An Ode to Robert Beatty
Graphic designer, Robert Beatty, holding album Days by Real Estate
Picture this. The year is 2015. If you are an avid listener of indie music the albums that seem to define this time period include, but are not limited to: Depression Cherry by Beach House, Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens, Art Angels by Grimes, and Vulnicura by Björk. You are sitting in your car on a hot summer night in July with the radio on full blast. Suddenly you hear a mans voice with a light Australian accent singing a trippy upbeat song, "…she was holding hands with Trevor…” What is this song? Who is Trevor? And why do I want more? The album ’Currents’ is the third studio album of iconic psychedelic indie pop band, Tame Impala. The best way to describe the songs on this critically acclaimed record are transcendental drugs for your ears. (If you would like to listen to the album while reading this post I attached it above, I promise it will give you instant serotonin.)
I could turn this entire blog post into a review of the discography from the genius that is Kevin Parker — the man behind Tame Impala. However, I would like to shift the focus from your ears to your eyes. A metallic sphere being hugged by lines of purple and black, slipping through a lava esc. color gradient. If you have ever looked at the Currents cover artwork you may have thought, ‘who designed this?’ Well that would be Robert Beatty.
Robert Beatty is a 40 year old graphic designer based in Kentucky and the mastermind behind some of the most iconic album art in the industry. Beatty started his career in 2001 as a musician in the noise rock band Hair Police. He later moved onto his solo project Three Legged Race, which is a mixture of avant-garde jazz and electronic music.
When I look at Beatty’s vast body of work I can’t help, but think of how design inherently has an impact on the way we experience music. His distinct style is packed with detail which lets the eye linger for a while and keeps the viewer engaged with his work. You can directly see the impact of surrealist works as well as the more tangible works of Japanese 80’s airbrush works.
While his most notable cover may be the Currents album I am here to share with you his other body of designs that you may recognize. If you love what you see below and want to check out more of his work you can go to his website https://robertbeattyart.com or follow him on Instagram @robertbeattyart. I also made a Spotify playlist with all of his covers linked here!
More of Beatty’s album art (from left to right) Kesha’s Rainbow, William Tyler’s Goes West, Bedouine’s Bird Songs of a Killjoy, Matt Duncan’s Soft Times, The Flaming Lips Oczy Mlody, Drug Dealer’s The End of Comedy, and GUM’s The Underdog.
Citation
https://robertbeattyart.com/Kesha-Rainbow
https://pitchfork.com/news/61806-album-artist-robert-beatty-tame-impala-neon-indian-featured-in-pitchforktvs-pitchfork-unsung/
https://creativemornings.com/talks/robert-beatty