On creating Lorde:
"I came up with the name Lorde after looking through aristocratic titles. 'Lord' is a super masculine word, so I added an 'e' to make it feminine. [Her real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor.] I like the musician James Blake, but I also listen to Drake and Nicki Minaj. For me, rapping is a barely contained dream. When it comes to career goals, if I think of myself as cool in five years, then I'm doing all right."
VH1 Interview
Lorde’s obsession with aristocracy carries over into her smash single, “Royals,” which was just covered in concert by Selena Gomez. While Gomez lives the life of a rich and famous teen pop queen, Lorde wanted the song and music video to reflect her humble roots and the humdrum lifestyles of average teens.
Lorde explained, “I guess I just wanted to portray the side of being a teenager which isn’t like super glamorous or whatever. Half the time it’s really boring and terrible. You don’t want to be there.”
Interview Magazine
AGE: 16
HOMETOWN: I'm a Kiwi. I'm from a beach suburb called Takapuna, which is on the north shore of Auckland in New Zealand. I go to Takapuna Grammar School, where I'm studying for an International Baccalaureate. It's busy!
THE REAL LORDE: My name is Ella, that's who I am at school, hanging out with friends, while I'm doing homework. But when I'm up on stage, Lorde is a character. My friends actually find that really difficult to digest, separating me from the theatrical character they see on stage [laughs]; but they're getting used to it. When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought ‘Lord' was super rad, but really masculine—ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy. So to make Lord more feminine, I just put an ‘e' on the end! Some people think it's religious, but it's not.
FINDING TIME FOR HIGH SCHOOL: My parents are really onto it; they know what young people need. My mum takes my iPhone off me at night, because I need to do homework and sleep, otherwise I'd spend all night on Facebook and Instagram. I'm in year 11, my second-to-last year of school. I love learning, but at the same time I love being in the studio and learning new things there. My parents are pretty good; they understand what I really want. If I do decide to leave school at the end of this year, that's a bridge we'll cross. But I do, one day, still really want to go to University, to study media and film probably.
FINDING A CAREER IN MUSIC: As a young teen, I went to a lot of David Lynch films, I read a lot of strange books, I loved to go to the museum all day. I was that kid. I liked to hang out with people older than me, I didn't really know what I wanted to do—writing and singing was just a hobby. But sometime in the last 18 months, working on The Love Club with Universal, I was just like, "This is what I want to do." Now I'm travelling to New York because of it! I've watched so many movies [about New York], but I've never really travelled, I've never even been on a plane, so I'm very excited.
THE DEBUT EP: Around the middle of last year I started listening to a lot of rap, like Nicki Minaj and Drake, as well as pop singers like Lana Del Rey. They all sing about such opulence, stuff that just didn't relate to me—or anyone that I knew. I began thinking, "How are we listening to this? It's completely irrelevant." I basically just wrote what we were all thinking. I tend to start with a full set of lyrics, and then my producer, Joel Little, and I work on the music collaboratively. As I've become more musically competent, we'll start with a beat, but everything revolves around the lyrics. I wanted to put the EP up for free because being teenager, and not having a credit card—I mean, who has a credit card at 16?!—I just thought people my age would appreciate it.
DEALING WITH HER RISING FAME: That's the good thing about starting off in New Zealand, there is absolutely no concept of "celebrity" or fame. "Famous" people here, likeShortland Street actors, you all have mutual friends on Facebook, you know? Yeah, people are starting to recognize me now, which is kind of weird. But in New Zealand, it's easy to hide from that stuff. I think I'm really lucky to have a great family... I go to a public school, and you know, it's been a really hot summer here... and when I walk into class and my entire back is covered in sweat, I'm like, "I'm definitely not that cool." I think growing up in New Zealand, it's easy to keep grounded. But I have two sisters, one older and one younger, and it's fun for them. I've started to be given all this free stuff, so I give it to them. [laughs]
DOWNTIME: I go out a lot. But bearing in mind the drinking age, which is 18 in New Zealand, I just spend a lot of time not being asleep. I go to house parties in the suburbs. I love photography; I'll sometimes go down to this quarry in Auckland that they've leveled out to create this kind of manufactured Pleasantville suburb called Stonefields. My friends who can drive (I'm not allowed to get my license yet, they've raised the age here) take me there sometimes; we fool around and take lots of pictures. But at the moment, I'm concentrating on the new album. I have a really cool idea for a song, so even though it's Saturday, I'll be going into the studio to figure that out.
I remembered I had looked at this book last year so I went back to the library to see if I could find some good examples inside.
Ochs, M (2005). 1000 Record Covers. Germany: Taschen . p526 p622 p528.
These two caught my eye due to the range of similar colours used alongside each other. The simplicity of the designs allows for a lot of colour as it doesn't overcrowd it, I'm not sure I like the orange and the pink next to each other in the Pet Shops Boys cover it feels as though they are too similar and begin to merge into one, it is hard for our eyes to distinguish between the two.
This ties in with the research for my essay with the key theme that 'sex sells.' This is a good example of how something doesn't even have to connote the song but can just be shocking or appealing to a certain audience. Flash is a rock band and the target audience of this is males, they would find this visually attractive and would pick up on it immediately.
Hypgnosis: Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd - Storm Thorgerson
One of the most famous album cover designs known to majority of people, designed by Thorgerson 1973. Although I understand why this is a good, clean design I wouldn't say that it was one of the best that I have seen. I say this mainly because I feel that it is quite 2D with little visual depth, it doesn't make me want to go pick it up or question the designs meaning. I like that there is only a slight bit of colour used, that catches my attention as it contrasts the dark background, similar to this the white also offers a stark difference that allows it to stand out more. It feels slightly bland, it would be interesting to see how it would look on different types of stock that have more texture, I feel this would make it more interesting.
Hipgnosis: Brand X - Unorthodox Behaviour - Aubrey Powell/Peter Chistopherson
Consistency throughout a design is something that I really like and seems to be something that often catches my eye. The lines running up the design almost create a steady constant rhythm, broken by something that draws the intrigued audience in. It makes me question who that man is and who he is hiding from or looking for? My eyes are first drawn to the character behind the blinds due to the broken symmetry, followed closely by being drawn to the title and song title. This hierarchy happens quickly and all information is gathered easily it is not confusing but clearly presents all key information with an interesting design behind.
Rafale - Rock it, Don't stop it
Usually if I saw an album cover with this many colours I would be put off immediately but because of the simplicity of the design and the simple block colour background I think it works really well. The colours feel warm and friendly with just hints of cold and dark colours, this could be a connotation of the song perhaps. Again symmetry is something I find makes a design more visually pleasing to the audience and this is a great example of it due to the simple dome shape used as a base. The title in the center at the top makes it easily readable, I like the chunky font used, it is dominant and feels simple and in keeping with the theme.
Warpaint - Chis Cunningham
Composition is a key element I believe to creating a successful album cover design, I either prefer the design to be way off centre perhaps in a corner or dead central and the main focus of the 7 x 7 area. In this case we are drawn straight to the woman in the centre, the three overlapped photos enhance the depth and layers and make it feel more creative. The use of opacity here makes it slightly confusing but easy to decipher the figures as its surroundings are very simple with little distraction. It seems as though just three colours have been used here but overlapping them has created a whole spectrum in between this, the colours are bright and quite warm with connotations of happiness, this slightly juxtaposes the dark womans' expression in the center.
Peter Saville - Unknown Pleasures (Joy Division)
The use of lines is something I really appreciate, they can be so simple alone but make something much more complex when used together. The points at which the ends of the lines stop creates a defined edge with using any vertical lines, this almost creates an illusion of shape. There is no exact symmetry in the shape of the 'mountains' but I think overall there is a general match of either side. I feel as though this could have been made a lot more exciting if the lines were coloured or even if the background was a different colour, although I think the composition and layout is good I don't think I would be drawn to this in a shop if I hadn't ever seen it before.
Art director: Richard Robinson, Photographer: Mads Perch
The bright colours were what attracted me to this design in particular, I love the mixture of colours and how they seem to blend into one, I think this is a rare occasion where lots of colours together work. I haven't listened to the song because I wanted to look at these album covers and base my opinion on only the design, in this case I would presume the song is bright and happy, I also think that it may have some hidden message or theme due to the blurriness. The blurriness is continued in the typography, as it is broken and disjointed, I like how it is still readable but an average typeface hasn't been used, it makes it look more creative and appealing.
Repetition is something that seems to catch my eye often when looking for inspiration in design, I like a flow or continual use of an object or shape to create a pattern. I immediately thought of the moon cycle when I saw this, it looks like it shows the positioning of them moon orbiting although I am unsure why there is a break. Alternatively a second connotation led me to believe that the break was there so that the letter 'C' was created, a faint shadow around the edge also highlights the presence of the letter 'O'. These are the two letters which represent the words 'Out Cold.'
Deception is something that I believe captures the audience, it is a trick that makes them look deeper into the design and appreciate the quality of it. In this case the birds wings seem to overlap onto one another making it slightly confusing to decipher which wings belong to which birds. This is my favourite design that I have seen so far, I like the central positioning and the white space around it. There is no colour but the black and white brings a strong presence and the white connotes peace and sincerity, this compensates the lack of colour. It would be interesting to see how maybe just one colour would look added into the design and if this would throw the balance of illusion.
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