Research - I researched into both of the songs and artists as well as previous Secret 7 submissions and artists who's work I found inspiring and relevant to the project.
Jack Garratt, WORRY
- Jack Garratt, 24, is a British male, singer song writer from Buckinghamshire.
- He can play a variety of instruments from the guitar, drums and piano to the harmonica, mandolin, trombone and ukulele.
- When Jack performs live he uses all his skills and acts as a modern day 1 man band, playing everything himself, giving an impeccably timed and passionate performance.
- In 2015 he won, Critics choice at the Brit awards, BBC sound of 2016, and BBC introducing artist of the year.
- Iconic features include beard and hat.
I then looked up the meaning behind the song and found Jack Garatt's own explanation behind the track here:
http://www.gigwise.com/features/99939/jack-garratt-worry-lyrics-explained-and-the-story-behind-it
'Speaking to Gigwise in London's Shoreditch recently, Garratt explained: "'Worry' came about in a very strange way. The way that I write most of my songs, it comes from the sounds, or the tone, or the emotions. I rarely start with lyrics, for example: I try and create the mood and the feel of a piece through the sounds and the instrumentation of it, just through a beat."
"The song itself is similar to what the whole Remnants EP was about: the ideas of obsessions and how unhealthy they can be and how forceful to ourselves about needing them. 'Worry' for example is obsessing over the idea. It's not being able to come to terms with the fact that someone is over you and so instead you tell yourself that they're not.
"It's a weird [disillusioned] process that I've definitely been through before. And I think a lot of people may have been through before." Garratt explains the thought process as: 'Cutting someone off to let them go because you love them so much but when actual fact you're just doing it for yourself because we're all very selfish but no-one wants to admit to it'.
The main lyrics I am drawn to in the song are:
'Pick apart the pieces you left'
'The sounds of women I'll never meet'
'When my eyes are closed I can start to feel you staring at me'
'Worry'
Here are a few of my initial ideas that I brainstormed:
Tame Impala, LESS I KNOW THE BETTER
- Tame Impala, are a five -piece psychedelic rock band from Perth, Australia founded by Kevin Parker in 2007
- The Less I Know The Better is from their critically-acclaimed third studio album Currents.
- Their music is a mix of psychedelic, chilled out tracks to more upbeat rock songs.
- Won Previous awards such as Rolling Stones Album of the year in 2011 and 2012 and won most popular music video and best album at the 2015 WAMI awards just to name a few.
- Iconic features include psychedelic sound and previous album covers.
When brainstorming ideas for the track I watched the music video for the song numerous times to get a feel for the meaning behind 'the less I know the better', as well as listening to the lyrics and analysing them myself.
“The Less I Know The Better” describes a story of unrequited love with a grooving, bass-driven track. Tame Impala lead-singer Kevin Parker said that the song doesn’t belong on the album “because it has this dorky, white disco funk.”
The lyrics describe the painful moment of finding out that the person you love is in a relationship with someone else. A really heartbreaking message, however the actual sound and melody of the song is quite up lifting and happy.
When brainstorming ides for my 7" sleeve I didn't focus too much on the lyrics but more on the title of the track and what it made me think of and how I interpreted the lyrics. When I listen to the less I know the better I visualise teenage love and heartbreak and the imagery I associate with this theme such as house parties, sneaking out, being young and care-free and pushing the boundaries of life.
'The Less I know the better' indicates the saying 'ignorance is bliss'. You don't want to hear about the things your crush has been up to with someone else as it is a heartbreaking subject, however your mind can't help but imagine the worse.
With this theme in mind I wanted to create a set of images riddled with innuendo to not only emphasise the meaning behind the song's title but represent the innocence and excitement of teenage romance, through cheeky illustrations.
PREVIOUS SUBMISSIONS
To get a feel for what the judges were looking for I had a look at previous entrants work to see what the judges favoured, and gather some inspiration for different techniques and approaches.
Some of the submissions are really obvious to work out which track was picked such as this one for T-Rex Bang a Gong (Get it on). You can clearly see what song it was based on from the artwork on the cover.
Others are much more ambiguous by focussing on aspects such as the lyrics of the song and need good explanations behind their meaning to make sense and be appropriate. These two are both for the track 'Dead Flowers' by The Rolling Stones.
This one I think focusses on the lyrics 'send me dead flowers by the mail' The girl on the mail box is 'Little Susie' hence her size, and she's pulling up the signal to indicate she has delivered the flowers.
DIRECTION
For my Secret 7" Album submission I wanted to focus on my skills and passion for drawing and make all hand rendered illustrations for my submissions.
I wanted to do them in quite a simplistic and naive style and looked into a few illustrators that could inspire me.
The first is Jean Julien. I like his minimal use pf block colours and the scratchy lines that are visible in all of his work, reminding the viewer of its hand made quality.
Another artists famous for his imperfectly perfect illustrations is Quentin Blake. I love the energy and rough sketchy nature of all of his drawings, breathing life into each character.
And a few others...
Joey Pasko:
Maria Ines Gul:
Lucinda Rogers:
and Giacomo Bagnara:
The iconic feature in many of the illustrations by these artists is that the scratchy hand coloured and hand drawn elements are left in and celebrated. That's what gives them life and makes them look so effective and unique.
These are all elements that I want to capture in my own submissions. The research I have conducted has highlighted how there is no set way to go about designing the covers for my chosen tracks. It does seem; however, that the designs must be well explained if they are not visually obvious. To get going with the project I next plan to start sketching down my initial ideas to kick start the design process.
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