Late Night Tales is a UK-based compilation series with a unique but clever twist: for each album, a musician or band is given the opportunity to delve deep into their own record collection and curate a very personal playlist of songs that they would enjoy during a late night listening session. But it’s not just about meticulously picking their favorites, no, the respective artist(s) also create a mix, with the individual tracks blending into each other in handcrafted and sometimes very creative segues. The result is a musical journey with highs and lows and an actual arc of suspense unlike…
Category: Mockups
The following posts contain Photoshop mockups, which are scattered all over the place at HQCovers, so I found it necessary to give them their own category.
“The Virgin Suicides” by AIR, Various Artists
The only reason why this cover set for The Virgin Suicides by French electronic band AIR — short for “Amour, Imagination, Rêve” (love, imagination, dream) — was even remotely possible, is the recently released reissue titled The Virgin Suicides Redux. This new edition has not only been newly (re)mixed and sounds notably different from the original album (which is why in this instance I’ve kept both versions in my digital music library), but it also brings along an unexpectedly high-res, 4000 pixel wide update of the original artwork designed by Mike Mills. And it is because of this album art…
“TRON: Legacy” by Daft Punk
Somehow, TRON: Legacy is a near-perfect sequel, a rare achievement considering the nearly three decades that separate it from its predecessor. Director Joseph Kosinski and his team managed to capture the spirit of Steven Lisberger’s 1982 cult classic while giving it a sleek, modernized visual identity. The original TRON was groundbreaking in its use of CGI and animation, but by todays standards it looks incredibly dated – almost charmingly so! Rather than discarding those roots, Legacy embraces them, weaving the geometric neon grids and stark digital landscapes into a futuristic design that still feels distinctly TRON. The result is a…
“Alien: Earth” by Jeff Russo
Looking back at my blog history, it’s obvious how much the Alien series means to me. I’ve spent countless of hours designing individual custom covers or whole CD or vinyl mockups. Heck, for Prometheus alone, I have created over a hundred different designs. For a long time, those projects were my safe space – a way to retreat, to dive into that horrific yet beautiful universe that feels so cold and dark and infinite. I simply fucking love those deep blue-and-black colour palettes in Cameron’s Aliens, for example. For many, this means the ultimate nightmare, but for me it’s like…
“Nosferatu” by Robin Carolan
The main reason why I wanted to have Robert Eggers’ latest work Nosferatu on my blog is the arresting logo design by Teddy Blanks. This US graphic designer, who has previously collaborated with Eggers on his 2019 maritime horror film The Lighthouse, has created a haunting gothic font that I could hardly take my eyes off. It’s so menacing and seductively dark and I feel a whole lot of emotions just by looking at it. But that’s no surprise, as Blanks is a household name in Hollywood with well over a hundred titles under his belt. This guy knows exactly…





