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Annual Report 2006 Phonographic Industries, Germany
layouts

In February 2006 the Phonographic Industries Germany (IFPI) asked b.sights to design layouts for its annual report 2006. IFPI, located in Berlin, consolidates around 1000 record companies in Germany.

b.sights aim in the layouts was to find a combination of modern design in connection with traditional music media using macro photographies and scans of CD trays, vinyl, audio cassettes, VHS etc.. in order to create a retro effect. It is an homage to the dwindling physical audio media such as the compact disc or vinyl - a sentimental good-bye to the conventional ways to sell music.

 

Fascinating to see was that there are obviously dozens of varities of transparent CD trays out there. The tray is the thing that carries the CD and protects its damageable surface. We found about 25 different trays alone for the layouts and most of them were just plain beautiful.

 

The layouts for the cover

 

            

The pages

 

Stanfour CD: Stanfour (Debut)
Hamburg, Germany. Designated date of release: 2006

Stanfour are four guys from the North of Germany who got together in 2004 with the purpose to conquer the rock world. They have since worked extremely hard on the release of their debut playing and composing nearly every day in their recording studio on the island of Foehr in the Northern Sea. Last year they got together with the Swedish producers of The Rasmus, and it is more than likely that the guys will seriously conquer the rock world in 2007. Fingers crossed.

 

The following works were created on behalf of Stanfour's former management but were not officially released except for the very scarce promo folder. Please, contact Kuba music for more info on Stanfour and merchandise articles.

 

The CD (Digipak)

 

     

 

 

The Flash website & promo-CD

     

 

 

Ron LaSalle CD: Nobody Rides For Free
Nashville, TN, USA. Date of release: January 2007

Since moving to Nashville, TN, as a staff writer for EMI, Ron LaSalle has written and recorded with some of the world's finest writers and musicians such as Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, Bucky Baxter (Steve Earle, Bob Dylan) George Marinelli (Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby) and Alto Reed of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. Since 1998 Ron releases material on his own label Ph-Q Records.

His rootsy musicality, showcased across an eclectic mix of songs blended together by the warm growl of his distinctive vocals, makes Nobody Rides For Free slide down smooth like a fine bourbon should. Complex, creamy and deeply textured, LaSalle's sophomore album is equally sure to please both devout fans and new ones alike.

Ron LaSalle is on tour these days in Italy celebrating the success of the new album and it is possible that he'll pay Germany a visit.

The CD (jewelcase packaging)

 

Some alternative design roots

      

 

Tom Waits 4CD-Boxset: Long Way From Home
free work, 2004

To describe Tom Waits in own words is nearly impossible. This man is an exception in the music biz and his style and music couldn't be more unique. I always loved the man because of his intriguing ballads and his experiments with different audio sounds, not so much because of his faible for experimenting with distorted styles. To date, Mule Variations, his first work for ANTI-Records in 1999, remains unrivaled as far as simplicity, intensity, sentimentality and dignity are concerned.

Last year ANTI-Records released a brilliant collection of old but unreleased Waits material with a couple of new songs on it: Orphans (3CD). Two years before that I had thought of the same and created such a set but in different format and more content. Here's what I came up with:

 

The box (please, click on the picto see more pics in a row) >> Poster

 

 

Bob Seger 2CD-Boxset: Smokin' O.P.'s
Reissue of the classic album from 1972, free work, 2004

Bob Seger is one of the most successful musicians from the Detroit area. In fact, he just came out with an new album, is currently on tour in the US and has already sold way over 1 million copies of his latest release. However, a lot of people do not know what Seger had done before he went to stardom in 1976 with his classic live album Live Bullet. This man was a progressive Rock & Roller who was on tour 250 dates a year and still releasing record after record. Seger was THE insiders' tip at the end of the 60s/beginning of the 70s. After the break with Capitol Records in 1971, Seger signed with Warner/Reprise, formed a new combo around him and released an album called Smokin' O.P.'s, one of Seger's absolute classics to date. The album was reissued in 2005, I had created my version in 2004.

Tom Weschler who designed the original back then, saw my reissue at the end of 2005 and wrote the following:

"I like the re-design very much, did you send it to Punch Andrews or Capitol and if so what did they say? ... I think they should have used yours! "

 

The box (please, click on the picto see more pics in a row)