“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…

“War of the Worlds” by John Williams

December 29, 2015January 16, 2017 Categories: Alternates/Rejected Covers · Custom Covers · Deluxe Edition · Mockups · Original Covers · Vinyl CoversTags: John Williams · War of the Worlds2 Comments

The John Williams of the new century is a notably different affair than the one we’ve come to love and admire during the 70’s and 80’s. His musical palette was enriched by a darker and more mature sound, often times omitting the hummable themes he’s become famous for. Maybe it’s especially that new quality, that required (and ultimately rewarded) repeated listenings, that turned War of the Worlds into one of my favourite John Williams scores. Much to my delight I was able to incorporate all official logo treatments into this custom cover series (#1 to #4), even though the perspective is slightly…

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” by Charles Bernstein

December 29, 2015August 31, 2017 Categories: Custom Covers · Original Covers · Remakes · Vinyl CoversTags: A Nightmare on Elm Street · Charles Bernstein · Nightmare2 Comments

Sleep. Those little slices of death. How I loathe them. Edgar Allan Poe In the fall of last year someone at the Final Fantasy Shrine forums requested a Nightmare on Elm Street 30th Anniversary cover artwork. And because I like those old 80’s horror films – and especially the creativity of this particular one – I took the opportunity to work a little bit within this genre. Movie posters were sometimes pretty weird back then and Matthew Joseph Peak‘s hand-drawn design is no exception (#1, #2). It’s really great to see the current retro wave slowly splashing over into the 80’s, bringing…

“Pirate’s Passage” by Andrew Lockington

November 30, 2015September 5, 2018 Categories: Custom Covers · Guest Entries · Original CoversTags: Andrew Lockington · Pirate's Passage1 Comment

Creating custom covers is not only for providing alternative artwork for digital media files or CDs. It’s also a form of ovation. It’s appreciation of music, art and overall beautiful imagery in every detail. A very passionate adventure. And I’ve recently read a story that perfectly captured that essence. A personal experience report of how daunting, challenging, and ultimately rewarding the making of a custom cover can become. The following custom cover and its origin story is by Final Fantasy Shrine Forums member “GlassButterflies“. And it really made me ponder over all the energy and commitment so many artists are putting into their works, without…

“Wolf Totem” by James Horner

November 11, 2015December 27, 2016 Categories: Custom Covers · Mockups · Original Covers · Remakes · Vinyl CoversTags: James Horner · Le Dernier Loup · Wolf Totem3 Comments

This requested custom covers series was an interesting one. Working on a soundtrack album that was released and marketed (from the same label mind you) under three different names was something new for me. How do I name it and what title do I put on which artwork? I liked the visual fluency of the Chinese logo. It went well in conjunction with the English title. The French one Le Dernier Loup however didn’t work for me so I left it out deliberately. While the official album for US markets (#1) comes across a little grim, the French one (#2) is indeed beautiful and evokes a true spirit of adventure. Milan Records added a butt ugly…