“Late Night Tales” by Various Artists

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…

“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…

“The Beach” by Angelo Badalamenti, Various Artists

Parallel Universe… Paradise Found… Innocence Lost Danny Boyle’s The Beach is a story of adventure, youth, and escapism – all wrapped in shimmering turquoise and existential dread. Based on Alex Garland’s novel, the film follows Richard, a disillusioned backpacker who stumbles upon a secret island utopia in Thailand. But utopias, as we learn, have a dark underside. What gives The Beach its pulse isn’t just the haunting cinematography or Leonardo DiCaprio’s sun-dazed performance. As so often in the films of Danny Boyle, the king of needle-dropping(!), it is once again the music that turns the experience from an adventurous popcorn…

“Star Wars – The Japan Editions” by John Williams

  When I stumbled upon the Japan Edition of The Rise of Skywalker at some point in 2019, I wondered why the Japanese get these wonderful designs while we, the rest of the world, have to deal with mundane stock artwork? Clearly there’s gotta be someone who had to deal with that injustice, so why not me? I spent about half an hour to remake The Rise of Skywalker in square format. And then I decided I’d do the same for The Last Jedi, yet with a few subtle differences compared to the official cover art. And because I was…