Category: Music

  • The Journey From Grape To Raisin

    Album cover illustration and package design for the new album from Sid Griffin.

    Following on from the recent digital single cover we illustrated Sid asked me if I could help with the cover to his new solo album. I was of course supper happy to do so. What started as just the cover illustration became the full package design and print ready artwork for both the LP and the CD.

    While I have produced artwork for a few book and album covers creating the full four colour artwork files for the whole package was at the edge of my comfort zone and I’m very grateful for the help of Jon Krop from the label who checked over my print artwork, spotted a couple of things, and ensured the whole thing came out as it should.

    Some of the early illustration and designs we worked thorough.
    Some of the early illustration and designs we worked thorough.

    I worked up a handful of ideas and met up with Sid to take some reference photos. We went back and forth on what we liked and what suited the material. Sid had liked the aged look of the digital single I created so we leaned into that through the whole cover artwork to give things a bit of an aged look… which kind of reflected some of the themes of the album.

    Sid Griffin Cover illustation by Chris Hathway
    Sid Griffin album cover design by Chris Hathway

    I was really pleased with how it all turned out, as was Sid I’m happy to say. While I’ve done some CD covers in the past working on the whole package design and having the space of a gatefold sleeve to work with on the record was great. You can read a bit more about this project over on my work website.

    The full album and cd pagage.

    Take a listen to a sample from the album below and if you’d like to hire me to do something like this, please do get in touch.

  • The Sound cover artwork

    Recent cover design and illustration for a brand new single from Sid Griffin.

    Erm, Happy New Year? Okay, it has been very quiet on here of late, I know. And this website is also long overdue a revamp.

    But to keep things ticking over here is a recent cover design and illustration for the brand new solo single from Sid Griffin (of The Long Ryders fame) which I was super happy to be asked to create.

    Sid Griffin 'The Sound' Single cover design and illustration.
    Sid Griffin – The Sound cover art

    Really pleased with how it turned out.

    If you want to hear the track you can find it in all the usual places including Spotify or check out the video for the single below which I also had a hand in helping create (via my work over at Hathway Creative).

    Hopefully I will have more time to post and more news of this nature soon…

  • Papas Train CD Cover Artwork

    From the number of spam comments I’ve just had to delete I’ve clearly been letting things slide here so here is a quick catch up…

    heres a couple of CDs which arrived in the post last week which I was lucky enough to be asked to illustrate the cover artwork for.

    The illustrations been lurking in the portfolio for a while now but the CDs has only just been released. Lovely people to work for and please do go check out their website.

    Papas Train CD Artwork
    Papas Train CD Artwork

    The band is called Papas Train and you can now read and hear more (and buy the CD!) at papastrain.com

  • Supersonic is coming soon…

    I never did finish a write up for last years Supersonic festival in Birmingham and with this years, the 10th anniversary/birthday no less, just a few weeks away I should at least put up some photos from the 2011 weekend.

    For the record high points for me* were the double bill performance of Pharaoh Overlord/Circle over two nights and seeing (and meeting) Mike Watt on the Friday night who was everything you’d want Mike Watt to be.

    I will miss our ‘time out’ for a pint in the The Old Wharf this year though, even if the writing was clearly on the wall there last year its a shame to see it gone. Changes this year to our plans? Well I’m thiking of going vegetarian for our pre festival curry as, while I enjoyed the food there iteself the meat was… well… And of course a post festival pint of Guinness in The Kerryman is a must, was nice to see a couple more festival goers wander into the early hours madness there last year as to me, like any great festival, Supersonic isn’t just about the music*** and the art its about the environment around too.

    Read more about Supersonic Festival (And buy tickets and records) Here.

    Supersonic Festival 2012

    *I should also add a big thank you to the volunteers and the bar staff who I believe were also all or mostly volunteers last year, it made for a great friendly environment and watching a young lady shocked at the bargain end of night £1 a pint real ale sell off** impulse buy nine pints that she didn’t then know what to do with was quite priceless.

    **Me and my drinking colleague also found a packet of monster munch on the bar at this point. We left it along for the best part of half and hour but that was as long as we could wait. If this was your packet of Monster Munch please allow me to apologise here and now.

    ***The music is usually pretty awesome mind.

    Take a look at the photos below the jump…

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  • In C

    last night I was listening Tom Ravenscroft on BBC6 radio and the following happend. It was most enjoyable.

    In C on BBC6 music.