Darren Hayes Reveals Artwork For New Album 'Secret Codes And Battleships'
Tuesday, 09 August 2011
Written by Jon Stickler
Darren Hayes has revealed the album cover for his forthcoming album 'Secret Codes and Battleships'. Designed by John Gilsenan of London graphic design outfit iwantdesign - the front cover has been over 12 months in the making!
It was March 1st 2010 when Darren sent designer John Gilsenan a 'love letter' about his work. Darren had been impressed with John's work on Tracey Thorn's 'Into The Woods' album and his campaign for UK band 'The Script'. He had connected the dots and stumbled upon John's wide range of work.
"I was looking for someone capable of making an album cover that was a piece of art - and one that you could get lost in," Darren explained. "I feel all of John's work has that quality. He's not just a designer but a multi faceted artist who photographs, paints and physically makes objects to include in his work. A real artist".
Photographer Ellis Parrinder was commissioned to photograph Darren in armor and various objects borrowed from the Royal Shakespeare Company – and John began the task of sourcing images and creating a world in which to surround the singer. John developed a code, a series of symbols – even a bespoke font and then combined all of this with Pollock-like paint overlays and hidden layers – all of which work their way through the theme of the artwork and videos on the album.
Darren's love affair with album art began as a child of the 70's obsessing over vinyl. “My connection to music was as much physical as it was aural,” he explains. “I got lost in the artwork and could stare at it for hours. Records like Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk', Prince's 'Sign O The Times' and of course perhaps the most famous album cover of all time, The Beatles 'Sgt. Peppers..’ All of these records adopted a collage and maximalist approach and you could literally find something new each time you looked at them. In this digital age – I wanted to make sure that the magical and tangible aspect of my record was firmly rooted in this fascination that I had for the physical object.”
Darren continues, “My album is about being lost on a journey to find your true happiness - and about the war between lovers and their struggle to stay together in a world that just wants people to break up. It's about all the things we dare not say to each other but having the courage to do so. There's a lot going on in the music and that's why this was the only cover I could have imagined for 'Secret Codes and Battleships’.”
'Secret Codes and Battleships' is to be released sometime in October.
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Darren continues, “My album is about being lost on a journey to find your true happiness - and about the war between lovers and their struggle to stay together in a world that just wants people to break up. It's about all the things we dare not say to each other but having the courage to do so. There's a lot going on in the music and that's why this was the only cover I could have imagined for 'Secret Codes and Battleships’.”
