Exai cover is a crime

Seriously though. It's ugly, and the music inside is so colorful. This album deserves something like Amber's cover. Opportunity lost...

  On 2/15/2013 at 8:50 PM, lumpenprol said:

This album deserves something from bull wallet versions. Opportunity lost...

fix

I actually kind of like the dark dullness

  On 2/15/2013 at 8:59 PM, triachus said:

 

  On 2/15/2013 at 8:50 PM, lumpenprol said:

This album deserves something from bull wallet versions. Opportunity lost...

 

fix

I really, really hope Sean and Rob have seen that. The best watmm has to offer...

I don't like the design either. It reminds me too much of a QR codes, and that makes it cheap, and lazy. Did Designers Republic made this?

We got one step with the numbers; there still has to be something in the overlay of track title letters too ... but what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!

Doesn't bother me at all.

As for the design I really think we should wait for the proper physical versions to come out ! The main front cover is kind of..."plain" but the inner packs look colorful and it might suit the music better imo.

  On 2/15/2013 at 9:25 PM, StocKo said:

As for the design I really think we should wait for the proper physical versions to come out ! The main front cover is kind of..."plain" but the inner packs look colorful and it might suit the music better imo.

this

  On 2/15/2013 at 9:25 PM, StocKo said:

As for the design I really think we should wait for the proper physical versions to come out ! The main front cover is kind of..."plain" but the inner packs look colorful and it might suit the music better imo.

agreed. TDR designed covers always shine in the resulting physical product - the details and print quality. I've never been unhappy with their physical output.

Even just as jpg, I quite like the design. The color choice and digital-ness of the design make it feel sharp yet obscure, which I find very fitting to the music.

tl;dr I love ae+tdr album art

I like it a lot and I really like that there is a common thread - even without knowing you really directly know whos cover it is... (if you have seen other ae covers) I like graphic consistency.

abstract art seems kind of fitting for autechre, perhaps the covers represent microcosms of an infinite bigger picture (of your choice), represented in a flicker of the eye, or real life pixel of something or other.....lol.

I know what I mean, but I ran out of steam....

Agreed - the album is so complicated, dense, lush, and LONG that the minimalistic art doesn't really fit.

Wait for the physical product. I even like the Oversteps cover, when it's presented on the vinyl box set. Remains to be seen, but I think I'll dig it

Does TDR send in a few ideas and AE decides on the best or do they just let them do what they want?

To me the artwork does give a kind of alien artifact, which is why I think it fits the album.

I seriously doubt the boys have no say in it.

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:19 PM, acroyear said:

I seriously doubt the boys have no say in it.

Yeah would be surprising but I remember reading an interview with the artist who did the Oversteps one and it seemed like he developed the concept, made it and gave it to AE without any mention of their input on the matter.

I believe that Ian Anderson (he basically is tDR), has had a good professional relationship with Autechre for many years now, so there is bound to be a lot of trust between each other in this kind of medium.

At least, that's what I'd have thought. If Autechre weren't happy with the artwork, I'm very certain they'd be vocal about it and action changes.

Without their input maybe, but do you think a cover could go out against their will? I mean, if they didn't like it I think that artist would have to go back the the drawing board so to speak

I dig the artwork

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:25 PM, acroyear said:

Without their input maybe, but do you think a cover could go out against their will? I mean, if they didn't like it I think that artist would have to go back the the drawing board so to speak

Yeah most definitely. Has AE always had their artwork done by others? Richard/AFX has done a few himself right? I care because you do, druqks?

I dig the artwork too. I like the heavy contrast between the outer cover, the music contained, and then the colorful inner sleeves. Minimal and beautiful

I'm sure if Autechre demanded to do the art themselves, Warp would let them.

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:25 PM, acroyear said:

Without their input maybe, but do you think a cover could go out against their will? I mean, if they didn't like it I think that artist would have to go back the the drawing board so to speak

that's my point, if Autechre didn't like a certain piece of artwork, I'm sure they would say "do it again, but better". Or maybe their professional and friendly relationship with Ian is so close that he has carte blanche to interpret the visual iconography for an album, and they're ok with it?

In either case, it's a concious decision by the band to say 'yes'

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:26 PM, compson said:

 

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:25 PM, acroyear said:

Without their input maybe, but do you think a cover could go out against their will? I mean, if they didn't like it I think that artist would have to go back the the drawing board so to speak

 

Yeah most definitely. Has AE always had their artwork done by others? Richard/AFX has done a few himself right? I care because you do, druqks?

I believe they designed EP7 themselves

  On 2/15/2013 at 10:33 PM, acroyear said:

I'm sure if Autechre demanded to do the art themselves, Warp would let them.

I don't believe it's down to Warp who does the artwork...

Here's an interview with Ian Anderson on Oversteps:
http://200-percent-blog.blogspot.com/2010/12/ian-anderson-part-i.html

  Quote

Ian Anderson: Yes, they had to understand what I was doing, and be ok with
it. Over the years we have developed an understanding, and they know
that I'll probably get closer to that which they aspire if they don't
tell me what they want. Of course we discuss their work, and where their
heads are at before starting the project.

So it seems like they isolated their work from each other until it was all finished, perhaps to prevent direct influence and prompt more ambiguity and cloudiness? Okay, seems to fit some of Oversteps. However, later in the interview, Anderson describes what the music meant for him and how it related to the art. Not sure what to think of that.

Of course, we know he had heard Exai before working on the art. So a new approach to fit the music maybe?