“Star Wars – The Deluxe Editions” by John Williams, Michael Giacchino, John Powell

I have postponed the idea of working on Star Wars custom covers again and again and again… stowed it away deep down in the cryostasis chambers of my HQCovers space station. But not particularly because I didn’t want to work on John Williams’ opus magnum. No, because I was afraid of not being able to do it justice. I’ve put so much effort into this or that covers series, that I sometimes find it hard to raise the bar. But this is Star Wars, the mother and father of all film franchises and fan fiction universes ever, right? It has to be the very best, most fucking awesome custom…

“The Hateful Eight” by Ennio Morricone

II‘ve had no plans for this one at all. But with The Revenant under my belt I just couldn’t let go of the other snowbound epic from this years winter season. Also it’s a brand-new Ennio Morricone score and you don’t say no to such a thing, do you!? Without any intention of deliberate puns, I’d like to start off this entry with a little warm up round. My remake of the original artwork (#1) was an obvious matter for various reasons. But mainly for the illegible composer’s credits. The alternate take (#2) is not by me, but by my custom covers creating fella Terry McCutchen. Instead of…

“The Revenant” by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, Bryce Dessner

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s survival tale The Revenant is a real piece of art, rightfully racing for a couple of Oscars at this years Academy Awards ceremony. But it’s not necessarily the end product that left me absolutely astonished. The films making-of is easily as fascinating (if not more!) as the supposedly real-life story they are telling. Shot in the arctic cold of the Canadian and Argentinian outback, using only natural light in locations with minimal daylight hours, and pushing everyone involved to their painful limits, The Revenant is an outstanding achievement. Last december Emmanuel Lubezki published a series of photographs from the wilderness shoot and they’re breathtakingly beautiful. They also ignited my final spark of inspiration to come…

“Complete Songs & Poems” by The Tolkien Ensemble

In April of last year I was contemplating the future of HQCovers. I’ve stated some ideas about redesigning and restructuring this blog. Or the possibility of offering custom covers beside my professional passion for soundtracks and scores. However my most wanted addition would be guest entries. I’ve come to know a lot of talented people over the past years, who deserve to be spotlighted. And it’s my pleasure to take a backseat for once and leave the stage for one of my favourite artists. He’s a fellow Austrian, he goes by the name rotane and he’s an absolute whiz with font design.   When heidl asked me to appear as…

“You and the Night” by M83

Have you ever heard about You and the Night? An independently produced “sex comedy” from French filmmaker Yann Gonzalez, brother and ex-bandmate of M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez. Chances are good, that you haven’t. And no-one is to blame you, for this is really an obscure, little film. But – let me tell you that: its score is absolutely beautiful! Anthony Gonzalez paints a warm and retroesque, almost dreamlike soundscape. But it’s not the music that initially drew me towards this record. It was the amazing cover artwork designed by Mondo-regular Kilian Eng (#1). More than once I have bought music solely because of…