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Misty Mountain String Band “Red Horizon” CD Layout

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

Misty Mountain String Band "Red Horizon" CD Design CoverThe Misty Mountain String Band

Louisville, KY

This is the third CD design I made for my old friends in The Misty Mountain String Band. Their second full length album “Red Horizon” continues to explore Bluegrass, Americana, Folk, and Gospel Music. The old time quartet returned to a Nashville studio to make this record. The famed producer Steve Thomas was once again at the helm.

I worked closely with both Pittsburgh nature illustrator Abby Diamond and Louisville photographer Cherise Mingus. We first collaborated on MMSB’s “Went to the Well” EP in 2013. Then we worked together again in 2015 on their debut LP “Brownsboro”. The band sent me Abby’s fabulous art to arrange and intermingle with Cherise’s tasteful posed shots. Summer festival season was fast approaching. I worked diligently to meet a tight deadline and get this CD layout package to print.

CD Design Critical response

Upon its release, music critics everywhere unanimously praised this effort. Online outlets such as Huffington Post featured the album alongside articles on country luminaries like Dolly Parton. It also garnered interviews with respected music blogs including Independent Artist Buzz and No Depression. Listen for yourself. Buy “Red Horizon” on iTunes. It was a huge privilege to lay out art for yet another fantastic MMSB record. Knowing that the band trusts me to get their art laid out correctly and crush their deadline every time is very satisfying. CD art projects such as this one are some of my favorite tasks to work on. This fact is especially true since I get to work hand in hand with other creative visual artists. Are you a musical act that is located in Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, or anywhere else in the world? If you are in need of a quality CD design or layout, then contact me.

CD Design Gallery

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Misty Mountain String Band “Brownsboro” CD Layout

Posted on August 13, 2014 by

Misty Mountain String Band "Brownsboro" Bluegrass CD LayoutMisty Mountain String Band

Louisville, KY

The Misty Mountain String Band are a popular bluegrass quartet who are based in Louisville, KY. After I worked with MMSB on their 2013 debut EP CD “Went to the Well”, they then asked me to design their first full length Bluegrass CD layout. “Brownsboro” is a deluxe package, since it includes an extra six panel insert that slides into the digipack. The band’s debut long player also once again featured illustrations by the amazing and talented artist Abby Diamond as well. Also, Louisville’s Cherise Mingus returned in order to capably handle the band’s posed photography shoot.

Laying out Abby’s gorgeous illustrations for the second time was also an absolute treat. I then listed the song’s lyrics one side of the six panel insert. Images appear as constellations as they come alive in the night sky on the other side. The rest of the layout’s color scheme complements Abby’s art in the insert. The pale shades of orange and yellow allow the deep blacks, greens, and blues to stand out. I also extracted many of the “constellation” images and reusing them for the additional content. I crushed MMSB’s deadline to get the art to press, since their timeline was tight. Their sophomore album was ready in time for their summer tour of Bluegrass festivals. College radio stations and album review blogs were also ready to spin the new disc.

Bluegrass CD layout gallery

Contact me for your Bluegrass CD layout

Your old time quartet is running on all cylinders. You’ve got the picking part down pat. Next, you just need the right image to accompany your music. Let me get you grinning as well with a professional album artwork design. See the gallery above for details of each section, then contact me for your next project.
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Misty Mountain String Band “Went to the Well” CD Layout

Posted on May 28, 2013 by

Misty Mountain String Band CD layout

Misty Mountain String Band

Louisville, KY

Derek Harris is a vocalist and the bassist in this traditional bluegrass quartet and a long time friend of mine. He contacted me in 2013 to create the CD layout for their debut EP “Went to the Well”.

Bluegrass music CD layout story

The group already had chosen a few elements to bring to the table. Therefore, it was up to me to work them into the final composition and make a few minor adjustments. This was similar to later full length CD layout projects I completed for them, entitled “Brownsboro” and “Red Horizon”.

The fabulous Louisville based photographer Cherise Mingus provided the posed photograph for the inside jacket. The talented nature artist Abby Diamond also came on board to create the gorgeous Kentucky cardinal illustration. This was the first of a series of album art collaborations I was fortunate enough to have with these talented artists.

I used Adobe Photoshop to retouch and color correct the band’s posed group photograph. I also removed a small tree from the picture by using the rubber stamp cloning tool. Then, I cleaned up the edges of the cardinal illustration for the clean white background.

Finally, the band sent me a very rough sketch of a Greek runes themed “MMSB” logo they had sometimes use in promotional materials. I used Adobe Illustrator to recreate this image as a vector file they could use for any application. Then, I added it to the design. It is featured on both on the inside jacket and on the CD face itself. Check out MMSB’s music online!

CD layout for your band or music project

Are you about to drop a hot new record? I’m ready to complete the project with professional packaging design and CD art. Contact me today to get started.

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American Pop Goes Country

Posted on August 23, 2010 by

Country music art design for "Hey Soul Sister" cover song singleWellington Beck Music Group

Nashville, TN

This was a new series of country music covers from regular clients Wellington Beck. The “American Pop Goes Country” series included both compilation albums and popular singles. This country music art design covers the ubiquitous Train hit song “Hey Soul Sister”.

Country music art design story

I stayed with the basic theme of my client’s previous “American Country Hits” series. The same Western fonts and tribal elements of the original’s main title are still present here. However, for this “pop idol” themed series, I modified the original series logo. I “painted” it on the grungy stage wall with a rounded circle incorporated. This gives the piece’s logo mark an overall smooth feel. I basically merged the original ACH logo with the famous American Idol mark. I based all of the country music art design elements, other than the logo, on actual stock photographs. Out front, the vintage Shure “Fat Boy” microphone stands out against the weathered stage. Clad in a red bandanna, it beckons the viewer to take the stage and sing along. The lighting rig overhead and the opened red curtains frame the warm orange tinted scene in. I used a few high contrast, glow, and shadow effects to give the digital album art a crisp, high end feel. The “American Pop Goes Country” cover song series was a big hit. These singles and compilations are still available online today. The label exclusively offers them as digital downloads. Outlets such as iTunes and Amazon Music and carry it for streaming and purchase.

Contact me for your country music art design

Are you a musician or perhaps an country music record label? Do you need album artwork created? I have years of experience designing one of a kind CD and digital download art. Contact me today to get started!
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