For Mariama Ndure’s upcoming album Fall & Rise, artists Evan Galbicka and Benji Haselhurst worked together to create this exotic and lush landscape. Below, Evan speaks to the process and the workings behind it:
“It is important to Benji and I that the cover art speaks to the tone and content of the music. To get this process rolling, Benji suggested we list some key words that describe the general sense of the album so that we always have those in the back of our mind keeping the music present through our process. Before and after this we did a bunch of listening to the album, allowing the music to spark visions. We decided on a work flow plan for our collaboration which turned out to be a very enjoyable process. I spent a lot of time drawing beetles and plants from observation, something I do not normally do. Benji also drew some plants which he had been doing for some time, illustrating his succulent collections. Then we scanned all the drawings and used them as source material for a digital collage. Benji created a foundation for the final composition and color pallette, and then we spent a lot of time together adjusting the details.”
The collaboration resulted in the alien and organic scenery befitting Ndure’s music. Evan and Benji are both visual artists for Elestial Sound, who continue to grow and create amazing artwork for the collective. Keep an eye out for the album, available through Elestial Sound on October 20th, 2015!
http://www.elestialsound.com/
