4AD Records
It’s been my privilege to work with this iconic British independent label for many years, first as a member of Vaughan Oliver’s v23 studio (based in 4AD’s basement, next to the warehouse), and more recently as a consultant.
Pale Saints, Mrs. Dolphin. First issued as a Japan-only CD, Mrs Dolphin will be released on vinyl for Record Store Day 2020. As the original artwork had been long since lost, we hired photographer Dominic Davies to reinterpret his cover photograph; in parallel, we fed our initial tracklisting graphics to image maker Gary Prendergast, who worked his analogue magic on them. As with the vinyl reissue of The Comforts of Madness (below), this sleeve was designed in partnership with Roy Burns III, and was inspired by the original design by Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg.
Pale Saints, The Comforts of Madness. The band’s debut album, remastered and rereleased on its 30th anniversary on 1xLP, as well as a 2xCD and 2xLP edition featuring demos. While the single LP version is essentially unchanged from Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg’s original design (with photography by Sarah Tucker), the other formats afforded more room for expansion. Press clippings, tape labels and other ephemera were combined with personal snapshots from singer Ian Master’s archives to underscore the important history of this record, dubbed one of Pitchforks “Top 50 Shoegaze Albums”. Designed in partnership with Roy Burns III.
Tarnation, Mirador. Michele Turriani’s haunting images reflect Tarnation’s unique take on Americana. Art direction by Vaughan Oliver. Design by Timothy O’Donnell.
The Birthday Party, Live 81-82. The only band-approved live recording from Nick Cave’s uncompromising Birthday Party posed a challenge in that the band would only agree upon three photographs from Bleddyn Butcher’s deep portfolio. The goal then was to reference the no-nonsense approach to their other sleeves, while trying to capture the band’s legendary ferocity. The only additional graphic detail comes from outraged or enraptured press clippings around the time these songs were recorded.
His Name Is Alive, Stars on E.S.P. From the wonderful but hard to pin down His Name is Alive, a wonderfully open brief. “Mittens, whales, stars.” As the sole American in 4AD’s London office, I probably should have known that Michiganders hold up their hand to show where they’re located in the mitten-shaped state. I still don’t know what whales or stars referred to, but photographer Dominic Davies never disappoints. Type was hand lettered in a dozen different ways in honor of this dense but beautiful sound collage of an album. Art direction by Vaughan Oliver. Design by Timothy O’Donnell.
GusGus, Polydistortion. Single design for the Icelandic collective featuring wonderful stills from the band-directed video. Art direction by Vaughan Oliver. Design by Timothy O’Donnell.