CR has covered the artwork and record packaging efforts of musical duo UNKLE (James Lavelle and Pablo Clements) many times before. This latest release by the pair isn't a new album though - well, not in the traditional sense. It is, explains Lavelle in the enclosed sleevenotes, "a collection of pieces of music recorded in the two years since we completed War Stories (the last album)." The duo, along with Lavelle's brother, Aidan have started their own music production studio and have been working on music for film, television, computer games and collaborating with a selection of artists in the process. The release includes the music the studio created for Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones' BMW advert. "A lot of the music you're making [for these kinds of projects] ends up sitting on the shelf, neither properly released nor heard. A waste, really we thought. So this album," explains Lavelle, "is our attempt to alleviate our musical frustrations whilst hoping that it will find a wider audience." While the packaging of End Titles... Stories For Film doesn't quite live up to the vacuum-packed boxes that War Stories was packaged in, the embossed DVD-size case that our copy of End Titles arrived in is still an eye-catching one. Inside a glossy booklet features yet more work by Robert Del Naja (whose work adorns the cover shown above) and some rather nice portrait photography by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.

Nu Balearica mix by Fred Deakin

Fred Deakin hardly needs an introduction on this blog. His latest mix CD release, Nu Balearica (released on Ministry of Sound), comprises two CDs tucked into beutifully designed inner sleeves, both of which are housed, along with a booklet containing tracklist and sleevenotes, in a slipcase (shown above). A bellyband (not shown) displays the name of the album and lists some of the featured artists for shop-display purposes. The new release focuses on recently released dance records that all hark back to a time when dance music was emerging in the mid-80s in Ibiza – a genre of music that is variously described as cosmic, new disco, space disco and neo or nu-balearic. And - perhaps unsurprisingly - Deakin has created the artwork for the release himself, using colours and gradients that evoke the skies, seas and sands of island life. "It's got echoes of the first Lemon Jelly album [artwork]," explains Deakin of his sleeve design. "The notion of having a family of shapes that you build a pattern out of very organically is the foundation of this sleeve." The colours and gradients used are designed to evoke the skies, seas and sands of island life...

In the current (August) issue of CR are details of how to win a limited edition, signed and numbered print of artwork created for the album - print artwork shown below!

cYCLiCAL by iTALtEK

Having written about the two sleeves above, I realise I know nothing at all about iTALtEK other than writing the name with this mix of upper and lower cases is a bit of a chore... However, we really like this sleeve, designed by Ben Reece, hence its inclusion here. Label: Planet Mu.

Sleeve artwork for The Automatic

This Is A Fix is Welsh rockers The Automatic's second album on b-unique/Polydor and the art direction/design is by Kiosk with photography by Shaun Bloodworth. The sleeves have no text on them - just big removable stickers. Kiosk creative director, David Bailey says the sleeve of the album and of the single, Steve McQueen (below) is a "tip of the cap to Kubrick and a deliberate step away from the band's previous cartoon-like artwork." Album is released 25 August, single on 18th.

Cortical Songs by John Matthias and Nick Ryan


Really like designer and illustrator Cecilia Lindgren's approach to this sleeve for John Mathias and Nick Ryan's Cortical Song's release on Nonclassical Recordings.

Chemical Chords by Stereolab

French indie pop combo Stereolab have a new album on 4AD and it's jolly good. Wonderfully lo-fi artwork and design is by "the most expensive graphic designer in London," (according to Noel Gallagher), Julian House of Intro. If Creative Review recommended albums, we'd be recommending this.

Army of One by Somatic Responses

We're fans of the work of Substance - the duo that have created this artwork for the latest release from techno outfit, Somatic Responses: Army Of One. The artwork hasn't actually been printed yet - hence the flat graphic - the information at the top of the image will appear in the front-facing column of spine you get in a jewel cd case.

And last but not least, here's a sneaky preview of the front cover of the forthcoming Roots Manuva album, Slime and Reason, due for release in September:

Design is by Oscar & Ewan. Label: Big Dada