINSWORTH
We all know that music can’t literally be seen... other than the visualisation of sound waves, but never with our plain eyes. Though that might be cool, and slightly overwhelming if we could. What would it look like if we could see sound? I set out to see how people of different ages, ethnicity and gender translate a sound onto marks on paper; whether that be an emotion, a thought, an expression or scene. There really weren’t any rules. I invite you to listen to the song, maybe sit down with some tea, paper and some drawing tools. Listen, and draw. This song by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, titled ‘Never Were the Way She Was’, has been created using the surreal combination of only two instruments; the saxaphone and the violin, to a potential I’ve never heard before. Both instruments are extentions of the artist, as art forms wonderfully, vulnerably and inherently are. The sounds they create invite you into a landscape; raw, somewhat ugly and uncomfortable, creating feelings difficult to name. Stetson’s impressive circular-breathing with the saxaphone forms otherworldly layers of sound while Neufeld moves with her violin, playing alongside, around and in tension with the saxaphone.
“Never Were the Way She Was’ is guided by the metaphorical narrative of a life of a girl who ages slow as mountains; excited, exalted and ultimately exiled in her search for a world that resembles her experience.” Music breathes, plucks at and provokes emotion, and I found that it was this emotion that came out in people’s drawn responses. (I apologise in advance for the overriding melancholy that trickles through). The people captured in the following pages are utterly normal. Some would answer “hmm yes” and some a chuckling, hestiant “no” to the question; do you draw? But I think everyone can draw. See how some beautiful, different minds interpret the same sounds, and their brief initial comments on the experience of “drawing sounds”.
The Music Issue / 17
“I felt 80% Melancholy and 20% Nostaliga.” Daniel
“I was thinking how lonely it would be to be deaf. I don’t know why I was thinking of a desert, I guess just the desolate and isolation. ” Spliv
“Just constantly coming down from the left to the right, and then edding and going around in all directions.” Jennie
“So first I got a picture of a hospital corridor, empty and she’s thinking about her past, and I wondered, how do I draw this?” Anigna
The Music Issue / 19
“The song had an enchanting, eery demeanor that seemed to whisper ominously to the listener. I envisioned images of static, a wind howling and bright colours flashing. “ Kathryn
“Really, really cool. I usually listen to music as I draw for inspiration, but this... I heard the static and well, this is what I thought of!” Meighan
It’s contemplative and therapeutic becaust it’s raw. I remember this time in high school I painted soundwaves as landscapes and mountains.” Claira
“It was an existential, otherwordly experience, the music conjured images of places where the laws of physics weren’t the same as ours. That’s what I channeled into the drawing.” Jeremy
The Music Issue / 21
ILLUSTRATIONS TARA AINSWORTH
The Music Issue / 23
ILLUSTRATIONS + WORDS KATHRYN HARRIS
The Music Issue / 25
David Bowie
David Robert Jones, known as David Bowie, has become an icon of the 21st Century and is known throughout the world. Bowie had this naturally charismatic personality, and was well liked by almost everyone he met, often described as ‘down to earth’. David Bowie is a true man of power, even after his tragic death in January 2016. Bowie processed great power with his talent for making incredible, ingenious music. With his unique theatrical voice that he could push to its furthest limits, and his devotion to push the boundaries of music, Bowie has become a true music icon. Bowie helped in the formation of many genres, including Glam-Rock and electronic music. Glam-Rock had previously been seen as just a sappy sub-genre, with goofy, sugarcoated rock songs, and performers dressed in bizarre outfits. David Bowie created one of his most memorable persona’s Ziggy Stardust with this genre, and took British Glam-Rock to the next level. He created memorable songs such as Andy Warhol (much hated by the man himself), and Moonage Daydream, which was written by putting random cut up words together, with lyrics like, “you’re squawking like a pink monkey bird” and “Keep your ‘lectric eye on me babe”. His albums Low
and Heroes had Bowie experimenting with synthesizers and electronics, bringing this new genre further into the mainstream. The song Heroes, from Heroes is often considered one of his best songs, and a great example of one of what he achieved for the electric music genre. Another great appeal of Bowie was his ability to be a music ‘chameleon’ with his multiple personas. Throughout his career, Bowie played out different personas including Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, Thin White Duke and Halloween Jack. All his personas have become legends in their own right, as Bowie created such unique, interesting personalities for each of them. For instance, Ziggy Stardust, Bowie’s most famous persona, was a fictional rock star who was a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. The Thin White Duke was a darker persona, who was known to make profascist statements, making him quite controversial – Bowie has stated the character doesn’t reflect to him as a person. At any David Bowie concert, or tribute band, there are people adorning Ziggy’s famous red lighting strike on their face, or even wearing the thin white duke’s infamous light blue suit, showing the power and influence Bowie’s personas had on his fans.
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone, known by her first name, is a power force when it comes to pop, and has been worthily glorified with the title of The Queen of Pop. She is a woman who has created a well-loved image over the decades, and has had a momentous influence of numerous pop princesses of today. Madonna has created an image for herself that still holds powerful today. In the late 80s and early 90s, her image of being a rebel shone through with her performing gutsy songs like Like a Virgin and Like a Player. The music video for Like a Player, for the time was very controversial as she included a burning religious cross in the background. It even caused her to lose her sponsorship with Pepsi. Despite this, Like a Prayer was a massive hit and made it to number one on the music billboards. She is also considered to fit into the rock and roll chick category, with her clothing style and her rebellious attitude. Madonna is a sex symbol, and has complete control over this label and is unashamed of her body and isn’t afraid to show it.
includes her ability to entertain. She can sing and dance on stage with creative, and up with the times chorography. Her image is loved all through the decades, making her a loved, powerful woman. Madonna has truly earned the title of The Queen of Pop with her having influenced so many Pop Princesses who strive to reach her level. Madonna helped shape Pop music, with her combining different genres throughout her career to create new sounds that keep up with the times. Her 80s era, with her dance-pop performances inspired a huge array of female performers to part-take in this style, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, many saying that Madonna influenced their careers. Madonna has even helped promote upcoming artists. She gave both Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue a boost in their careers by simply wearing shirts with the Pop Princesses on them – she holds that much power!
She is also known as a gay icon, making music being widely loved by the gay community. She grew up having gay friends, including her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn. She is openly a supporter of same-sex marriage, encouraging her fans to also support it. Madonna’s image also
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Beyoncè
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, an artist known worldwide by her first name, is a powerful music figure with a career filled with multiple billboard hits. She’s a role model to new musicians, and well renown feminist. Beyoncé is evidently an amazing music artist, and has been dominating music billboards since her teen years. Before she became a solo artist, Beyoncé found fame by being one of the lead vocalists of the R&B band, Destiny’s Child performing songs like, Bills, Bills, Bills, Survivor, Say My Name, and Killing Time. Killing Time was included in the soundtrack of the well renowned movie, Men in Black. Her solo debut album, Dangerously in Love, filled with up-tempo songs and ballads earned her five Grammy Awards in 2004, and had worldwide success. Though continuing to work with other artists, Beyoncé found time to work on her solo career, writing billboard hits like Single Ladies, Crazy in Love, Irreplaceable, and Naughty Girls. Her album, Lemonade, had all the songs debut on the Hot 100 list at once, a fete never done before by a woman, just showing how powerful Beyoncé really is.
“Power means happiness; power means hard work and sacrifice” - Beyoncè Knowles Beyoncé is not only very talented, but is a role model, and leader for new coming music artists. In 2007, she founded her own entertainment and management company known as Parkwood Entertainment, which she signs up new music artists to develop music. Beyoncé has full power over who is selected, and she purposely chose three women artists to start with, as she acknowledges that the music business is dominated by men. She also doesn’t want to create carbon copies of music that already exists, and allows the artists more freedom to develop their own sound and style. It’s nice to see that Beyoncé uses her influence and power to help fellow music artists create music they want to.
Ed Sheeran
Ed Christopher Sheeran, known as Ed Sheeran, is a more recent powerful artist who has made it big as a powerful singer songwriter. He is known for captivating live audiences with only a guitar and voice at hand, playing tear inducing, relatable music. Ed Sheeran is an artist who started small, and eventually found his way to fame. Even as a kid, he was dedicated to finding a career in music, learning guitar from a young age, and had already begun song writing. At age 16, he moved to London, where he played in small venues to seek out his career in music. He barely had any money and was forced to make do with sleeping on friend’s couches. The gigs he played roused interest by all sorts of people, as he performed a unique style involving rap, soul and folk. He evoked an inviting demeaner that roused his popularity. While still doing gigs, he independently released his album, Loose Change, which got the attention of the mass media with the heart wrenching song, The A Team, winning multiple awards. His popularity continued to grow, and he made guest appearances with super famous music artists like Taylor Swift and even Elton John. He continues to be humble, and make incredible songs. He is an inspiration for other music artists starting with nothing, giving them hope that they might too reach their performing dreams.
Ed Sheeran has a talent for writing powerful, meaningful songs. The songs he writes are not only lyrically brilliant, but can be very relatable to many people. Thinking Out Loud, one of his most successful songs, and was his first song to hit 500 million streams on Spotify. The song is truly romantic and has been popular to play during marriage proposals, anniversaries, weddings and just everyday romance. Another powerful song of his is Shape of You. With lyrics like, “Last night you were in my room, now my bedsheets smell like you”, and, “Every day discovering something brand new”, the song is instantly relatable for people who feel romantic or sexual attraction to another person, and the little things that add up to why they like the person. The A Team is another powerful song of his. It is a heartfelt ballad that sincerely speaks about drug addiction, struggle and living on the streets, which is displayed in the music video. The song is all feeling and tear-jerking, that causes listeners to feel empathy for people going through these hard times. Sheeran’s lyrics hold great power that bring people together.
The Music Issue / 29
ILLUSTRATIONS JEREMY DEARIN
The Music Issue / 31
ILLUSTATIONS + WORDS JEREMY DEARIN
The Music Issue / 33
The phrase don’t Judge a book by its cover is pretty much completely obsolete at this point, why would authors spend so much time and money getting their books illustrated if we were supposed to disregard it as just an image devoid of contents or meaning and not really being part of product as a whole. Of course we know that’s not at all true and that the cover of a book can give us important visual clues to the themes and motivations present in the book and album art is no different.
puts her wedding photos in, completely bland and plain collections of multiple records by the same artists. Individual records didn’t fare any better sold in the backs of appliance stores they where packaged in plain brown paper or cardboard selves with a small hole in the middle so the artist could be identified. These selves where made of acid paper limiting their preservation and to top it all off if you tried to store your records in them they would actually break your records.
These days I would be shocked to hear that there are still people who don’t think album art is integral to the entire experience of listening to music. it gives us context about the ideas and themes at play even if the image seems like just a photo or some abstract mish mash of colours. It is also an incredible marketing tool, how many albums have been sold simply because of a first impression given by the cover? It is because of this that I was so shocked when I first discovered that album art was once an unheard of concept but this requires some understanding of the history of album art.
Then along came Alex Steinweiss a young artist and intern at Columbia Records who was appalled at the boring nature of browsing music and suggested the idea of images and artwork on the packaging. As tends to be the case with these sorts of things the higher ups in the company where fervently against the idea because of printing costs, not entirely a silly concern but certainly a short-sighted one. Either way his idea got the go ahead and the world of music marketing has never been the same. And as for those concerns over printing cost well it was estimated that at the time an album with art on the cover would sell approximately 800% more then an identical plain packaged one… yeah. Needless to say figures like this meant that the idea of album art caught on very quickly.
Before there was album art there was just the album… pretty obvious really but the reason we even call them albums is because vinyl records where originally sold like a photo album. No really they looked like the kind of thing your grandma
Despite that however album art as an artistic representation of the themes or ideas in the music at least as we understand it today was still a little off. Steinweiss was doing some interesting things artistically but the norm was to have very simple covers with some descriptive text and maybe a little drawing in the top third to intrigue the avid browser. So what was the next big thing that would change album art, well like so many other things it was the beetles. Like so many other things album art was changed forever by the Beetles influence. They broke down the walls of what had been and what could be done, mixing and matching illustration and photography, mixing meaning and symbolism to create powerful eye-catching covers. They also pushed this idea that an album cover could be more then a consumer product and could help the listener engage with what the artist was thinking by doing things like printing the lyrics on the back or inside cover. This paved the way for an anything goes approach to album art and the evolution of the medium into what we know it as today.
Before the internet gaining access to information on your favorite band or any band for that matter was difficult and a lot of the time the only thing you knew about a bands music came from what you had in front of you the music itself and the album. Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, one half of art design group Hypnosis described it by saying: “In those days album covers were very important to the person who bought them, because there wasn’t MTV, there weren’t music videos, there wasn’t the saturation of Youtube or any other available source to learn about your favourite rock n roll star. So an album was very important. You’d buy an album and scour the cover while playing it, looking for clues as to what made those artists tick. We latched onto that early on, by including lyrics, by including postcards, posters and little clues..” This also helped create a sense of community and discussion between fans who could share a similar and yet unique experience with the music.
Now that we have a better understanding of how album art started we can take a look at how it has evolved and how its purpose has been modified due to time and platform.
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Record and CD shops where an integral part of early music culture and the album art was a necessary feature to catch the viewers attention make them intrigued, possibly enough so to actually purchase it. This idea of discovery is summed up neatly by Bruce Springsteen who said “I do a lot of curiosity buying; I buy it if I like the cover… I just like to wander around and I’ll buy whatever catches my attention.” This is very representative of average consumer behavior and shows the importance of standing out. This idea of discovery hasn’t gone anywhere instead it has actually grown with digital distribution sites like iTunes or Spotify we now have more access to even more music. This does mean however that album art has had to evolved to better sell itself in this new medium. For instance someone could see your album for the first time anywhere so keeping it consistent means for better brand recognition, take for example Ed Sheehan’s albums that mostly use a bold bright colour with a mathematical symbol placed over it mid frame. These covers are clearly different but immediately recognizable as being part of a set. Another key part of modern album design is understanding that the first time someone sees your album it could be a small thumbnail on a website or streaming service so minimalistic designs that focus on creating iconic imagery can make it immediately desirable. A brilliant example of this is pretty much any deadmau5 album, no matter how small or how large the album cover is the iconic mous5 head is clearly visible even when the shapes that make up the design aren’t in the correct spot like on W:/2016ALBUM/ the design is still clearly and immediately recognizable. Despite this however modern cover design is by no means becoming homogenized, its quite the opposite being more varied and creatively driven them ever before its just that designers today have to be aware of more things and work around accordingly. weather that be adjusting the cover for different situations, having multiple covers or even using video or other mediums as the main form of advertisment. Either way what is clear is that album art really is a massively important thing that requires careful consideration, not only will it affect if people want to buy your music but also how they listen to your music. It is also important to understand how album art has evolved over time partly in content but more importantly in the way it is viewed and the importance placed on it by consumers and artists alike as a tool for enhancing the experience of buying and listening to music. The Music Issue / 37
interviews local artists who write their own tunes
PHOTOGRAPHS + INTERVIEWS KATELYN MORRIS
The Music Issue / 39
“You have to fight, or surrender your life. In the end, I’ll stay by your side.” - Stay by your Side
Daniel Kirk When did you start making music? I started making music as a young teenager. At first I used pre-made loops in recording software to create instrumental pieces. Once I learnt basic guitar chord, I began to write songs about girls I liked or lost. Tell us about the first band you were in? The first band I was in was at church. When I was 13 I started playing drums in a church band once every couple of weeks. At that point I played very basic drums, but it was crucial in learning that timing and dynamics is more important than skill, especially in a church setting. What is it about music that you love? Music is an amazing way to express your feelings! That’s what I absolutely love about it. It’s what I turned to as a teenager when a girl “broke my heart”. It’s what I turn to when I want to express my faith. What is your favourite song you have written and why? My favourite song I’ve written is called “stay by your side”. It talks about being there for a loved one in all struggles, and leading them to find joy. Loved ones have done it for me, and I wrote it in a time where I was striving to be a support for a loved one.
When are you most creative? Honestly, in the shower. I find it’s a great place to process things and dream! Also, right after a big emotional event. It’s what gives me material and the drive to put music to it. What’s your best non-musical skill? Probably sport. Where do you feel most at home? At home! With family, with my close friends, at my home church. What was the first album you bought? I think it was the Shrek 2 soundtrack. Absolutely loved those songs! What is your song writing process? I like to write the catchy melodic riff first. The part of the song that people remember. I then write lyrics to go with it. Usually it’s the chorus, but with ‘Stay by your side’ it was actually the verse line that came first. Describe your music in 5 words Honest, cheesy, not for dancing
The Music Issue / 41
New Orleans Quartet
We spoke to Eric from New Orleans Quartet about all things music related. When did you start making music? In 1970, several of us, in our final years of engineering at Newcastle University, got very interested in the Sydney jazz scene, in particular, New Orleans-style bands. We decided to try and play it ourselves, a somewhat brave endeavour given that only one of us could play an instrument. I thought double bass would be easiest to learn, found one for $55 (I still have it) in the Zolis Opportunity Shop in Hamilton. Too much hard work so tried banjo and soon moved to trombone. Tell us about the first band you were in? We formed a band – called it the Maryville Jazz Band, for two reasons. One was that a couple of the guys were renting a house in Maryville, the other was that it sounded a bit like Storyville – the red-light district of New Orleans. I was instrumental (excuse the pun) in finding a place to play our first gig – the back bar of the Star Hotel. So in mid-1971 we began the Star Hotel’s brief and ultimately notorious period as a wild music venue. We were not marvellous musicians then, but managed to hide our lack of competence with liberal doses of alcohol – or so we thought. What was the first album you bought? The Beatles “Please, Please Me”.
What is it about music that you love? The power of New Orleans jazz, the strong 4-beat rhythm, the melody, improvisation and, above all, the pleasure of working with other musicians spontaneously is something of which you never tire. What is the most unexpected thing that has happened in your music making adventures? The fact that, from not knowing how to play an instrument, I now play alongside the same great musicians I admired all those years ago. How has the music scene changed since you started creating music? Music in pubs, especially jazz, is now almost non-existent. The 5- and 6- piece bands largely ceased getting work after the mid- ‘70s. Pretty much all you get now are one or two musos with a backing track. Guitar, drums, maybe a keyboard predominate – rarely any other instruments. That’s why we go so well at the markets – it’s the only place many kids get to see trumpets, trombones and saxophones. Who is the best cook in your band? I have to say our bass player would have to be the the best all-round performer in the kicthen. Describe your music in 5 words: Traditional Jazz of New Orleans.
The Music Issue / 43
The Music Issue / 45