Research and planning

The Drums Alternate covers for their first Album “Summertime”

Their cover for the brand new Album ‘The Drums’

Background checks on previous albums for this band is very difficult due to them being such a new talent. They have only released two albums in the brief 4 years they have been together, with many of the songs in their first album being reappearing in their latest one. 

 

The Drums online home screen

From first glances at both their website and new album cover you would think that The Drums were very dull and boring, but if you dig deeper into their music and past work you find that they are a very unique and diverse band when compared to the rest. This relates to the Beach Boys album I had placed in the similarity section because from the feed back from most critics and my own personal view, I do think they are This generations Beach Boys with their own spin on things, both bands share a lot of similarities but then at the same time have a lot of differences.

When you look at other similar bands, their album covers share one big likeness and this is a lack of vibrant colours. Its all blacks, greys and dark dreary colours, this really puts a dull cloak over the whole indie genre visually. The strange thing about all these bands is that when you listen to them they are all fantastic in their own unique way but can still remain inside the boundaries of their genre.

Album covers more suited to my first idea

 

<<Master Shortie ‘ADHD’ 

Kanye West ‘808’s&heartbreak’>>

         

Both are from the hip hop genre but suit the look I was going to go for. The song chosen is very upbeat and lively which only deserves a colourful and visually stimulating CD cover instead of a bland one that does not match the song at all. In both example covers there is a single shot of the artist standing in front of a lively background, I would like to take this idea because I think instead of taking the attention away from the artist, the colours emphasise and aluminates them almost off the paper.

When looking at both Kanye’s and Master Shortie’s websites you can immediately see that they are all about music all the time. Master Shortie is constantly posting new songs and music videos of all the big artists but still all the up and coming UK acts at the same time, as you can see there are videos down the left hand side with the same logo and colours from his most recent album ‘ADHD’. Kanye West’s home screen is all about himself and the recent songs he has released with multiple artists, also highlighting his newest single available for purchase ‘Runaway’. The look of his website is very abstract and straight to the point, he doesn’t mess around with things like pictures and Biographies, he just gets down to the music and how to broadcast it to any viewers and listeners.

Examples of storyboards used in research and planning