PresentationAnd

RepresentationOn CD Covers

Amy Lyall

This CD cover has been kept quite simple – theface of the artist is shown, looking natural and smiling, suggesting that the music is similar – bright and happy. The artist is also looking up, which suggests the music is music to make you feel better, to boost your mood. The photo looks more like a family/friends photo – the artist is not posing for the camera, she looks natural and like the photo shoot was fun and laid-back, like the music. The white background makes the artist’s image appear fresh and untainted, adding to the simple, natural and relaxing mood of the cover. The writing on the cover is also simple, and uses a font to look like handwriting – adding to the look of a simple and natural image. The colours are kept bright, and the album title is kept to

one, soft-sounding word, again keeping things

simple.

This cover shows the whole group in the centre of the cover, with the band’s name and album title also in the centre. The picture of the

monkey in the centre suggests the music is quite playful, but the band’s expressions and poses suggest they are serious about their music. I think the band’s posed photo, the elaborate patterns around the edge of the cover and the font used for their name suggests that they have a very individual image and a lot of showmanship. I think the way they’ve spelt words oddly in the album title also suggests individuality and creative lyrics, and I think this would appeal to a younger generation.

This cover is quite simple and basic and just shows the artist smashing a disco ball with his feet – this suggests that the artist wants to reform traditions and bring something new to the world of music. The angry look on his face shows that he is fed up with the way music has been and wants to literally break a stereotype. I think this cover was thought through before the photo shoot because they wanted to create an image that would sum up the type of music the artist produces – new and perhaps ‘in your face’, trying to change people’s ideas about music and to get people to stop following an old stereotype and shows the artist’s image to be a bit aggressive. The album title even includes the word future, suggesting he is trying to introduce people to how music will be.

The image on this cover reflects the title of the album, ‘simple times’, by showing the artist sitting in a sand box with a child’s bucket and spade, suggesting that a more simple time was childhood when your time was spent playing. To also keep the cover simple, and perhaps to suggest that simple times were a long time ago, the cover is in black and white, all except the red bucket and spade, maybe to highlight the childhood memory of playing in the sand.The artist himself is dressed in more ‘grown up’ clothing, black trousers, shirt and braces, and looks too big to be sitting the wooden sand box. This says that the music is simple but grown up and perhaps suggests more serious things in the lyrics.

The album cover is quite simple – showing the artist covering her mouth with the title of the album on a voice recorder. This position and the album title suggests that her music is quiet and simple. The artist looks and is dressed quite naturally and simply, which also suggests that the music is similar – keeping in with this theme is the font on the cover, also very simple.