Told Slant, Point The Flashlight And Walk Allowing yourself to dissolve, I think that’s where people get stuck, because we’re taught to identify as one thing or another.”ħ.
“Water is so transformational and connected to so many cultures and rituals: baptism, bathing, cleaning or purging.” Huanca adds: “To transform we have to dissolve and it’s ugly. “At the time, I had been working on a sort of water journey through the pieces, writing down and drawing every form of water I could possibly find,” Pramuk explains.
Though the two artists utilize different artistic tools, their work often explores similar themes surrounding transformation and the boundlessness of the body, which is represented both sonically in the album’s transcendent compositions and visually through the startling artwork.Īccording to this illuminating conversation between Pramuk and Huanca, the two started working on the cover before most of the songs had reached their final form. David Bowie, a collector of Basquiat’s work, said that “he seemed to digest the frenetic flow of passing image and experience, put them through some kind of internal reorganization and dress the canvas with this resultant network of chance,” and while it may be slightly pompous and absurd to argue that The Strokes are attempting to do the same with The New Abnormal, the cover certainly encapsulates the band’s revitalized creative energy.įor the cover artwork of Lynda Pramuk’s much-anticipated debut album Fountain, a mesmerizing seven-track effort composed entirely of sounds fashioned from her own voice, the American composer and producer teamed up with regular collaborator and acclaimed visual artist Donna Huanca. Rammellzee’s ‘Beat-Bop’ and even made an appearance in Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ video.
Basquiat’s impact in and connection to the music industry and particularly the world of hip-hop is well documented among other things, he created the record cover for K-Rob Vs. It shouldn’t be too surprising, then, that they decided to use a 1981 painting by the late neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, titled Bird on Money and originally made in tribute to Charlie Parker, as the album’s cover artwork. With their sixth studio album and first full-length effort in seven years, The Strokes leaned into their more experimental tendencies, embracing a more playful, even improvisational approach to songwriting with help from producer Rick Rubin. Shot by German photographer Daniel Sannwald, who has previously collaborated with the likes of Travis Scott, Stormzy, and Rihanna, the picture is as powerful as it is visually striking, showcasing Sannwald’s visionary approach while also capturing the strength, ambition, and complexity that are so integral to the artistic vision that Taylor lays out on the 23-track LP. Drawing inspiration from Grace Jones and flaunting a hi-top haircut resembling that of her husband Iman Shumpert, Teyana Taylor digs into her African roots while looking to the future on the beautiful cover artwork for her debut album.