Music
If there’s one area for me where my illustration practice and my life’s loves collide, it’s the world of music. My creative career actually started directing and animating music videos for Skint Records, Domino Recording Co. and Sony Music. Since then I have designed merchandise for The Polyphonic Spree and FUN, collaborated with Rega Turntables and Jade Bird, and created bespoke artwork for a host of private record collectors and legit rock stars (NDAs in effect, sorry!).
Pop your favourite record on and have a browse through a selection of projects I have worked on below, plus of course check out the Cover Versions portfolio! If you are in the music industry and would like to discuss working together, get in touch.
Music Festivals
Album Covers
Performing Arts
Industry events
Music Editorial
Official Emojis
Record Labels
Tim BURGESS’ MERCH MARKET
Coming to Manchester in 2025, a very special opportunity for bands, musicians and artists to sell their merchandise direct to the music-loving public!
THELONIOUS MONK
Paying tribute to one of the greats as we arrived in 2025. I'm never a big one for New Years resolutions, run a marathon or drink less coffee? Nope. But some years I make a promise to listen to something more, this year I'm going to listen to more jazz, older jazz, I love what's going on now, Ezra Collective and all, and I'm always listening to jazz in hip hop, but it's been a while since I went way back to the originators of jazz. I was raised on jazz, my mum always had Nina Simone and Billie Holiday on in the kitchen, my Dad started listening to Monk and Miles Davis later in life. So I owe it to myself to reconnect with the old team.
Tim’s Peaks Diner at Kendal Calling Festival
In Summer 2024 my sketchbook and I were invited to document Tim Peaks Diner at Kendal Calling Festival.
For the full project click here!
Tim’s Listening Parties
For a few years now I’ve been collaborating with Tim Burgess (lead singer of The Charlatans and all-round legend), starting with illustrations for his ‘Twitter Listening Parties’ and going on to produce bespoke turntables, slipmats, art prints and festival artwork. You can check out more of our work together in this case study and on the Cover Versions page.
UMUSIC AUTUMN
I worked together with aptly named design agency Music to create artwork for Universal Music’s annual industry showcase at The Roundhouse in London.
Snap Galleries
As well as printing super limited edition Cover Versions (large format ChromLuxe printing on coated aluminium!) I also work with Snap Galleries to create bespoke artworks of record collectors amongst their favourite records, entitled ‘In My Room’.
Dancers
I know, not strictly the ‘music’ industry, but where would music be without dancing? A selection of my favourite dancers, dance crews and choreographers.
Featuring Sadeck Berabah, BBoy HR, Usha Jey and Avant Gardey.
SIMON CHESTERFIELD
To celebrate his new album, Simon Chesterfield asked me and a selection of his favourite artists to create our own artwork on the theme of ‘the pink ladder’.
Simon was founder member of cult indie band The Chesterfields, the album was co-produced by Ben Scott Turner, Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and Simon Chesterfield, and orchestrated by Charles Harrison. Now available from Rough Trade.
Summer Festivals
Festival scenes have become a bit of a ‘thing’ for me, they literally could not be more fun to illustrate. Here’s just three for The Big Issue, The Association of Independent Festivals and Hospitality Records.
Official Emojis
I never quite thought this could happen, but it did, and still does, designing actual usable emojis for publishers, record labels and social media platforms!
Check out the full case-study here.
