Research: Print Production - Cover Art Analysis

I have researched album artwork for bands and artists which inspired my artist. This has helped me to establish a genre style, which I can then use in my own designs. I like that none of these album covers use an image of the artist, as I feel it is in keeping with the anonymity behind folk music that I came across when researching my music video.

Frank Turner - "Poetry of the Deed" & "Sleep is for the Week"
Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities compilation albums and four EPs. Turner began recording for his new album England Keep My Bones, in January 2011. It was released on 6 June 2011 in the UK, and 7 June 2011 worldwide. Turner's fifth album, Tape Deck Heart is due for release on 22 April 2013. The album covers of his that I have chosen to look at are for the albums "Poetry of the Deed" and "Sleep is for the Week", as I feel that these album covers best represent the artist they are advertising.

Firstly, the album artwork for "Poetry of the Deed" is primarily black and white. This would allow the artwork to stand out on a shelf in a music store, due to the harshness of the heavy contrast. This album cover would appeal to the target audience as the images themselves appear to be very acoustic-based, centring around the acoustic guitar and framed by clouds and swallows, however the punk roots of the artist are also shown by the stark contrast of black and white, and the bold, red capital font.
This punk style font is used on the album cover for "Sleep is for the Week" also, however the images used for this artwork are very different. The image shows the artist on a train, looking out of the window. This not only conveys the concept of travel that is found within folk music, but the abstract hand-drawn style of the image also creates an anonymity for the artist, as it is unclear whether this is an image of the artist or not. The watercolour, hand-drawn style of this album artwork would appeal to the artistic, creative nature of the target audience.

Bright Eyes - "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" & "Every Day and Every Night"
Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst. It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis, trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene. Bright Eyes is signed to Saddle Creek Records, a Nebraska-based label founded by Conor Oberst's brother Justin Oberst and Bright Eyes member Mike Mogis, and distributed by Sony Corporation. In 2004, the singles "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" took the top two spots of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales chart within two weeks of their simultaneous release. I have chosen to look at the album covers for "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" and "Every Day and Every Night", as, although they are quite different in appearance, they still create quite a distinct brand style.

For example, both album covers use similar colour schemes, using brown and grey to add a "melancholy" feeling to the images. Both albums give the impression of being created by collage, however "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" is a much more detailed example of this, and looks as though it has been made from fabrics which gives the album cover a unique textured look. This style, again, would appeal to the artistic and creative nature of the target audience.

Dizraeli - Engurland (City Shanties)

Dizraeli and the Small Gods are a 7 piece band from England, playing a folked, melodic, unashamedly heartfelt reinvention of hiphop. They formed in 2009 when Dizraeli released his debut solo album, 'Engurland (City Shanties)'. The album featured many of the band members anyway, and they came together to tour the songs from it. Dizraeli and the Small Gods released their first single as a full band in April 2011, and now between shows are working on an album.
Although this artist is a different genre to my artist, the music still contains hints of the folk genre. This is displayed clearly in the hand-drawn illustrations on the album cover, mixing images of leaves and nature with more urban images, added to by the faded graffiti style font. This conveys the style and basis of the music excellently, giving the audience a true idea of what to expect from the artist.

Ben Howard - Every Kingdom

Benjamin John "Ben" Howard is a British singer-songwriter and surfer, currently signed to Island and Communion. He was born in West London and moved to Totnes, Devon when he was about eight. He was raised by musical parents who exposed him to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists from the 60's and 70's at an early age, like John Martyn, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel, by which he was strongly influenced. His parents now live in Ibiza, which is where the cover photo for his debut studio album "Every Kingdom" was taken.
I like the way that this album cover holds a more personal meaning to the artist, having been taken where his parents live. Also, as a surfer, the sea holds a lot of meaning to the artist, and so the image of him submerged in the ocean displays this passion. This would appeal to the outdoorsy, adventurous interests of the target group.