Have a favourite LP that you’re prone to wax lyrical on for hours on end regardless of whether is listening or not? Consider your prose a deft mix of Lester Bangs wylin’ out copy, Theodor Adorno’s perceptiveness and George Orwell’s preciseness? Want to see your work published by one of the leading and authoratative independent publishers in the world (and I’m not talking Bonafide here)?
If the answer is yes, keep reading.
Street Fonts: Graffiti Alphabets from Around the World
Claudia Walde
Thames & Hudson
Claudia Walde (or MadC as she is known in graffiti circles) spent over two years collecting alphabets by 154 artists from 30 different countries. Each artist was briefed to design their own version of the 26 letters of the latin alphabet. …Read More.
The Lowrider Colouring Book, either the perfect Christmas present for the children of gangstas or a chance for grown men who should know better to express their inner artist.
Devised by illustrator, graff writer and lowriding enthusiast Oscar Nilsson and published by Dokument Press, The Lowrider Coloring Book explores urban car culture and celebrates the bold lines and features of the Impala and the Cadillac, whilst at the same time give you the chance to give the car of your dreams the colourway and design of your dreams (sic.). Kind of like an erudite and more sophisticated version of Pimp My Ride.
Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album
Thames and Hudson
The beauty of Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album is that this well conceived publication not only comprehensively documents one most influential record labels to come out of UK, it also doubles up as a valuable resource for creatives too.
Faile have recently published Faile Prints and Originals Studio Edition, a book that documents the prints and originals produced by the collective between 1999 and 2009.
Faile are one of the most innovative and influential crews out there and I love the way their work manages to sample mad B-Movie plot ideas and remixe comic book visuals whilst doffing a cap to the likes of Litchenstein.
Taschen’s Jazz Covers illuminated jazz’s love affair with laidback cool and originality. It traced the rich visual history of the covers that housed some of the most and least well known releases within the genre. Crafted to appeal to designers and music lovers alike, Jazz Covers was not some coffee table fodder but a resource to savour and gawp at. Following on from this, Funk & Soul attempts to do the same for the soul train generation. A release well worth keeping an eye out for.
On the Taschen tip, also check out Alex Steinweiss: The Inventor of the Modern Album Cover. A wonderful tribute to the highly respected Mr Steinwiess, a true design innovator.
Tees – The Art of the T-Shirt
By Maki
(Laurence King Publishing 2009)
Positioning itself as the ‘bible of t-shirt design today’, Tees profiles the creatives, design styles and manufacturing trends influencing the staple bit of cotton we wear almost each day. …Read More.
Sound Unbound
Paul D Miller (AKA DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid)
The MIT Press
Sound Unbound is a theoretical exploration of the development of sound, digital music and information based culture. Organised as a series of essays, topics veer from discussions of copyright law and the blurred line that divides using a source as an influence and blatantly plagiarising …Read More.
