Dissolution (released August 2018) is the twelfth album by Progressive Rock band The Pineapple Thief. As the follow up to 2016's Your Wilderness, it is the second to feature the drumming of the legendary Gavin Harrison (of King Crimson and Porcupine Tree fame). This album is already being considered to be their most dynamic and vivid album to date.
Earlier this year I was invited to help create the artwork and supporting images for this release in collaboration with design-for-music studio Stylorouge, the team behind the imagery for Pink Floyd's 2014 album Endless River and many classic albums from bands such as Blur, Siouxie And The Banshees, Morrissey, The Cure.
The overarching story of the album is of a relationship of a young couple where private troubles are exposed online and a darker side of the relationship is brought out through a public life on social media, which eventually tears them apart. This theme of technology causing turbulence in modern life and social media breaking down communication instead of connecting people lends itself perfectly to the aesthetic of glitch art, a process which utilises errors in hardware and digital files to create visual effects.
For the photo shoot actors were used instead of models and given the back story, lines and scenarios from the album's themes and concept to act out, this drew on much deeper and more powerful natural expressions rather than posed images.
I used various glitch processes, utilising Processing codes and displacements to achieve these effects, with post-processing and colour correction in Photoshop . These images were then further developed and comped with Stylorouge designer and illustrator Mark Higgenbottom.
These works were put together into a 4 CD Deluxe 48 page hardback book and were also applied across all manner of merch and formats, including limited edition clear vinyls, CDs, wall flags, hoodies, tote bags and shirts.
Earlier this year I was invited to help create the artwork and supporting images for this release in collaboration with design-for-music studio Stylorouge, the team behind the imagery for Pink Floyd's 2014 album Endless River and many classic albums from bands such as Blur, Siouxie And The Banshees, Morrissey, The Cure.
The overarching story of the album is of a relationship of a young couple where private troubles are exposed online and a darker side of the relationship is brought out through a public life on social media, which eventually tears them apart. This theme of technology causing turbulence in modern life and social media breaking down communication instead of connecting people lends itself perfectly to the aesthetic of glitch art, a process which utilises errors in hardware and digital files to create visual effects.
For the photo shoot actors were used instead of models and given the back story, lines and scenarios from the album's themes and concept to act out, this drew on much deeper and more powerful natural expressions rather than posed images.
I used various glitch processes, utilising Processing codes and displacements to achieve these effects, with post-processing and colour correction in Photoshop . These images were then further developed and comped with Stylorouge designer and illustrator Mark Higgenbottom.
These works were put together into a 4 CD Deluxe 48 page hardback book and were also applied across all manner of merch and formats, including limited edition clear vinyls, CDs, wall flags, hoodies, tote bags and shirts.
Promo created by Kscope to announce album release
Photoshoot by Rob O'Connor
Photography by Rob O'Connor
Deluxe 4CD set with 48 page hardback book
Selected spreads from the deluxe book
CD Artwork
Single covers
Various formats
Instagram ad
Merch
Single 'Far Below'
On release the album entered at No. 1 in the Rock and Metal chart, No.8 in the UK Independent Charts and reached No.16 in the main album chart. It was an honour to work on an album from a band whose music I really admire and to have the opportunity to work again with Stylorouge.
