Author: Charlotte Bearn

Cover Band: discover fresh artwork on Record Store Day 2018

As vinyl sales return to levels not seen since the Nineties, fresh cover art by artists such as rock music photographer Michael Spencer Jones is also drawing attention. It’s time to celebrate exclusive music-art collaborations once more…

What album artwork is the most iconic? Which musician or band produced the most memorable cover art? From The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to FKA Twigs’ LP1, via Nirvana’s Nevermind, the eponymous The Velvet Underground & Nico and Oasis’ Definitely Maybe, some album art reaches beyond the discs it covers to become an entity all of its own. The imagery produced by the likes of Sir Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, Jess Kanda, Kirk Weddle, Andy Warhol and Michael Spencer Jones, is as much a part of the experience as the music - it moved into our collective consciousness and onto the walls of our homes.

Cover Band: discover fresh artwork on Record Store Day 2018 | Image
But, as music consumption went digital, for many of us cover art took a step back; because physical CDs, cassettes (remember those?) and vinyl (old-school) weren’t so prominent, to an extent the art used to sell them was relegated to posters and paste-ups.

Vinyl has, however, made a major – and unexpected – comeback in the past few years, with physical sales defying critics to continue to rise a further 26.7 per cent in the past year alone. And with a demand for physical records comes… shiny new and creative vinyl sleeves!

At one point, a commission to create a record sleeve for a prominent or emerging band was seen as a major career goal and achievement. As well as crossing industries to collaborate with artists working in another field, it promised high visibility for a visual artist or photographer’s work. Our own family of artrepublic artists are no strangers to this: Dan Hillier produced the sleeve for Royal Blood’s’ Falls; Storm Thorgerson worked with the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin; Terry Pastor’s art adorned album covers for David Bowie and The Beach Boys, and that’s just for starters. Today, if the popularity of the annual Secret 7” cover art competition is anything to go by, the enthusiasm for working on sleeve art remains strong.

Cover Band: discover fresh artwork on Record Store Day 2018 | Image

With all that in mind, what better way to shout about (and enjoy) the recent record store revival than with a whole day dedicated to the places we discover new music and unearth old gems? Record Store Day does just that. On 21 April, more than 200 independent record stores in the UK join together to celebrate their culture, with exclusive vinyl releases as well as live performances and one-off events.

This year we are getting behind it with a launch of our own - Michael Spencer Jones’ new print release, ‘Be Here Now Night’, which you can see in artrepublic’s Brighton gallery. A fixture in the ‘Madchester’ music scene of the 1990s, Spencer Jones is the photographer behind some of Oasis’ most recognisable album art – Definitely Maybe, What’s The Story – as well as The Verve’s Urban Hymns.

Cover Band: discover fresh artwork on Record Store Day 2018 | Image

This latest print is a nighttime shot of the famed 1997 album Be Here Now, with artwork that shows Oasis (plus glowing red Vespa) in various stances around a swimming pool. With subtle differences from the daytime shot, you can hang the two images side-by-side at home and play spot the difference!

Cover Band: discover fresh artwork on Record Store Day 2018 | Image

Spencer Jones’ night prints are available on a white or black background – the latter is from a specially released anniversary version, from a super-limited edition of 25. Both limited editions are signed by the photographer.

NEW RELEASES

The Wild Swim from £120

Oli Mumby

Various sizes

Off You Pop by Louise Nordh
Exclusive
Off You Pop £95

Louise Nordh

35 x 35cm

Limited edition of 30

Moving Forms by Mr Penfold
Exclusive
Moving Forms £165

Mr Penfold

26 x 30cm

Limited edition of 15

Inside Mickey's Heart from £150

Angel London

Various sizes

Navy Boy £175

Charlie Evaristo-Boyce

50 x 70cm

Limited edition of 25

I Will Bite from £135

Mathilda Mai

Various sizes

Italian Summer by SODA
Exclusive
Italian Summer £125

SODA

42 x 29.7cm

Limited edition of 40

Let's Get It On £595

Linda Charles

56 x 76cm

Limited edition of 45

Wash the Blues Away by Charlie Haydn Taylor
Exclusive
Wash the Blues Away from £150

Charlie Haydn Taylor

Various sizes

Inhale £175

Joe Webb

50 x 70cm

Limited edition of 30

Roarsome - Green by And Wot
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Roarsome - Green £195

And Wot

50 x 70cm

Limited edition of 2

Fresh £200

Hannah Adamaszek

60 x 75.5cm

Limited edition of 15

Destroy the Patriarchy Not the Planet (Mini) £400

Hannah Shillito

27.9 x 21cm

Limited edition of 20

Scratchin' Cats (Blue) £150

The Cameron Twins

33 x 36cm

Limited edition of 20

Fast Dog £95

Gavin Dobson

50 x 70cm

Limited edition of 100

In The Sky With Stars £195

Charlie Evaristo-Boyce

70 x 100cm

Limited edition of 16

Gamebuoy by Nick Chaffe
Exclusive
Gamebuoy £100

Nick Chaffe

29.7 x 42cm

Limited edition of 50

Seascape W £300

Newton Blades

50 x 30cm

Limited edition of 100

Ley Lines £450

Maxine Gregson

100 x 50cm

Limited edition of 250

What's That Then by Nick Chaffe
Ready To Hang
What's That Then £400

Nick Chaffe

27.8 x 54.8cm

Limited edition of 5

Les Oiseaux - Artist Proof £295

Epi

42 x 29.7cm

Limited edition of 50

See You Later Alligator! £550

The Cameron Twins

51 x 72cm

Limited edition of 10

The Olive Branch (Azzuro) £2,500

Magnus Gjoen

95 x 120cm

Limited edition of 3

AZUL Mini £125

Florence Blanchard

40 x 40cm

Limited edition of 25