Cover Art

When working on an album release, one of the most difficult elements of a new album is the cover art.  Finding the right painting or photograph can take weeks or in some cases, months.  By "right" cover art, I mean something that fits or represents the music on that project, or something that is directly connected to that project.  

I am fortunate to work with some of what I consider to be the finest artists in the world in their respective areas and elements.  In some ways, this makes the cover art selection process a bit easier.  In other ways, it makes it much more difficult because I tend to like most of what they do.  For example, I might see a photo from an art photographer that is very striking and deep to me; yet it is totally wrong for the current project.  

What makes a work of art (photography or painting) right or wrong for a project?  It is an ineffable description.  It could be the subject matter.  It might be the colors or combination of colors.  It might be something connected to that project.  In some cases, it has been something atmospheric in the art that connects to something atmospheric in the music for that album project.

For example, on my 2020 album Nograd with Sandor Szabo, the cover is a photograph by Laszlo Hutton (Hungary) of the ruins of Castle Nograd.  Nograd was recorded in the church in the village of Nograd, Hungary, and the castle ruins are up on a steep hill overlooking the village.  The village and the ruins possess a palpable and near tangible sense of history.  You feel as if you're practically bumping into the ghosts as you move about there.  During the recording sessions, we would take breaks and hike up to the castle ruins.  Laszlo Hutton is a very interesting artistic photographer; he's provided art for a few of my albums.  When I saw his photo essay of Castle Nograd, I knew one of those photos would be a perfect fit for this project, as not only was the subject matter directly connected to the project, but Laszlo captured the subject in a captivating and unusual manner.  His elemental composition also fit the music on that album project, so in this case it was an easy decision.

For my 2018 solo album 30/36, the cover art is by English photoartist Chris Friel.  I greatly admire Chris' work, and his art has graced the cover of several of my albums.  I find that his work often visually crystalizes and reflects some of my work.  Chris also likes my music, so we have a good artistic and personal connection.  The cover of 30/36 is very abstract, and centers around two main colors: yellow and green.  For this album, I used only two instruments (the 36-string and 30-string; hence the title).  I found that the abstraction and its impact, along with being centered around two colors to reflect the two instruments (green for the 36, and yellow for the 30), made a strong statement about that album, the compositions on it, and the two instruments utilized.  The drawn vertical and horizontal lines represented frets and strings.  It was an ideal visual representation of that album.

I'm currently at work on a two-album project with pianist Laszlo Gardony.  Both albums are recorded and mixed.  The first one will be released in 2022; the second in 2023.  Both will feature art by George Korunov of Russia.  George is a unique artist, and has provided me with cover art for The First Realm and Even this late it happens.  I'm using a series of George's that looks like paintings, but instead of being painted with paint, they appear to be painted with electricity and darkness.  This art is very kinetic and dynamic.  As are the compositions and performances on these two albums.  For this project, George's art beautifully captures the electricity we felt in the recording studio when we tracked those albums.

These are only a few examples, but each album goes through a similar process for determining and selecting cover art.  I'm very fortunate to work with several highly talented artists from all over the world.  For this I am grateful to each of them.

-kk



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