Digital duplication and Gonjasufi's MU.ZZ.LE
Daniel Cookney created Plastic Circles for fun, reviewing some of the best music artwork of recent times. Having previously worked for the likes of Ministry of Sound, i-D, the Guardian, Cream and Dummy in its print incarnation, Daniel’s PhD revolves, unsurprisingly, around music and art. He also dabbles in design himself. Seriously impressed by his blog, I asked if he would like to do a regular piece here at Dummy, and here is his first – a review of the MU.ZZ.LE artwork.
Peter Blake described record sleeves as “a doorway into the music” and, while they may provide a suitable access point, it should be said that some doorways can look just a little alike.
Gonjasufi’s MU.ZZ.LE mini-album for example, received plenty of attention when it was issued by Warp back in January. Created by MR. IMD, the release boasted a grainy, distressed image that additionally made use of the cyan and red detailing associated with lo-fi/vintage 3D imaging. But there was something of a similarity between it and the imagery that accompanied Main Attrakionz’s 808s & Dark Grapes II that first showed-up last August. Already announced on Dummy, the latter has just been granted a physical release and, despite inviting inevitable comparisons to MU.ZZ.LE’s design aesthetic, the vinyl still features Jade Blair’s original illustration. Both packages are more than worthy of interest with added value in MU.ZZ.LE’s limited screen-printed poster format (complete with download links) and the pressing of 808s & Dark Grapes II on purple vinyl.
