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Stanley Donwood (artwork)


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Sulla MB di ateaseweb.com ho trovato questa interessantissima intervista a Stanley Donwood, fatta per una rivista belga.

Oltre ad essere interessante, contiene nel suo piccolo un paio di informazioni che sono tra le più "chiare" tra tutte quelle apparse sul fantomatico LP7...

Buona lettura...

POSTED BY KID.ANDROID

Okay, here goes! First, I'll provide you with the scans - I'm afraid that they were resized a bit by Imageshack, because the file size was too high, but it's better than nothing I guess:

Page One

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

Stanley looks like a crossing between Johnny Rotten and a hooligan

And now, here's my translation of the interview itself. I tried to keep as closely as possible to the meaning of the Dutch version, so excuse me if my choice of words is a bit shakey at times. I put the journalist's bits in italic, Stanley's bits in ehm...regular, and the most interesting part in bold. Enjoy!

QUOTE

“My body forces me to work”

Stanley Donwood is often referred to as the sixth member of Radiohead. In the past fifteen years, the graphic designer has been responsible for all the band’s album covers, was present in the studio when milestones like ‘The Bends’ and ‘OK Computer’ were recorded, and worked on drawings and paintings along with singer Thom Yorke. Presently, Donwood is exhibiting his work in the Benelux for the first time. “If my girlfriend is impressed, that matters much more to me than winning a Grammy”.

Donwood (38) avoids publicity, and the handfull of interviews he has given thus far, were mostly conducted by e-mail. But under pressure of his children – who would like to see their father’s picture in a magazine some time – he is willing to look your reporter straight in the eyes today. Of course he doesn’t do that without reason. Under the moniker ‘Department of Reclusive Paranoia’, Donwood is currently presenting his work for Radiohead in Rotterdam. And although many of these designs have grown world famous, he tranquilizes his nerves for the official opening with a bottle of wine that gets emptier at a dizzying pace during our conversation. “The question always remains whether or not people will like what I do”.

Q: I can’t imagine that you find artistic pleasure in creating album covers. They seem too small to take satisfaction in.

A: “It’s not a format I adore, that’s right. That’s why, for the last three Radiohead records, I also made editions outside the constraints of these ugly little plastic cases. Both ‘Kid A’ and ‘Amnesiac’ have been released in book form, and I am still very proud of that.”

Q: Aren’t those special editions preceeded by troublesome talks with the record label, because they are more expensive than a boring regular case?

A: “At first every proposal was met with a lack of understanding, but as Radiohead became a bigger band, our ideas became easier to push. When ‘Hail To The Thief’ was released, the whole record industry was in mourning. Due to illegal downloading the record sales had decimated, and they would’ve done anything to turn a cd into an attractive product again. I took serious advantage of that (laughs). We designed a packaging that folded open like a road map. That had never been done before. I’m not opposed to downloading, it’s just that I can’t possibly say whether or not it’s a democratic principle. It seems more useful to also release albums in a cheaper version. That way, anyone who wants the music can buy it at a democratic price.”

Grammy

Q: By coupling your work with the albums of a world famous band, you’ve managed to get your paintings introduced to an audience of millions in a relatively short time. Was that your motivation to join forces with Radiohead from the beginning?

A: “No, because of course I couldn’t predict that the band’s success would be so huge. But now I am obviously thrilled that I can work outside of the restrictions of the small-minded art world. If you think of it that way, an album cover is a good medium. If you walk into a record store, you are overwhelmed with an endless flood of images. As a consumer you have plenty of choice. I know that some bands have a huge promotion campaign behind them in the hope of selling more records, but in the end you decide for yourself which album is worth paying 15 euros for. I like that idea.”

Q: You’ve won a Grammy for ‘Amnesiac’, but you weren’t thrilled with that at all. Such a prize is a form of appreciation, isn’t it?

A: “Stricly speaking, those Grammy’s aren’t more than a way for big record labels to put records that have already sold exceptionally well in the spotlight again. It’s an incestuous event where the whole business pats each other on the back. I didn’t want to go to Los Angeles, but I let myself get persuaded by the argument that you only experience something like that once”.

Q: And? Was it worthwhile in the end?

A: “You’re being driven there in a limo. With blinded windows. And a full fridge. And a tv set. Who the hell watches television in such a car? Also: no matter how expensive the car in which you drive around is, during rush hour you’re in the traffic jam just as well. Then you really feel like an idiot. Additionally, I think that the gap between rich and poor in America is terribly surreal. Did you know that the benches over there are specifically designed so that the homeless can’t lie down on them? And there you are, passing in your limo to pick up your Grammy. I was so ashamed, man.”

Dr. Tchock

Q: How do your graphic designs come into existance?

A: “I hang around in the studio while the band is tinkering with the music. My graphic work and their songs originate at the same time, even though there are never any guidelines. I have a computer nearby on which I can design images, and sometimes I also just get out a sketchbook to make the drawings that the songs evoke in me. And I have my own studio close by, so if I feel the need to paint, I can do that. Each time we start working on a new record, I panic for a few days, because I exhausted all my ideas on the last release. But once Thom has given me his lyrics, the creativity comes back to me again. We have a similar outlook on the world. That helps. (laughs) For each new project I have some ideas in mind, obviously, but after a while they get altered under the influence of the music.

Q: Is the opposite true as well? Do your artworks influence their music?

A: “It would be very presumptuous of me to say that about myself. I don’t know anything about music, I can hardly tell the difference between a bass and a guitar. Our methods aren’t really that different from back at the art academy. Only now there are no obnoxious teachers giving us ridiculous assignments and explaining in detail exactly how they should preferrably be carried out. Both the music and my canvases are created very spontaneously, very intuitively. When the band plays something that impresses me, they notice that from my enthusiasm.

Q: You often work with Thom Yorke, who does his graphic work under the Dr. Tchock pseudonym. What does he add to your work?

A: “His influence is bigger than you might think. I start working on something, he ruins it, brings it back to me, and then I tear down everything he built up. It’s a bizarre way of working, but we do reach results. Recently, we hung up a big canvas on which we could each do our thing for exactly five minutes – we stopwatched it. That produced a very fine painting. Sometimes a work is finished in one day, sometimes it takes months. Then I think my first attempt is worthless, I paint over it, and leave it there until the paint has dried. Most of the time there are two or three paintings in my studio on which I’m working simultaneously. If you could put an infrared ray on some paintings, you’d see that there are five or six versions hidden underneath.”

Q: Radiohead’s musicians have a very serious, gloomy image. How’s the atmosphere when you are holed up in the studio together?

A: “They are totally occupied by their work, identify with what they’re doing, and so are really serious about their task. Of course they take pleasure in making new music, but at the same time, there is especially the need to be appreciated. It’s like a child that makes a drawing and then shows it to its mother: the validation when she likes it – nothing can beat that. During the recording there are obviously tensions sometimes, but actual fights are very rare, let alone shouting sessions. They’re much too ‘British’ for that.”

Q: The first time Thom Yorke asked you to become the steady designer of the band, you declined because you didn’t really feel like becoming a graphic artist. What changed your mind?

A: “Their first album cover was made by someone else, and it was really horrible. There was no link with the music at all, and when the record company started a hideous poster campaign in the wake of “Creep”, I noticed that the band didn’t know what to do anymore. So when Thom asked me to come aboard again, I did take the opportunity. I was poor, had a girlfriend who was about to give birth, and realised that I had to get the money flowing in quickly so we could buy some baby clothes. The first cover I made was the one for ‘My Iron Lung’. We made at least a hundred different designs, and in the end the very first turned out to be the best of them all. I learned the job by being occupied with it day in, day out.”

Deer in the pool

Q: Which cover are you most satisfied about?

A: “My work for ‘The Eraser’, Thom Yorke’s solo album. When I finished that, even my girlfriend was impressed. Quite frankly, that was way more important to me than being nominated for a Grammy.”

Q: Could you also do this work for another band?

“No. There are plenty of bands that I like, but with Radiohead, I know they are genuine artists who put a lot of emotion into their songs. They make music because they feel the physical need to do so, not because they just want to. My body forces me to start working with those brushes. (thinks) Most art is a form of exorcism. It brings the darkest character traits to the fore. And then your task as an artist is to make something in which others will recognise themselves.

Q: This fall, there is a new Radiohead album released for the first time in four years. Have you finished the cover yet?

A: “No. That’s always the last element in the creative process. It’s also not easy to condense an hour’s worth of music into one image. I’ve been working on it since September. We’ve recorded the album in Tottenham House, a decaying building in the middle of a forest the size of Buckingham Palace. When it rained, the water came running down from four stories high. There was one toilet that was still functioning, and we had a pool in which a dead deer was floating one morning. That should give you an idea (laughs).”

Q: What do you want your work to evoke?

A: “I hope that it makes people feel less lonely, that they know they’re not alone. That also applies to myself, by the way. If nobody feels a connection to my work, I can only assume that I am alone in my feelings. Getting a compliment is actually a confirmation that you’re not the only one who looks at the world in a specific way. Look, almost every human being is unhappy in itself. I fight that sadness by making huge paintings. Others do it by playing music, writing books or helping orphans in Venezuela.”

Q: Something different: before you were working with Radiohead, you were a fire eater for a while. It’s a strange change of career.

A: “I quit working as a fire eater because my girlfriend didn’t want to kiss me anymore after a while. I constantly tasted like parafine. (laughs) Together with a friend I roamed the country, and we had a street act with which we made just enough money to buy new gasoline, and pay for beer. But I was trained to be a tree surgeon. I was actually supposed to go work in a forest, but when I arrived there, they had just laid off half of their staff. Fire eating seemed like a good alternative.”

Q: On the cover of ‘Kid A’, you put data on how global warming is melting the polar caps. There is often a strong ecological message in your work.

A: “That’s true, but anybody could have lifted those figures off the internet. In the meantime, it’s seven years later and the situation definitely hasn’t improved. That’s why I try to be less involved with the environment these days. It depresses me. Thinking about the future makes my stomach turn, because I’m not sure if we even have one. (thinks) In the last few months, I’ve seen way too many books about the downfall of the environment, so at this moment I’m in a very nihilistic mood. Perhaps I should urgently pick up some Asterix-stories. As a counterbalance. Asterix always works to get my mood back up.”

Article: Bart Steenhaut / Pictures: Alex Vanhee

Appeared in De Morgen of May 19th, 2007.

Okay, so the journalist is talking about a fall release, and Stanley doesn't seem to be saying anything to deny that. Also, he talks about the recording as if it's completely finished. This journalist is a pretty big Radiohead fan (he does all the coverage about the band for the paper, and has made a special section about them back in 2003 when they were playing in Brussels), so I doubt that he'd just make something like that up for the hell of it. So I do think it could point to a September/October/November release.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finalmente abbiamo qualche notizia, sicuramente il disco uscirà quest'anno, il che è confortante :D . Poi pare che abbiano finito da un pezzo di registrarlo, quindi ciò spiega il fatto che non avessimo più notizie sul blog di Plank e sul DAS.

Probabilmente sono alle fasi conclusive del mixaggio. quindi pronostico che la prox cosa che sciveranno sul DAS sarà l'annuncio ufficiale :bava: . Troppo ottimista?

Bè in fondo l'ottimismo è il profumo della vita no? :lol::lol::lol:

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