Nils-Petter was commissioned to create the artwork for a vinyl release titled "Tape Songs" by artist MAKiNA GiRGiR on Falco Invernale Records."Tape Songs" would be a collection of previously unreleased and released tracks by the French artist MAKiNA GiRGiR (Philippe Hayet). The music could be described as melodic, electro-synthpop. With a dark touch.
Regarding the artwork - Nils-Petter had creative freedom to make whatever he wanted to do for this commission - but he had very little to go on. Besides the audio files - mostly instrumental - and names of the tracks - there was limited information about the music and the artist's vision. To get a better understanding, Nils-Petter conducted a series of interviews via the internet aiming to delve into the artist's mind. The initial outcome was vague, but after some sessions, significant details emerged. A fragmented story was painted, revealing dark secrets, favorite foods, crucial information about the artist's two cats, interesting addresses in Toulouse (accessible via Google Street View), reference photos from various apartments and objects, and details about the studio, music instruments used, and forgotten childhood memories!
The fragmented story was marinated and boiled down into two sketches; a crossroad for the back cover and a deserted town view for the front. The illustrations was created by hand in Adobe Illustrator and the design was put together in Adobe Indesign using a Macintosh computer. For typography Nils-Petter worked with Neutraface (the sans-serif) and Neudeutsch (on the road signs) while the artist's name (which by the way is always written with lowercase "i"s) was based on a typeface found in a textile pattern book (Mölnlycke Sybok, Mölnlycke Sytråd AB, 1961).
The vinyl record was released in a limited edition of 250 copies, pressed on 12-inch, 180g transparent green vinyl. Catalogue number: FIR013.
Client: Falco Invernale Records, Music by: MAKiNA GiRGiR, Illustration & design: Nils-Petter Ekwall
