REACHING HOME

A discussion with artist Jerry Jean on the album cover design for his latest album, Do We Reach Home.

Art Design: Charlene Kaye Photography: Shervin Lainez 

I love this time of year for Indie artists! As a member of The Recording Academy, I get to interact with the most inspiring artists and that is certainly the case with Jerry Jean. He posted the album cover for his latest album, Do We Reach Home, and immediately, I was so struck by its design. But what was odd to me was, in fact, that I didn’t know why I was so mesmerized by it. The cover design is fairly simple; a black and white photo of Jerry Jean staring right at you. So, I decided to sit down with him and discuss the cover design for his latest album. Enjoy!

RoticTalk: Thank you Jerry for taking the time to talk to me about the album cover design for your latest album, Do We Reach Home. You collaborated with art director Charlene Kaye. How did your collaboration begin? Jerry Jean: I first worked with Charlene on the album cover for my second EP, Your Love, in 2015. I loved her design work for NYC indie musicians, which was circulating on social media, and we had some mutual friends. I shot her an email, and we instantly knew how to talk to each other. Charlene’s an indie musician herself, and she just gets it.   RoticTalk: What was the process like in creating this album cover? How did you and Charlene land on the final design and photograph? Jerry Jean: It all began with a photo shoot with the aesthetically minded Shervin Lainez at his Williamsmburg, Brooklyn studio. I wore the black leather jacket I’ve owned for over 10 years. The photo we landed on, shot in black and white, was a perennial favorite from the shoot, and it inspired a monochromatic look for the full album design. I made an album cover mock-up with titling using picture editing apps on my phone, and sent some references to Charlene. I initially overlaid some warped effects onto the image using the apps, but we decided against them.

She introduced the idea of gold text and went to work perfecting the cover photo placement, lettering, and designed the full CD booklet and vinyl packaging.  Both the CD and vinyl packaging contain many subtle gold designs by Charlene, including a special radar graphic under the CD tray, a starry backsplash on the vinyl gatefold of lyrics, and unique, understated gold ribbons that accompany song titles in the interior. RoticTalk: What message were you hoping to send with this cover image? Why does this particular image represent the music inside? Jerry Jean: The cover photo, combined with a thin Avenir Light font, connotes a timeless vibe and an air of mystery. It’s seems both retro and modern, and that duality was intentional. There’s yin-yang in the photo because such polar synergy exists in the music: The songs on Do We Reach Home contain classical orchestrations in addition to very modern sounds. Thematically, the album grapples with age-old concerns like love and justice, just as much as it struggles with the social disconnection in the smart phone era. It’s an old-school analog record as well as a future-seeking body of work.

RoticTalk: Were there any other design concepts you were considering for the cover design? Jerry Jean: I initially played with a profile photo idea, or a 3/4 facial view, as well as abstract concepts. But looking straight into the camera - locking eyes with the viewer - was what really landed emotionally. As humans, we can be frightened by eye contact, but we’re also drawn to it. It’s one of the most powerful ways to connect.

RoticTalk: When I first saw the cover, your image and expression immediately brought the famous album cover for Patti Smith’s Horses to my mind. Were you inspired by this design or any other cover designs in creating your design for Do We Reach Home? Jerry Jean: That’s an iconic image. Although it wasn’t specifically in my headspace during the making of my album cover, I was actually fascinated with the black and white photos by Robert Mapplethorpe when I was introduced to his work in college. He photographed Patti Smith, so there was certainly an influence on me whether consciously or subconsciously.

I was initially inspired by the cover art for singer James Blake’s self-titled album, as well as Beck’s Morning Phase. Those covers feature portrait photos that are distorted with effects. But I ultimately decided against shrouding my album image, since I wanted a cover that would mirror the earnest nature of my music.

RoticTalk: What struck me so much when I received your package is that there were both the CD and the vinyl albums of Do We Reach Home inside. Even though the images are the same, I was so fascinated with the vinyl album cover simply because the size brought me immediately into your gaze. With the comeback of vinyl, do you think artists will put a greater emphasis and concept on their album cover designs even more? Jerry Jean: I believe so. The size of the LP makes it significantly more alluring as an art piece, and I know of quite a few people who have purchased my vinyl album for display, and they don’t even own a record player! Vinyl records, with their accompanying artwork, are tangible, satisfying objects that connect us back in time. It’s all drenched in nostalgia. As we get further away from physical albums in the streaming age (where we don’t even have liner notes), a desire to re-connect with something you can hold will likely deepen. And musicians who want to make something especially artful with physical packaging will keep making literal records.