This series of articles aims to examine the relationship between design and music. How does one compliment the other? How do different designers solve the various creative problems of this discipline? What makes a successful (if not iconic) solution for music design? And how do creative partnerships in this field operate?

I can think of few more important, successful and inspiring case studies for this series than the creative partnership between Underworld and Tomato – which spans two decades, six studio albums, countless tours and side projects, a number of changes in personnel and numerous shifts in visual and musical style.

Throughout all this change, three players have remained at the core of the partnership and continue to work together today – Underworld’s Karl Hyde and Rick Smith (who have recorded together in various incarnations since 1980) and Tomato’s John Warwicker, who is an artist, designer, writer and conceptualist.

The work of John Warwicker and the music of Underworld have both played a massive part in the development of my own work, so I feel extremely privileged to have been able to speak with John about his relationship with the band, his process and how the visual identity of Underworld has evolved over the past 20 years.

I began my conversation with John by asking about how the dynamic between Tomato and Underworld has changed over time, how work is structured between the two and if any creative conflict exists within the partnership today.

“Essentially it hasn’t changed. You have to remember that Rick, Karl and I have known each other since 1983 and the tomato/Underworld partnership has been going since 1991.”

“We both offer each other opportunities. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong and sometimes the timing is wrong. And of course this goes beyond ‘commercial’ projects into the self-initiated and when it does we always try and help each other out. This has been happening from the very beginning.

I don’t think there’s been any conflict in a big way, disagreements yes. but that’s only natural. Very rarely is the direction predetermined, it’s something that we work out during the process of a project. We also give each other room and accept what the other does. I think part of this process is the respect we give each other to present something different, something that we, ourselves, wouldn’t have thought of.

“In the case of the new album, Rick and Karl felt and communicated that they were making something different, something lighter and more energetic than previous albums. So they did say that they wanted to signal this change on the sleeve. But there again listening to the first iterations of the album this was self evident anyway.”

These sentiments seem to encapsulate the very nature of the creative partnership between Tomato and Underworld. Production seems to orbit around an ongoing creative dialogue between the two. It is the sharing of ideas that enables both parties to push their work into new territory— be it in music, artwork, video, software or any other medium that can be explored collaboratively.

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dubnobasswithmyheadman (1994)

Underworld’s third album, their first under the visual direction of John Warwicker and Tomato, marked a significant evolutionary jump in both the musical and visual identity of Underworld. The artwork is dark, chaotic and typographic. The music is layered, hypnotic and narcotic. This release signaled that there was something truly special about the band – from the signature sounds they were making, to Karl Hyde’s steam-of-consciousness vocal poetry, to the indecipherable and utterly compelling artwork it was packaged in.

I asked John about how the musical and graphical growth spurt occured, and how the album artwork was expanded into the book “mmm… skyscraper i love you”, which is a typographic study of New York.

“Sometimes something just ‘pops’ out. It’s of the moment. What is in the ‘air’ alchemically forms into an object. For whatever reason if one is ‘tuned in’ the work forms itself.”

“Underworld were going to play their first major concert. At the Astoria in London. We didn’t want to produce a t-shirt or any memorabilia of a conventional kind. We had designed the album cover using words from Karl so we decided to make a book to expand on these words/notes that he had written in drifts through New York and typographically articulate these words (which produced a further form of writing). The pressure was on as we only had 3 weeks to get the book ‘designed’ and published. The whole book was put together in 36 hours. Because of the temporal nature of a book, where one could create a rhythm that unfolded over time, I feel that mmm… skyscraper is a purer articulation of the idea. The album cover however is a purer articulation of our group ethos since everyone contributed something.”

Second Toughest In The Infants (1996)

For me, this was the cover that truly cemented my interests in Tomato and Underworld. At the time I was still listening to the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden, and electronic music was a million miles away from my thoughts – but then came Born Slippy .NUXX. I had no idea what the song was about, what it meant, or even how I’d classify it – I just new that I loved it and that it completely changed my notion of what music was or could be.

And then there was the album cover, unlike any that I’d seen before. Challenging. Revelatory. And really messy.

The album and single also came about in the same year as Trainspotting, for which Underworld contributed music and Tomato contributed title design. A big year for all involved.

I asked John about how Tomato and Underworld actually work together, as well as how specific Tomato projects have helped shape the music of Underworld.

“We are in constant touch with other so the ongoing conversation shapes what we all do. When asked about how tomato works i’ve always replied ‘it’s a bit like alcoholics anonymous, it’s a support system and critical forum’. Of course there are certain moments when this support and criticism is more pertinent than at other times but the effect of this rarely manifests itself in a major way it shapes and guides on a day to day basis. However, there are certain projects that have concentrated or demanded a change or different response … ‘riverrun’, ‘dérive’ , the book of ‘mmm… skyscraper, i love you ‘ and ‘what’s going on in your head when you’re dancing/bungalow with stairs’.

Process has been at the core of what tomato has been about since its beginning and I’m sure this gave Rick and Karl an interest in releasing work as it happened. I also think that suggesting ‘riverrrun’ for the project helped it gave it a descriptive word, borrowed from James Joyce, that focussed the working process. This is a good example of something small helping and supporting. words and ideas are ‘artwork’ as much as a graphic form.”

John went onto explain some of those projects in greater detail.

“‘dérive’ is a 20 minute installation piece that is a wander through the streets of Soho made by Rick and myself. It’s a reconfiguration of our (male) conversation into a (female) monologue, and the film that was made for this compliments this drift and this gives confidence. Confidence to Rick regarding the music and to me (in this instance) confidence in the visuals. The conversation that it generates effects and shapes both forms of expression.

‘mmm… skyscraper, i love you’ cemented our interest in the rhythms of the street. One of the reasons why an artist makes work is to prove the idea or feeling. To give it substantial, physical form rather than just being an idea. and i guess ‘mmm… skyscraper’ did exactly that.

‘what’s going on in your head when you’re dancing‘ is Karl’s upcoming painting and drawing show at La Foret in Tokyo. ‘bungalow with stairs’ is the cd of music by Rick to accompany the show. Undoubtedly the rhythm of his paintings and drawings effect (and will effect) how Karl’s musical contribution (you have to remember that it we all – that’s tomato and underworld – produce imagery and tomato is active in the sonic). ‘bungalow with stairs’ is an evocative collection of tracks that is going to be released for the la foret show. ‘dérive’ is one of the tracks. whether this collection would have been made in the same way had it not been for ‘dérive’ is a matter of conjecture.”

Beaucoup Fish (1999)

Beaucoup Fish Singles—
Push Upstairs
King Of Snake
Bruce Lee
Jumbo

“Tomato is different to most design groups that I know about, in that there is not a ‘style’ that dominates or shapes any expression. tomato was initiated as a conversation/support system/critical forum rather than a studio interested in modernist expression (as an example). Tomato is set up to support the individuals on their own exploratory journey and whatever form that might take. It is expansive rather than reductive. This is not a criticism of other studios, far from it. it’s just how we are. the onus on everyone is to bring back something different whether it be an improvement in craft or something radically different, something unexpected.”

Everything, Everything (2000)

A Hundred Days Off (2002)

The artwork for A Hundred Days Off (and Beaucoup Fish) were largely taken care of by Tomato members Jason Kedgley and Dirk Van Dooren. Regarding who does what and when within the Tomato camp, John had this to say—

“All of us have worked on ‘Underworld’ projects at one time or another. For example the deluxe edition and special boxed set of ‘Barking’ contains films by Simon, Dylan, Jason and Michael. it ebbs and flows. It all depends on who has an idea at any given time.”

A Hundred Days Off Singles—
Two Months Off
Dinosaur Adventure 3D

1992—2002 (2003)

Oblivion With Bells (2007)

With all the Underworld designs, typography has been a key feature and intergral part of all the artwork. I asked John about his approach to typography and his response to formal typographic rules.

“um … what typographic rules? That’ s like saying there are musical ‘rules’. Certainly there are ways to make things ‘work’ in most circumstances and fully engage with and support them. But … there are other ways and it’s up to us all to find these ways and to explore the possibilities. I think there is a tyranny of modernism. It’s as if many designers feel that if they learn the ‘rules’ then it’s job done. Now, in the hands of the talented then this is true because their craft transcends its basic elements into something quite beautiful but rules in themselves don’t produce a work of beauty. If it is that expressive, emotional transcendence, where a work has ‘spirit’ then its form can be anything – from 17th century Arabic manuscripts to a punk newsletter  - Sniffin’ Glue, for example.”

“For those interested in typography the question that should be asked is why is this like this rather than saying that it doesn’t correspond to the ‘rules’, to what has been identified as ‘good practice’. it is both an emotional and intellectual decision.”

Our discussion about typography went a little deeper, examining Warwicker’s approach to type selection and treatment, specifically in regards to his unique applications of common typefaces such as Helvetica and Caslon. I was interested in how he takes such widely used fonts and makes them appear fresh and distinct.

“It’s an instant emotive decision. Felt rather than worked out (in a conventional way). Let’s take Caslon. Like any typeface there’s a timbre to its ‘voice’. It has been around for several hundred years and has a structural and aesthetic resilience that means that it is mutable. If one used something that had been designed in the last few years there might not be this type of resilience. Of course this a strategic decision but it is also one of personal choice. Josef Müller-Brockmann spent decades using Akzidenz-Grotesk. Just like learning a musical instrument it takes years to get a typeface to work for you. after that learning period you can now play and express yourself through the nuances.”

Inspiring stuff.

Oblivion Singles—
Crocodile
Holding The Moth
Boy Boy Boy
Beautiful Burnout

There is an obvious lyrical, musical and emotional quality to Tomato’s artwork and designs for Underworld. But is it all an attempt to visualize the music, or to apply the same creative process that occurs in songwriting to the creation of graphic design?

“To be honest neither. It just happens to be. One thing I would say is that it is not meant to be an ‘illustration’ or faux score. Rather it is a reception of the music emotionally processed and translated. Musical scores always fascinated me (as much as the emotive and even concrete experience of listening to music. and of course this all (imagery, type, music, ideas) comes together in the work of John Cage.”

I asked John about his process in specific relation to his Book of Jam series (download these by signing up here), and how he might be creating visual riffs within the e-books for use in future compositions.

“They are visual riffs for a music that is unwritten, and never assuming that they might one day be compositions. And they never have. But as I said everything we all do contributes to our ‘group’ palette of moods and in that indirect way, the influence of the ‘weak forces’, that i previously described influences all of us.”

“At my most personal I see words and ideas like musical phrases (more poetry than literature) and typography as having similarities with music … tone, timbre, rhythm, ‘voice’. That is what i am trying to achieve, as in my book ‘The Floating World‘ and ‘mmm… skyscraper, i love you’ as examples … and some of my recent typographic work that i have self-initiated.”

“It is my understanding that one track on ‘Barking’ that has been influenced by one of our extended family is ‘Moon on Water’. Graham, who is no longer in Tomato but of course still part of the ‘family’ had given Rick a text some time ago. Rick was so moved by it that it became ‘Moon on Water’.

Of course one of the most notable aspects of this release was its similarity to the artwork for dubnobasswithmyheadman. While the similarities are somewhat superficial, it’s hard to look past the relationship between the monochromatic, chaotic forms they both share.

“It was only after the process of assembling artwork was begun that this became apparent. It wasn’t a conscious decision but looking back it seemed like the two albums bookended a period of Underworld. And onto the next…”

The Bells The Bells (2008)

Athens (2009)
as Underworld vs. The Misterons

One thing that all Underworld covers share is the sense of the hand-crafted, the use of material, ink, paint and paper. Even when the work is purely digitally, there’s still a rawness and grittiness to it all that makes it feel special and unique. In regards to the overall look and feel of Underworld’s artwork, John had this to say—

“A pixel is not as interesting as the pencil mark. I think it’s irrelevant what medium is used the only importance is in the conveyance of spirit.”

“Before moving to Australia, I had lived in London all my life. Detritus is part of the grain of that city. You could almost describe it as informal (urban) landscape gardening. And there can be a certain beauty poetic in the sodden newspaper that has been pressed into kerb in an interesting shape by the tyres and the feet, or there can be a poetic beauty in the sunlight catching the lip of a broken polystyrene cup that has been inserted into a wire fence. Through its history and its streets, London is a montage city a riverrun or profusion of narratives that embed themselves in the fabric of the city. If you look at many of Karl’s photographs over the years they are of the marks and scuffs of the city and the accidental sculptures that the city throws up.”

Barking (2010)

Barking in many ways represents a new chapter for the band. There seems to be a sense of positivity and joy permeating the visuals and music. The tradition of collaboration that has occured between Tomato and Underworld seems to now be informing the music, as each track features a guest producer. It’s truly exciting to see a band and design studio continue to push their already considerably expanded creative boundaries.

John talks in more detail about the creation of the artwork

“On hearing the initial versions of the tracks and in conversation with both Rick and Karl the (reborn?) energy was evident and ‘of its time’. A counter-point to ‘Oblivion With Bells’. Of course our conversations are not purely about music or imagery they are about many things, including general cultural & social matters. All of this combined to make the colourful deconstructed ‘mess’ that became the cover. One other important intervention in this process was the excitement that both Karl and Rick felt for some work for the live shows that they had been doing with Toby Vogel (who assembles and creates the live show projections). This work deconstructed the face (or number of faces)  into a sort of surrealist ‘photo-fit’ or more accurately ‘photo-doesn’t fit’. There is an energy in montage/collage, and this work seemed to vindicate the work that had already had been started.”

“Although it might been seen as a radical departure from ‘Oblivion’ in many ways, it is the same thing but with colour so there is a continuity but from a different angle. I’m sure there will be a few comments about ‘my child of 6 could have done this’. well, if its that good i take it as a compliment.”

Barking Singles—
Scribble
Always Loved A Film

“There is no ‘final’ version. There are subtleties that distinguish all the sleeves (standard cd, deluxe dvd, vinyl, special boxed edition and their electronic equivalents). The sleeve was assembled over a period of time, some elements came, some went, others subsumed. The source material came from randomly searching the net on a day to day basis and then rebuilding/translating what was found. During this period Simon had sent through some drawings that Dexter had done on the portraits of every member of tomato/underworld and then sent through some other drawings that Dexter had done. so i used these. If my 6 year son had done the same at that point in time or had any of the other children in tomato i would have used them.”

“Fans of underworld and tomato shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve always been interested in detritus. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde ‘lying in the gutter looking at the stars’. With us it’s more like ‘lying in the gutter looking at the sodden newspaper floating above’. This time it’s the electronic gutter.”

*

I’d like to extend a huge thank you to John Warwicker for donating his time and thoughts to this discussion. It’s not every day that you get the chance to chat with one of your idols about their craft.

And a huge thanks to you for reading. If you’ve enjoyed the article please tell your friends, and make sure that you purchase a copy of Barking when it’s released on September 2nd.

Underworld
Underworld Wiki
Underworld Twitter
tomato
Tomato Wiki

I’ve been beyond slack with this, but in my defense it’s been a relatively busy few weeks.

In the last fortnight I’ve applied for a few studio and in-house jobs in Sydney and London, designed a wine label, completed new work for Modcoms, written articles for the Powerhouse Museum, made numerous design experiments, completed an interview with lovely design and lifestyle blog Far Out Brussel Sprout and even conducted a talk on my work and freelancing life at Newcastle University.

Over the course of these busy 14 days I’ve been listening to

I’ve read the astoundingly great Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

Loved these newspaper haikus by Tomato

Their new work for Nouvelle Vague is beyond great too.

I’ve been knocked out by the sheer visual poetry of Terrence Malick’s early films

And (largely based on this interview) I’ve developed a new found appreciation for the work of Harmony Korine

That lovely poster features a still of Chloe Sevigny, bringing me nicely into Big Love – a show that I’m very late to the party with but am completely hooked on.

I’m also digging the logo for Sevigny’s fashion line. Great colours, great typography. Anyone know who did this?

I’ve been amazed by the Flying Lotus augmented reality app Fieldlines

Still yet to grab a copy of Cosmogramma though.

I’ve greatly appreciated and enjoyed the new typography-in-music blog Rock That Font. Fantastic to see so much analysis, historical research and personal insight into a topic that doesn’t get nearly enough airtime.

I was quite impressed by John Squire‘s design skills, demonstrated in these new covers for Penguin

And as usual, I’ve been loving some of the latest discoveries by Dominic Hofstede and contributors at Recollection.

That’s me, more or less, up to the minute.
Lots more coming soon.

What have you been up to?

*(sorry trees)
Vince Frost

A chronicle of Frost’s journey from London to Sydney, and from Pentagram associate to international design icon. This is a fantastic book with the right balance of eye-candy and information, exploring case studies spanning from the mid 90′s to the present day. Simply one of the best and most inspiring designers working today.

Not sure what stock used was, but it feels incredible and is unlike any other book I’ve held. I can’t recall any other book typeset in Franklin Gothic Bold either, but it works.

Love the black on fluoro-orange cover too.

Cover Art By: New Music Graphics
Adrian Shaughnessy

One of my favourite books. Cover Art By is an indispensable guide to some of the best in contemporary music design, and features the likes of Julian House, Kim Hiorthoy, Rune Mortensen, Steve Byram, Jeff Jank and Grandpeople.

It’s great to just flick through and enjoy the hundred of images, but there’s actually some quite in-depth interviews with the artists and designers profiled, as well as detailed information on all the images.

Typeset in Lineto’s Simple— which is a personal favourite.

Made You Look / Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far
Stefan Sagmeister

If you don’t own both of these books, stop reading and purchase them immediately.

Sagmeister’s two books compliment each other nicely, and not just because they are identical in size. Made You Look doccuments Sagmeister’s life (literally from day one) and professional development, and provides one of the most honest & candid accounts of the design business you’ll ever read. Things I Have Learned… is more of a design exercise than an autobiography, but it still essentially picks up where Made You Look left off, and examines where Sagmeister’s journey has taken him and where it might go next. Very inspiring.

Both books are also incredibly rich in content and detail too, with visual gags and little anecdotes hidden throughout.

Vaughan Oliver: Visceral Pleasures
Rick Poynor

The amazing, inimitable Vaughan Oliver. Poynor’s book chronicles almost all of Oliver’s career, and provides plenty of images and insight into his work with 4AD. This is one of my most read and beloved design books.

display copy only, a book of intro work
Intro

This is extremely hard to get hold of, but it’s well worth hunting down, particularly if you’re as huge a fan of Julian House & Mat Cook as I am.

There’s a great forward by Intro founder Adrian Shaughnessy, followed by another great forward by John O’Reilly, but beyond that there are very few words. This is no bad thing when you’re treated to the beyond-brilliant work the studio has done for Stereolab, Broadcast, Primal Scream, and Depeche Mode to name just a few.

Plastered. The Poster Art of Australian Popular Music
Murray Walding / Nick Vukovic

Like Symbols of Australia this book is the result of a labour of love, and it too is a must have for any lovers of Australian design. It features an abundance of music related poster art collected from the 1950′s to the present day, and is an absolute feast for the eyes.

There’s plenty of information about each period, interviews with selected designers and artists, and almost all the posters are annotated.

Perfection.

Perverse Optimist
Tibor Kalman / Peter Hall

This book will make you a better designer and a better human being.

Mmm Skyscraper I Love You
John Warwicker & Karl Hyde

A non-musical collaboration between one of my favourite studios Tomato and one of my favourite bands Underworld. This book is essentially a typographic map of New York, taking in the architecture, culture and movement of the city and translating it into designs built from abstract illustrations and fonts.

It’s part concrete poetry and part experimental sketchbook. A dark, dense and hugely compelling exploration of the city that never sleeps.

I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy yet, by John Warwicker’s new book The Floating World looks incredible too.

Non Format Love Song
Non Format

Who doesn’t love Non Format? Their work is big, bold and incredibly sexy. It’s what the future should look like. The sheer volume of incredible images makes you forget that it’s pretty light on written content. It contains quite a few images that are only available in this book too, including a selection of fantastic typographic experiments.

Pure, unadulterated, and delicious eye candy.

The End Of Print
David Carson / Lewis Blackwell

Carson is probably the most contested and debated designer of all time. Few designers inspire such extreme positions of love and hate within the industry. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, there’s no denying his influence, particularly during the 90′s where his gritty, digital, rule-breaking designs changed everything.

There are a number of books by and about Carson, but this is my favourite. It contains mini essays on Carson by luminaries such as Tibor Kalman and Douglas Coupland, and covers some of his best work, including the groundbreaking designs for Ray Gun Magazine

Town Of Mirrors
Robert Pollard

While I don’t listen to Guided By Voices much these days, they provided much of the soundtrack to my high school years. Singer Robert Pollard composed not only most of the band’s music, but also the artwork for their album covers.

Pollard’s collage art is sublime, quite surreal and mostly quite minimalist. There’s a great deal of humour and fun (as well as some darker material) in there, and you can see Pollard’s love for vintage film and animation in almost every image.

As well as all the artwork for Guided By Voices, there’s a huge amount of content from Pollard’s personal sketchbooks and collections, some of which is published for the first time in this book. Great stuff.

Jazz Covers
Joaquim Paulo / Julius Widemann

Of all my many Taschen books, this is my most prized – a bumper collection of Jazz record covers, from the iconic cool of the 50′sBlue Note era to the explosion of colour and psychedelia inspired by the jazz-fusion records of the 70′s. The book also contains interviews with design giants like Rudy Van Gelder.

I bought this one while in New York last year, and I pick it up and flick through at least once a week. Superb.

I’d love to know some of your favourite art and design books, particularly some of the more obscure and vintage in your collection. Feel free to leave a note below.