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techno, downtempo, ambient, electronic, electronica, samples - Spliff Athletic

from At A Kalamazoo Near You by Men In Speedos

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Created for the release of ‘Men In Speedos - At A Kalamazoo Near You’ this album package is the height of luxury. The album comes in a specially designed gatefold package which includes a velvet, blind-embossed cover and a cardboard pop-up device when opened.

    Inside the gatefold is an intricate pattern in white foil-block with a ‘silver ink’ print as a backdrop, each print process has been used to achieve a subtle but luxurious finish to appeal to collectors and packaging enthusiasts alike.

    The package incorporates a wide array of print and finishing processes which were quite challenging and difficult for a printer to replicate in the one package, this is probably why it was so difficult to find a printer who would actually accept the challenge, and even then it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.

    It is thought that this is the first time the velvet paper product has been used for this purpose, on the cover of a CD package, it is actually a type of fabric sheet called ‘Suedel Luxe’ from Winter & Company which is backed onto a paper stock of choice so it can be matched to the chosen materials.

    Vinyl sleeves used to be artforms in themselves with works of genius from Sergeant Peppers through to Led Zeppelin III. Notoriously the ‘Blue Monday’ single lost money every time it was sold because it was so expensive, but it’s might impressive. So when the CD came along some record labels made the effort to do something creative with them. The smaller working space forced creative thinking in the shape & type of packaging provided, incorporating various foldout options & inventive use of materials.

    With this in mind a concept for engaging the human senses from the first moment of contact was the aim with the Men In Speedos album ‘At A Kalamazoo Near You’. The strong colours of red & black immediately strike you on first viewing. As you take hold of the casing to slide the belly band from the sleeve you immediately have a tactile sensation between the fingertip & the velvet cover and perhaps you notice the emboss as you turn it in the light, or as you pass your finger back and forth across the exterior you can feel the bump … regardless of how you sense it you will always try the second way of noticing it just to make sure it exists.

    By this point an engagement has already taken place between the ‘sensor’ and the album cover. As you open the gatefold the next tier is entered and the further inner-workings are on show, with the pop-up of the Red Indian surrounded in numerology welcoming you to the world of the Kalamazoo. Popping up against white foil blocking the Red Indian is the centre focus of the inside cover. After a while of your eyes scanning the inside design you either reach for the CD, to look at it, not to listen to it yet, or you reach for the booklet. The CD’s simple black imagery on white, with no text to indicate who it is, is intentional so as to identify with the design without the need for words. Again the detail uses numerology since one definition of Kalamazoo is an accounts ledger of some complexity. And the booklet, using the silver ink on a black card gives it a sense of class and simplicity.

    Includes unlimited streaming of At A Kalamazoo Near You via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 50 
    Purchasable with gift card

      £9.99 GBP or more 

     

credits

from At A Kalamazoo Near You, released June 1, 2006

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about

Eric Needs To Know Belfast, UK

I'm a Belfast-based musician and artist who plays with film, gaming, technology, and trees.

Over the years I've had opportunities to produce the world's 1st emotional-response horror film, a biometric VR experience, a few albums, some large-scale art installations and a few other things to boot.

As long as it's something new, creative and exciting then I'm all in.

www.vulpisvulpis.com
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