++OPINION++
Rob Hastings talks to Death in Vegas and Royksopp artworker Tommy Penton about the place of 'cover art' in the age of digital downloading.
We probably all know that those who mourn the passing of the golden age of vinyl often speak in dreamy tones of the advantages of record cover artwork as a reason for their belief in the sanctity of the LP – because these covers were bigger, they encouraged artwork of greater creativity and impact. Even if you’re not one that holds much regard for the romance of good old fashioned vinyl, it’s hard to disagree with this.
"I was doing a cover for Death In Vegas, and they told me they wanted a picture of them in a spaceship flying around loads of planets and stars smoking weed..."
But as more and more people “consume” their music – a vulgar but nonetheless probably accurate term – merely through mp3s, they might be lucky to even occasionally glimpse just a square inch of album artwork at the bottom left hand corner of their iTunes. Does this mean that the concept of having art devoted to accompanying music might wither away altogether in the near future?
Tommy Penton is an artist who has produced artwork for the likes of Death In Vegas, Royksopp and Embrace (but try not to hold that last one against him, because he is a lovely bloke). Tommy is adamant that the passion of musicians and listeners alike will keep the particular part of the music industry in place for a long time to come.
“People still need covers because people still really like to have something to relate the music to,” says Tommy. “It's like if you illegally download a compilation or put a CD onto your laptop and it just lists ‘track one, track two, track three’ – when there's no names, you feel like you've missed out on something and you're not getting a full insight into what you're listening to.” He insists that the internet will not change this basic desire for artwork, saying that even if it’s not produced for a physical release, “people will start absorbing this stuff on their myspace and their internet pages.”
What then of the creative process that goes into making these pieces of artwork? Are the bands themselves still interested? Tommy argues that, while a few artists “don’t give a shit, they just tack it on”, most retain a big interest in what images are being used with their music. He explains that while some are nightmares for not being sure what they want, others can be rather specific. “I was doing a cover for Death In Vegas, and they told me they wanted a picture of them in a spaceship flying around loads of planets and stars smoking weed. I was like, I ain't doing that, that's so fucking naff. So I drew four different concepts and sent them to the band, and they just sent back a reply in which they'd highlighted "we want us in a spaceship…"
A traditional image of pop fans from yesteryear is that of the teenager lying on their bed, studying the artwork of their favourite LP as it spins on the record player, imagining how the music influenced what they hold in front of them, and spotting tiny details in the graphics just as as their ears pinpoint tiny details in their favourite songs that they hadn’t noticed before, even after hundreds of listens.
It’s therefore a little ironic that, in reality, many artists and designers often do not hear the music they have been commissioned to produce artwork for even once in advance. In the Joy Division documentary currently on release, none other than the great Peter Saville admits that he had not heard Unknown Pleasures before he came up with his design for its cover, one which would go on to become one of the most revered pieces of indie iconography ever.
Tommy Penton says that this state of affairs is much more common than we might realise. “I’ve never once been given a CD in advance, sometimes you ask for it but you don’t get given it... I even have to scream to get a copy of the CD I’ve worked on once it’s made!”
So, while there still seems to be a future for musical artwork at least, it sounds like some of the more miserly sides of record companies will never change...
Tommy has a new book of artwork out next month entitled “Tate to Tate” – see www.myspace.com/tatetotate for more details.
++ Rob Hastings ++
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