Fucked Up have re-posted a feature that focuses on their artwork, from key singles to their last album, 2008’s The Chemistry of Common Life. Here’s a sampling…

This was the first time we commisioned a photograph for an album cover that wasn’t a picture of the band. Our friend Mimi Cabell (mimicabell.com) took about 600 different shots over a few weeks in midtown Manhattan in July of 2008. What we realized later (by reading the Wikipedia of our own album) is that she’d inadvertently captured Manhattanhenge, where the sunset lines up perfectly with the street grid of New York, something that only happens twice a year, and allows a perfect view of the sunset looking west on the major streets of midtown. The shot is somewhere between 30th and 40th if I remember correctly.

If you look closely you can tell that its not just one image, but a composite of about 35 different shots line up on top of each other, which is why you have some people and cars overlapping, and explains the relative brightness of the sun and the lense flare everywhere. The shot is supposed to represent the main idea behind the record, which is the unity between culture and nature, and the idea that the literal source for all human culture and life is the sun. Even though the title is taken from a 19th century book on wild mushroom identification, what it means for the album is how everything thats cultural about our lives has its source in nature and science, and that there really isn’t a divide between the two spheres. The song “ChemCom” describes the theory of the origin of life on our planet that states that tidepools containing abiotic proteins were zapped by lightning bolts continually for millions of years until finally the electricity (the sun) and chemicals (chemistry) fused to create the first living matter (common life), which describes the title and also the album cover.

You can find the rest of the band’s record sleeve rundown at their official blog.

The Artist/Album: James Blake, James Blake (February 7, Atlas/A&M)

The Details: While it’s still unclear whether James Blake’s debut album will get a proper major label rollout here or not—Atlas is his A&M-funded imprint in the UK—we’re certainly looking forward to importing the following songs either way…

James Blake, James Blake:
1. Unluck
2. Wilhelms Scream
3. I Never Learnt To Share
4. Lindesfarne I
5. Lindesfarne II
6. Limit To Your Love
7. Give Me My Month
8. To Care (Like You)
9. Why Don’t You Call Me
10. I Mind
11. Measurements

The Artist/Album: Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (Southern Lord, February 7)

The Details: Earth’s core duo, Dylan Carlson and Adrienne Davies, channel Tinariwen and Fairport Convention alongside a new bassist (Karl Blau) and cellist (Lori Goldston, a session player for such A-list artists as David Byrne and Nirvana). Check out an interview with Carlson here and an untitled new track—captured live at Brooklyn Masonic Temple last year—after the jump…

“We certainly are using all sorts of electronic instruments, more synthesizers, computers, all of that, but contrasted with more organic sounds, more organic percussion. Since [frontman] Dan [Whitford] came across the image a few months ago, he’s stuck with it, and thought that it summed up what we wanted to get across.” [Cut Copy's Tim Hoey, via Spin]

“So Nirvana can have a naked human being on they cover but I can’t have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings” [Kanye West's Twitter]

We’ll have an exclusive mix from Terror Danjah—one of the godfathers of grime music—very soon. Check out more of our favorite sleeves, and some of the stories behind them, here.

Photo: Zen Sekizawa

We’ve been fans of Soundscreen Design’s Artist Music Journal series—limited edition art books featuring everyone from Black Dice’s Bjorn Copeland to Lungfish’s Daniel Higgs—for a while now. In fact, we’re running a longer story on it next week. In the meantime, Brian Roettinger shared some details surrounding his collaboration with No Age, the first Artist Music Journal to include a 10-inch of exclusive material. You can pre-order one of 1,000 hand-numbered copies (available next Tuesday, August 31) here.

The quick back story: Roettinger launched Hand Held Heart as a record label in 1998. It evolved into a multi-medium design studio six years later, with projects for such artists as Pretty Girls Make Graves, Death From Above 1979, Liars, and his longest-running client, No Age. (Roettinger’s design work on their Sub Pop debut, Nouns, was nominated for a Best Album Packaging Grammy.)

On the themes that connect the music and art on No Age’s Artist Music Journal:
Sampling or remixing. Using pre-existing material to make something new, much like a remix. Using found and existing elements as ingredients.

On what made him say yes to the series:
I find it compelling when books, journals and ‘zine-like objects are intended to be a work of art itself.

On the visuals this time around:
I was in search for a new collage. I wanted to try and produce something where the outcome would be completely unexpected. In the end, it’s an index and a collection of works that represent the tracks on the 10-inch. I used magazine pages as the source. Essentially the collages were a remix of the page—207 pages in total. It’s also an ironic reference to the nature of magazines.

And the music itself:
This was the first time we collaborated musically. Every other instance has been a design collaboration. We’re very familiar with each others’ working process and share a lot of similar ideas, be it music or design, so the collaboration process was really no different. In this case, for months we would constantly share ideas of what we wanted to do and when we finally had the moment to record it was very immediate. It was, ‘Okay, let’s try this, this and this.’

So we knew how we wanted to make it, but were not really sure how it would sound, and I think it was a surprise to all of us. We made about an hour’s worth and just used the ingredients we felt most comfortable with. In the end, it was a lot more of them then it was me. They made it come to life.

Photos by Ruvan Wijesooriya

By Aaron Richter

I first met Ruvan Wijesooriya just a short while after I’d moved to New York; we were assigned to cover, of all bands, the Bravery recording their second album. At the time, I was familiar with Ruvan’s work—chronicling the city’s nightlife on film (always on film), and steadily emerging as a talented fashion and music photographer as well. We’ve remained friends ever since, always lending a hand to each other’s projects.

So I’ll be the first to admit I was sickly jealous when I got an e-mail from him this past summer saying that he was partying in Laurel Canyon, California, at the Mansion (yes, Rick Rubin’s Mansion) where James Murphy was recording the new LCD Soundsystem album. Ruvan has been a visual presence with DFA for years, and the cover of LCD’s latest, This Is Happening, features one of his images.

Since James & Co. are performing at Webster Hall tonight (two new tracks also just popped up online), I caught up with Ruvan to chat about his summer with LCD…

self-titled: What do you like about the shot that LCD used for the cover?
I like that its grainy, black and white and not right side up, but not upside down.

How have you been involved with DFA throughout the years, and how did you come to be spending time with the band while James was recording?
In 2005, I met James briefly at the Miami Winter Music Conference. The [self-titled] LCD album was one of my favorites that year, so after going to some DFA party and taking some photos, I sent in a shot of someone reaching up for a disco ball that I thought would be cool for a cover of a single. They had already picked out the cover for the last single (“Disco Infiltrator”) from that album, so they made my photo into a poster that came with the 7-inch. [Ruvan has signed, limited-edition prints of this image available for purchase. E-mail him for info.] Since then, James had me come in and shoot their press photos. I’ve also shot loads of other DFA acts as well. James also wrote the intro to my book, ALL NIGHT NEW YORK.

Anyhow, five years later, when recording the third album, he asked me to come out, stay with them, shoot some photos, bring my weirdness. I remember I got the text as I landed on a plane coming from Copenhagen, so it was back-to-back adventures. I think he also wanted me around since I’m a bit of an instigator. He’s comfortable with how I can make things slightly uncomfortable when they are too comfy—but also comfortable when things are too uncomfy. Being that James is kind of a curator of people, I’m sure he knew the role I would fall into once I was in the mix.

How would you describe the Mansion?
The Mansion (some call it “Manshun”) is this fucking amazing place in the Hollywood Hills, where it feels like you could be anywhere warm in the world—Brazil, Spain, the Hollywood Hills, yo. There’s nothing very “L.A.” about it since the place is covered with trees and somewhat hidden. There’s tons of rooms there, and the history of the place is epic. Slayer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many, have recorded there. Frank Zappa lives around the corner. Maroon 5 is jamming across the street (not that I get a boner for that, but its notable). Important, too, is the history of Laurel Canyon. Some people say the Beatles tripped for the first time at the Mansion. There’s a whole lot of random, crazy shit that place has seen. Some say the place is haunted by a gay ghost, and I don’t disbelieve it. It’s no fancy mansion, and it is falling apart at the seams—a rock ‘n’ roll Grey Gardens, if you will.

The vibe was incredible when I was there.  The day I arrived on trip one of two, they had just completed making the studio space, which was incredible—so many synths, endless cowbells, incredible for recording—a custom operation. They were finishing the Franz Ferdinand cover, “Live Alone”—a great cover song, I thought. During that first visit, we really went for it any chance we could get. The album was in the initial stages of concept, or so it seemed. There was a rotating cast of characters who were staying there or even crashing for a night—Justine D., Nathan [Howdeshell] from the Gossip, etc. Other locals or transplants would join or stop by: Thorunn Antonia, Dirty Dave, Nigel Godrich, Busy P, Aziz Ansari, etc. I met all these comedians and shit; it was cool.

We tore L.A. a new asshole every time we went out. We out-douche-bagged the douche bags; we made a point to be “so L.A.” James and crew would show up at the club in all-white outfits whenever anyone at the Mansion had a DJ gig. We’d try and convince promoters to send Hummer limos with enough cheap champagne to give an elephant a hangover. It didn’t happen as often as we would have liked. However, with enough bourbon and Andre, you can convince yourself that a shitty, beat-up black limo is a white Hummer. It was always best when nobody had the responsibility of driving. One of the many sayings I left with was “Driving to the bar is like running through a burning house with a keg of gunpowder.” Such an L.A. thing to do, unfortunately.

After staying out late, dancing like banshees and whatnot, we’d come home. Some nights we’d all just go to bed. Occasionally me and some of the troopers would have a late-night swim party. Sometimes James would come back, and it would get quiet. I’d stand outside his room armed with a camera and jump in to take a shot really quick and as unobtrusive as possible. It was amazing to hear his piano tinkering become a song a few days later. Truly a pleasure.

You probably shot a lot while you stayed there. Do you remember taking the cover photo?
The only album art I shot in L.A. was for [LCD's Alan Vega cover] “Bye Bye Bayou,” which is just so badass—technically and artistically speaking: [On that cover] Pat Mahoney is some sort of lovechild of a Vietnam vet and a Cockette (as in, the sexual anarcho-communists from San Francisco in the hippie days) on a mushroom trip into outer space. The album art for the This Is Happening cover was less dream, more punch.

The This Is Happening shot was done in my studio on West 39th Street—much cleaner, less experimental and somehow more referential to the album as a whole, as well as James’ state of being after just having completed the recordings. You see, he is a bit turned around, not knowing which side is up, yet still confident and moving forward.

His pose and styling recall Robert Longo. Was that intentional?
With the work I do for James and LCD, I want most everything to look reminiscent and [the photos] should make people feel nostalgic for a past they have never experienced. I think a lot of my work desires to create this feeling, to capture a moment, a motion, an emotion, something of substance—it is why I shoot film as much as I can.

Robert Longo’s “Men in the Cities” artwork is ubiquitous at this point—easy for the public to understand because it is constantly referenced. I believe the last time I saw his work, it was in the lobby of a museum, the Met, maybe. That said, it’s well known, communicates with a broad audience and is fantastic artwork. Any image with a suit and a fucking skinny tie automatically conjures up those works of Longo. My reference wasn’t as intentional as it was unavoidable. When we were shooting this, we were both like, “Okay, we have the skinny tie and the suit; lets go with the Longo reference.” However, there’s other ’70s references in there that I feel are as present, such as Derek Boshier’s cover for Bowie’s Lodger album—the graininess of the 3200-speed film, the upside-down, turned-around thing. The other shot I really liked for the cover was very Smiths-y. Hopefully they’ll do T-shirts with that picture.

How is James as a model?
James is one of the most particular guys I know. He’s full of ideas and is a pleasure to collaborate with, obviously from our history. Shooting him is tricky for loads of reasons—the same reasons it is tricky shooting anyone who isn’t 18 and in love with the camera. I will say that much like everyone else I shoot, we get tons more done when it’s just me and the subject. The productivity goes through the roof the minute everyone else in the room leaves.

How did living and working at the Mansion affect your work while you were there?
It was a great experience I could never have even dreamed up. The style of shooting when I was living at the Mansion was something I had already developed and established within myself, so that was nothing new at all. Living and shooting at the Mansion meant there were no rules for me to adhere to artistically except my own. There was no formality to any of the shots taken at the Mansion; they were all in the moment, all reactionary, experimental and for a laugh. James had me shoot photos for myself because he knows those are gonna be the most honest, the funniest and beautiful—instant memories. James knows I’m obsessive about taking pictures, so all he had to do was get me out there. When he got me out the second time to shoot the “Bye Bye Bayou” cover, it was slightly different because there was a goal. It wasn’t making or capturing memories, personality or a true moment.
 On the other hand, the relationships from the Mansion have had a huge effect on my work—my cover for Aziz Ansari, my still photos of Ed Ruscha for Doug Aitken and other bits of my work here—and they were related to my presence at the Mansion. At the end of the day, I have taught myself to take pictures I like, and photography has become a visual understanding of my relationship to the world and others.

Based on what you’ve heard, what do you think of This Is Happening?
I’ve heard the album several times in various stages—with lyrics, instrumental, finals, demos, etc. Everything sounds better now than it did when they were demos. I think everyone knows James is a freak show of a producer. He holds himself to extremely rigid standards; I only know a few others who are as knowledgeable and hardcore about recording. On the lyrical and melodic side, LCD has this amazing way of making me question things. There’s a song where the lyrics go, “I can change I can change I can change…” and so on. I won’t compare it to “All My Friends,” but if there’s a song that will make me wonder if I should be crying or dancing, I get the feeling it is that song. The entire album—much like the artwork—should also conjure up nostalgia for music you probably didn’t grow up with.

[Photo by Indra Dunis]

As much as we dug the dirt-encrusted mood music of Zola Jesus‘ breakthrough LP, The Spoils (Sacred Bones, 2009), Nika Roza Danilova’s new EP is something else—a flirtation with full-on pop songs, buoyed by dark ambient samples and skeletal beats that sound like they’re knocking your door down rather than being reduced to dust. (In many ways, Danilova’s early songs mirror the brash but brutal bedroom productions on Cold Cave’s Cremations compilation. And her music is changing for the better just as quickly.)

If you ask Sacred Bones, Stridulum is a “siren song for the apocalypse.” Which sounds about right. It’s also a record that isn’t afraid to address relationships with rather literal lyrics like, “It’s not easy/To fall in love/But if you’re lucky/You just might find someone.” As tired as those lines may look on paper, they sound gorgeous in the context of a Zola Jesus song, mostly because Danilova’s classically-trained voice—she’s just 20 years old, but already sounds ready to clobber concert halls—cuts right through her minimal compositions. Mark our words: this girl will be one of the breakthrough acts of SXSW next week, and one of 2011’s most anticipated albums. Hell, we’re already counting down the days.

Since Stridulum’s record sleeve is just as striking as the music within, we asked Danilova to explain just what’s dripping down her face. Turns out it’s not an oil spill after all…

The cover for Stridulum was inspired by a scene from one of my favorite films (Dušan Makavejev’s Sweet Movie, from 1974), as well as my love for chocolate. The scene is of a model in a bath of chocolate—swimming it in, spreading it all over herself…having an all-around pretty sensual time with the chocolate.

The shoot was done in my bandmate’s bathroom. It was shot by my good friend Indra Dunis, who shot the cover for my last LP, The Spoils. It was incredibly satisfying to feel chocolate syrup run down my entire body, but at the same time, it was seriously terrifying. What you don’t realize is how quick the syrup closes in on all of your orifices and refuses to let you breathe, talk, hear, open your eyes…it becomes like a chocolate membrane closing you in. — Nika Roza Danilova

Planted in the center of the album cover for Pissed Jeans‘ latest LP, King of Jeans (Sub Pop), is a hairy, pasty arm, cropped at the wrist and bicep, slightly bent. But the arm is more than it appears: Opening the sleeve reveals the entire Smell the Glove-ish scene (shown above). It’s a great cover. Even better after we realized that Shawn Brackbill, one of regular contributing photographers, shot all the album art—and even more nuts when we realized that the record’s innards contained an image that originally appeared on this very dot-com. Yep, it’s our 15 minutes. But we’ll happily share the spotlight with Shawn (guess he’s earned it, after all). Here the photographer—who recently shot a video and the new LP cover for Cale Parks as well as a pair of 7-inch sleeves for Paint It Black—preps to tackle NYC Fashion Week by answering a few of our questions regarding the record sleeve’s caramel-y goodness.

self-titled: How long have you been working for Sub Pop? What press photos/album art have you done for them prior to Pissed Jeans?

The first thing that I had done with Sub Pop was the cover of the second Pissed Jeans 7-inch (see below). They used a photo that I had shot in Paris of the window of a Baby Gap store. Since then, I have worked on Pissed Jeans and Mudhoney as well as shooting the SP20 festival for them.

Did you know the Pissed Jeans guys from your time living in Philly?

I actually met most of the band before living in Philadelphia and, I believe, before the Jeans were a band. I met [singer] Matt [Korvette] a few times when I was shopping at Double Decker Records in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I knew [drummer] Sean [McGuinness] thru my many trips to D.C. with Q And Not U.

Do you remember your first Pissed Jeans show?

I think my first was one at Jeff the Pigeon, a legendary Allentown show space. They played with Air Conditioning and Pearls and Brass, [bassist] Randy [Huth's] band before he joined the Jeans. It was P and B’s record-release show for their Drag City LP [2006's The Indian Tower].

How many shows have you seen since?

I’d say I’m approaching or just passed the 10-show mark.

Why the decision to use the live shot in the liner notes portion of the new album? To show people just how nuts their shows can be?

I think so. That photo, which was posted on self-titled last September, was just one of those classic live shots that we felt really summed up just how crazy their shows can be. I’m always trying to capture a live performance without just showing a singer screaming into a mic. I thought this definitely had more depth than that. I’d like to give credit to Dusty Summers, a graphic designer from Sub Pop. He put the artwork together into the perfect package for the record. Outside it is classy and then you are hit with the contrasting live photo inside.

Where was that shot? That girl looks pretty goddamn insane. Did she back off Matt soon after you caught that photo? Was that show one of the crazier ones you’ve seen by them in terms of the crowd reaction?

That show was at Market Hotel, though I think the next show that I saw them play there-with Vivian Girls and Fucked Up-was a bit more active. Pissed Jeans played second, and it seemed like there was a stage diving competition or something. People were on the stage the entire set. The crowd wouldn’t let the Jeans off the stage without playing an encore, which is almost unheard of for opening bands. Something about the vibe of the show that the photo was from was crazy. Not sure what the story was with that girl. She jumped up on the stage and attacked Matt. That ghosting of her face really big is from her running towards the camera and jumping off the stage.

What’s the inspiration behind the King of Jeans cover art? The first thing someone said to me when they saw it was, “That’s a great cover photo, but do they realize how misogynistic it is?”

Well, I’m not exactly sure what the inspiration was. Matt came to me with the concept. At first I thought it was pretty hilarious, but the more I thought about it, I felt the same way . We made it a goal for the shoot that Emily, the model, have a glamorous look. I wanted her to be well dressed and classy. To have her look dignified. We also wanted to make sure that the eating of the candy bar be very tame-to try to strip away any sexual overtones.

How did you find your cover models? What kind of instructions did you give them?

We found the models through friends in Philadelphia. They were both great to work with. Emily came and was super psyched about it and brought a bunch of dresses with her. The trickiest part of the shoot was getting the spacing just right of the arm in the frame, Emily in the right pose, and just the right candy bar position and caramel stretch. We got everything just right in the one photo we used.

What kind of candy is Emily eating?

Well, after a few candy tests, we decided that the 3 Musketeers wrapper looked the best, but we liked the caramel of a Milky Way. So we put a Milky Way in a 3 Musketeers wrapper.

Finally, what’s one old and new (from the past year) record sleeve you really love?

I was really impressed by the cover art of the newest Destroyer single. Not sure if it’s out yet, but it reminds me a bit of the back cover to John Cale’s Fear LP. As far as older covers, I’ve always loved the cover of the original gatefold version of the Fripp & Eno (No Pussyfooting) LP. Also love both images on the Kraftwerk Ralf und Florian LP. Classic!

[Destroyer's Bay of Pigs EP]

[John Cale's Fear]

[Fripp & Eno's (No Pussyfooting)]

[Kraftwerk's Ralf Und Florian (front cover)]

[Kraftwerk's Ralf Und Florian (back cover image)]