The Active Listener sampler 39

The Active Listener is an essential blog for fans of psychedelic music in all it's forms. As well as news, reviews and interviews, the fantastic people provide a monthly sampler containing the best sonic wonders. Here's the cover for the upcoming sampler, which I designed:

'The Forbidden Room' process

Just wanted to share with you a little insight into the Little White Lies Weekly cover I did recently. The film was Guy Maddin's 'The Forbidden Room', a multi-faceted, dream-like narrative which begins with a stranger inexplicably arriving aboard a submarine then proceeds to go all kinds of bonkers from there....here's the trailer:



So where to start....the brief included a mock-up of one of my collages as a general direction, along with a colour palette. The concept asked for an abstract image with the title in distorted letters. The guys liked the way I layer different textures and use ink/water "accidents" in some of my work. The only mandatory was to include the title in a prominent position within the composition.

I began with text experiments. Lots of text experiments. My favourite was the one using wax resist to create negative lettering with a "cloud" of ink bleeding into the surrounding areas.

I decided to use a circular motif as the centre of the composition, to suggest a portal to different places and times. Once again, more ink experiments...and elements of portraiture in keeping with the iconic LWLies cover aesthetic.

This was a really enjoyable commission, lots of layering of different textures and techniques. Thanks to Laurene Boglio and Timba Smits for the great direction.