COVER ART made by Knut @ EardrumsPop.

This time, our interview is with Andrej Dolinka, our Graphic Designer. You can find the interview here.

THE BOOKLET is designed by Julia Pax and put together in InDesign by Andrej Dolinka.
View the booklet.

PROBLEMS DOWNLOADING? If you have problems downloading the single-zip, try downloading through this link instead.

Watch the video for “Hymn The Girl” here:

ABOUT THE CANDY STRYPERS

The Candy Strypers is Paul Hughes, and this is his own presentation of himself and his music.

“I’m 30, from Manchester, UK. I’ve been in love with melodic guitar pop forever, but it took me till my early twenties to pick up a guitar. I played drums in a band when I was at school, so I bought a drumkit as well, then some recording software and started writing songs. This is my first official ‘release’ – I hope you enjoy it! Check out my Soundcloud page for more music.”

http://soundcloud.com/the-candy-strypers
https://twitter.com/#!/magicHughesy
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Candy-Strypers/33204779407

ABOUT THE COVERED BAND: THE MAGNETIC FIELDS

We have encouraged the single-bands to make a cover version of a song they think deserve more attention. The Candy Strypers have chosen to cover “Born on a train”, originally performed by The Magnetic Fields.The original can be found on The Magnetic Fields’ album “The Charm of the Highway Strip” from 1994.

You can see the official video for the song here:

official website: http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/

 …AND ANOTHER THING…

This single has the catalog number ePop021. The previous single had the catalog number ePop019.
So…

Andrej Dolinka is the man who has been responsible for putting together most of the booklets for the EardrumsPop-singles. Andrej is leaving the ePop-team now, to focus on some of his other projects. We are truly thankful for the wonderful work he has done for us!

This is our Designer Interview with Andrej Dolinka:

Could you tell us how you started working with art and design?

– I studied to become an architect, but somewhere along the way I took a left turn and decided to go with graphic design instead. Oh, and the things I produce aren’t art, although I work in the field of contemporary art a lot. It becomes rather obvious that I tend to escape large words, narratives and mythical implications of creation.

I felt a bit small and lost in the field (or rather — space) of architecture. So I followed a good friend of mine, also an architect, on his escape route towards a visual discipline that usually handles smaller scales and two-dimensional space. We started working together and learned the trade as we went. It was scary at first, but we’ve managed. Now I work as the head designer at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade (Serbia) and he is a designer/artist living and working in New York.

What are you working on right now?

– At the moment I’m juggling several books and exhibition catalogues, a CD cover for my brother’s band, and a few pro bono projects, one of them being EardrumsPop singles.

What are your favourite tools?

– When I work I need a piece of paper and a pencil. That’s where it all begins. I usually write more than sketch — that’s how I conceptualize. After that I go to the Swiss Army knife — either one of the three computers I use on a daily basis.

Who /What are your greatest visual inspirations?

– This question is a bit like asking me about my top ten favourite bands ever. I don’t know. It shifts a lot, and constantly so. This week I’m back to Peter Saville, for instance. And I’ve re-read Tom Wolfe’s Bauhaus or Our House a few days ago, so I’m struck with different architectural influences, from Gropius, Mies, Corbu and Niemeyer to Koolhaas. Ask me next week and it might be Jan Tschichold on a meeting with Emigré and Gus Van Sant in an architectural fantasy created by Ivan Leonidov.

Is music or other forms of art an inspiration? If so, what do you listen to?

– I am believed to be an avid music listener, although I have to admit my habit is growing thinner. And I’ve always found more inspiration for my work in other forms of art than I did in music. My background as a listener is filled with indie, shoegaze and lo-fi bedroom pop, but I’ve been shifting towards more abstract sounds for some time now. I’ve been revisiting the Stars of the Lid discography lately and I’m close to pronouncing them *the* band of my life.

Describe an average working day!

– I don’t work in a style. I use a graphic language that suits the particular project and the concept I developed for it the best. Is there a prize for the most boring answer ever? OK, I guess that someone who sees my work could point a finger and shout: minimalist!, or (super-)modernist!, or sentimental and melancholic!

– I’d like to work on a project that would be at least borderline architectural. I’m starting to miss that, especially in a form of team work. And another thing that has nothing to do with visual culture: I’m trying to find a way and write more. A short story collection? Let’s call it a plan.

 Rumor has it that you’re leaving the Eardrums team. Any parting notes?

– I’m really glad I worked with the people at Eardrums. They’ve been doing great things for some time now. I’m leaving to be succeeded by Lisle from Tiny Fireflies/Fireflies/Very Truly Yours, one of my favourite authors. That’s just one of the things that shows what kind of a community we’re talking about.

 You can visit Andrej’s blog here: http://suprastudio.blogspot.com/

Until April 1st, you can download our compilation “Birdsongs, Beesongs” for free from http://www.eardrumspop.com/rerelease_bb/.

The compilation was released originally in the spring of 2009, and it has been unavailable for download for a long time now. For a little more than a week, until April 1st 2012, we will re-release this compilation, to celebrate Spring!

Hope you will enjoy it!

Alex Ostrowski made the cover art for our “A Good Crop”-compilation.

Alex Ostrowski is a graphic designer / illustrator working on freelance projects and interning

at various London studios. He enjoys raising a smile and splashing around plenty of colour.
Alex enjoys designing for music, including his band Kotki Dwa who are featured on the “A Good Crop”-compilation  with their track ‘Le Beau Charcutier’.

http://www.alexostrowski.com/ 

Souther Salazar made the cover art for our “A Good Crop” compilation.

Souther Salazar lives and works in Los Angeles. His artwork reinterprets the world making it
a mythical place of carnivals, lost cities, giant insects, dinosaurs, and a variety of other
animals. Souther mixes media, adding layers upon layers of storytelling making his work
something to explore for hours. Souther Salazar graduated with a BFA from Art Center in
Pasadena.

Souther Salazar’s work first began to circulate in the early 90′s, in the form of photocopied
cut-and-paste microcomics and ‘zines made in his bedroom as a young teenager in rural
Oakdale, CA. After graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, he moved
to Los Angeles. Souther Salazar exhibits his collages, paintings, drawings and sculptures in
dense and frenzied installations that encourage exploration and participation by the viewer.
His work has appeared in galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Portland and Tokyo, and in
publications such as Kramers Ergot, Swindle and The Drama and a recent cover feature in
Giant Robot. (Bio from jonathanlevinegallery.com)

You can follow Souther on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Souther-Salazar/32724086671

or buy some of his art on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/southersalazar

Julia Guther made the cover-art for “A Good Crop” Volume 3. She is also 1/2 of the collaboration project “Joel & Julia” from our collaboration compilation “Between Two Waves”.

Julia Guther is an illustrator and a musician, based in Germany. She completed her studies in
Visual Communication and Illustration at UdK Berlin and UWE, Bristol (UK). Guther works as a
freelance graphic designer for various publishers, magazines, newspapers and agencies around
the globe, predominantly in Berlin and Hamburg.
Julia Guther has done several interesting cd cover projects for the German label Morr Music,
including the albums from It’s a Musical, Butcher the Bar and Bobby & Blumm. Her own
musical project is also called Guther, and here she collaborates with Berend Intelmann and
Patrick Arp . The band is also connected to Morr Music, where they have released two albums,
their debut «I Know You Know» from 2003 and «Sundet» from 2006.

You can read, look and listen more on Julia Guther’s website or on Guther’s Myspace-site:
http://www.juliaguther.de | http://www.myspace.com/morrmusicguther

Alex Noriega made the cover-art for our first compilation “Summer’s Here!”. This is what he writes on his website “Stuff No One Told Me”:

“I´m Alex Noriega, a 30 years old fella from Barcelona. I was born and raised there, but I’m currently living in Maputo, Mozambique, where I spend my days drawing, reading and drawing even more.

When I finished high school, I went to an arts and illustration school in Barcelona named Llotja. Picasso’s father was a teacher there for a few years… and even Joan Miró studied there (he was actually born two blocks away from the school)

I lived in Holland for two years after I got my illustration degree. I worked as a janitor in a couple goverment buildings. It was a pretty interesting experience. I had tons of time to think and draw and I eventually started to work more and more as a freelance illustrator.

I went back to Barcelona and after a year I realized that the amount of illustration work that I was getting wouldn´t be enough to live by my own so I started to look for standard office jobs. I found one in a fashion company… I had no idea what I was getting into.

At the beginning it was tough because I had no idea of fashion nor interest in it, but after a while I found that I could actually do the work pretty well. I designed prints for t-shirts and underwear… they had to be very cute and I learned a lot about what sells and why.

At some point in 2010 I was going through a crisis due to some issues at work, so I decided to start this blog as a way of trying to find what I was doing wrong. I wanted to put on paper all that I had learned in life as simple as possible and try to see if what was happening around me made sense. It didn´t.

Now I don´t work in fashion anymore. I’m actually working on a graphic novel about what happened in that weird crisis. It’s going to be called “Anosmic”.

You can contact me through alx_noriega(at)hotmail(dot)com… please, write!

Thanks!”

Read Alex’ comics here: http://www.snotm.com/

Alex is also on Facebook, here: https://www.facebook.com/snotm
And he also has his own Sketch-blog, here: http://alexnoriegasketchblog.blogspot.com/

Simon Williams/ drinkmilk designed the cover art for “Birdsongs, Beesongs” volume C, and here follows a short email-interview with the artist. Williams a.k.a. Crayola is also a musician, and will release both a solo-album and an album by his band Sarandon this year.  The image below is his cover-art for his own solo-cd, released on Odd Box records 2010. The logo for the Odd Box label is also Williams’ creation. All illustrations shown in this presentation is made by drinkmilk/Williams.

1. Can you give me a short presentation of yourself and your art?

I have been drawing and designing seriously since the 1980s when I trained as a Screen Printer.
Currently I work as a Freelance Graphic Designer specialising in artwork for the music industry.
I also perform in the band Sarandon.

2. What are you working on right now?

I’m currently finishing off writing the new Sarandon album ready for recording in the late summer.

3. What are your favourite tools?

I couldn’t live without my Wacom tablet.

4. How do you begin / conceptualise a project?

If it’s a poster I’m designing then it’s simply a case starting to draw and seeing what happens.
If it’s a record cover or suchlike I will either be given a brief by the customer or I will work with any titles I’m given.

5. Who / what are your greatest Visual Inspirations?

I don’t have any particular inspirational figures.

6. Is music or other forms of art an inspiration? If so, what do you listen to?

Of course music is very important.
I suppose I listen to a wide range of things – anybody reading my blogs will know kind of where I come from musically.
A short list of favourites would include:
bIG fLAME, The Shrubs, Faust, Genesis, Gary Numan, Adam & The Ants, Status Quo, The Cannanes, The June Brides, DeSalvo, Dawson, The Dog Faced Hermans, The Nightingales, Woflhounds, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Napalm Death, The Ex, The Fall, Julian Cope, Thee Headcoats/Mighty Caesars/Etc.

7. Describe an average working day.

I have a day job that I do 9 to 5, so if I have any design work to do I will get up at around 4:30 to 5am and work before the children wake up.
Then it’s off to work, get home and play with the kids, put them to bed, eat food and watch TV.

8. What are your future plans? Any exciting things you are looking forward to?

As I mentioned above there is a new Sarandon album in progress.
Other than that I take one day at a time.

9. How would you like to end this interview?

I don’t really understand that question. Sorry.

You can learn more about Simon Williams/Crayola/drinkmilk from these websites:

http://drink-milk.net
http://sarandon.net
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarandon/6894447258
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crayola/119240587555?ref=ts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Williams_%28musician%29

(Some questions are stolen with permission from Jamie Ball’s interview series on his Visual journal).

Costa Rica-based illustrator Seniorita Polyester collaborated with Roller Monkey on making the cover for  “Between Two Waves” volume A.
Here is our interview with her.

1. Can you give me a short presentation of yourself and your art?
I’m seniorita polyester and i like to make illustrations and collages. Also i love scissors and knives.

2. What are you working on right now?
I’m working on some drawings for an upcoming exhibition and on some stuff for my etsy store. At the same time i’m working with my boyfriend (Roller Monkey) on our studio project and also we have a button factory called “Fábrica de Pines”

3. What are your favorite tools?
Mind and hands. Sometimes Photoshop.

4. How do you begin / conceptualize a project?
I don’t know. Every project is different, but generally i like make illustrations about personal feelings.

5. Who / what are your greatest Visual Inspirations?
Everything is a visual inspiration but i really like the work of Eduardo Recife, Richard Colman, Mark Ryden and some others.

6. Is music or other forms of art an inspiration? If so, what do you listen to?
Music is always an inspiration, i love to work with music on. My favourite singer is John Frusciante, i love him. Some of the genres i listen are screamo, folk, americana.

7. Describe an average working day.
I wake up late, i can’t wake up early! It’s a curse hahaha. Then i have my breakfast (tea and sometimes cereal) in front of the computer (near my boyfriend) and check my emails, reader, orders in the button factory. It takes me a lot of time to start to work, i’m lazy.

8. What are your future plans? Any exciting things you are looking forward to?
Finish the website of our studio project is one of the most important things to do right now. Also i want to travel and try to be more organized with my work. In some years I would love to have a bakery and a house in the woods.

9. How would you like to end this interview?
Espero que les haya gustadooooo… Chau!

You can see more of Seniorita Polyester’s work here:
http://www.senioritapolyester.com.ar
http://www.facebook.com/pages/seniorita-polyester/49814791802?ref=ts
http://scissorsandknives.wordpress.com/

Sathya Ranjana has made the cover for Baffin Island’s single on EardrumsPop.
She has her background from studies in Graphic Design and Fashion at Designschule München in Germany followed by Illustration studies at Designskolen Kolding in Denmark. Since then, she has been working on different projects and commissioned work as a freelance Illustrator and Artist. Her designs do not only concentrate on the  paper-medium, since she finds it interesting to combine different mediums and get tactile creations.
Here is our illustrator interview with her:

Can you give us a short presentation of yourself and your art?

- I grew up in a tiny village between meadows and woods and I think that influenced me and my art a lot. I still get my main inspiration through nature – no matter if that is a shape, colour or a feeling.

How did you get started in the illustration field?

- Hm, actually I started when I was a child. I loved to collect the impressions from the day and night and showed them in short stories, drawings and tiny selfmade books.
Later, after I didn´t feel satisfied with my Design studies in Munich I went to Denmark with the aim to focus on illustration. These studies in Denmark gave me a lot of power and new passion for my work.

What are you working on right now?

-Right now I´m working on a commissioned graphic design project and doing some free work for my exhibition in Munich.

What are your favourite tools?

-I love to work with card board and a lot of colours, I also often use ink on it.. I always have the feeling the illustrations start to live when they are on card board.
But the thing I like best is that you have the possibility to mix different tools as you want to.

Please tell us about the process of making the EardrumsPop-cover! Is this the way you usually work?

-I was thinking about a small mystical and colourful island that I don´t know, about the nature, the people and animals on this island and how they would live like… and then I just started. Oh and I listened to Baffin Island music to get a better feeling of the band.
Yes, I think that´s the way I often work.

Who / what are your greatest Visual Inspirations?

- A lot of things. And as I already mentioned, nature is one of my greatest visual inspiration. It´s always changing and you never have seen it all- always find something new, it´s powerful! I love the colours which are just `lying there´.
But also small things from everday life, like people on the street, houses, animals, cars..

Is music or other forms of art an inspiration? If so, what do you listen to?

-Yes music is inspiration as well, I listen a lot to Kim Hiorthøy when I´m working. And also any kind of text and books is a form of inspiration to me.

Describe an average working day.

- It´s never really the same.

How did you develop your style? Is it different now than when you started?

- I´m sure I developed my style but it´s hard to say how or why. I think it´s just a process of experimentation and on this way you will carry some things and detach yourself from other things.

What’s your favorite color?

- I can´t choose for one. I love colours and the combination of them – and the fact that your choice decides in which way the whole illustration affects people.

What are your future plans? Any exciting things you are looking forward to?

- I will work a lot with fashion the next time – that´s quite exciting I think.

What question and answer would you like to end this interview with?

- What did you believe in when you were a child?
- That everybody can fly!

Learn more about Sathya and her art on her website:

http://sathyaranjana.blogspot.com/