Front Matter

The custom stamp and blank CV sleeve approach would also mean that the bulk of manufacturing costs were upfront, being that the custom stamp was the most expensive element. After that, buying new CDs and the sleeves to house them would make subsequent production cycles even cheaper.

Original stamp design.

The album artwork for “Front Matter” was mostly driven by the practical need that I wanted something that could be produced physically at a minimal cost. Sending off designs to be professionally printed by a specialised company is all well and good, but I recognised with a custom stamp and blank CD sleeves, I could streamline the process immensely. I was listening to a lot of John Martyn at this time, and took inspiration from the rustic artwork of the “Live at Leeds” release.

I went with faux-vinyl design blank CD’s to further boost visual appeal while saving on costs. I experimented using the custom stamp to imprint the design on the disc, but I didn’t like how it looked.

“Hype Sticker” for the physical release.