The album cover, which in musician language is called “the visual“, is the first line of communication with the consumer or buyer if you prefer. This step is not to be taken lightly because it will be one of the strengths that will determine the success of the album !

Clearly, it has been proven that it is this first step that will sell the most records to the singer or musician concerned.

Nice cover = more sales… that’s for sure !

Then the story of this cover will be intimately linked. Which is why, when and how he made this cover. Is he telling a story through this cover ? Is he just expressing an emotion of the moment ? Or does he reveal or show a fantasy with his cover ?

There are many responses that are usually in the album when you press “PLAY”.

For my part, I have made more than ten albums with the different visuals that I will try to explain to you the history and the meaning below.

I would first like to thank my friend Ludovic LOISEAU, who had the idea for this article. We were drinking a beer on the terrace as I explained to him why I had made the visual for the single “MACRONIAVIRUS“. It turns out that he loved the story and suddenly he said to me : “now that I know that, I’m going to listen to the track again… but you should talk about it on your Blog because it’s really interesting to dive into the thought of an artist when he creates his project !”

Here is the story of the visuals of my albums which made me happy, sad, rebellious, anxious, nasty, vengeful, human… all in one !!!

2020 – MACRONIAVIRUS

Epic period for humanity in this month of May 2020, the human being is confined to his home… by force or voluntarily. It depends on how you look at the situation. I am bubbling. I want to say things, as always ! My big mouth can’t shut up ! So I make music because I have no choice ! By dint of speaking to put people in their place, it falls on me… I had the bitter experience… which still haunts me today, despite myself.

I observe the world… we are manipulated for the masks… there are some… oops, there are no more ! Uh bah nop ! In fact there are a few ! And by force we no longer know anything at all !

I have the light impression that the well-meaning people who run our country are messing up, getting lost in their contradictions… in short, all is well then !!! lol

The visual of MACRONIAVIRUS represents exactly this state of the moment. Colorful pyramids that represent power telling us it’s green, while it’s red etc. The discourse of politicians, and their behavior next to it… hence the different colored faces of each pyramid. With the silhouette of the virus appearing next to the title MACRONIAVIRUS.

The kind of little printed circuit boards you see above all of this is the BRAILLE language, the language of the blind people, with which it is written repeatedly “PANDEMIA PANDEMIA PANDEMIA PANDEMIA…”

2019 – QUANTUM ENERGY

A seemingly dark album, but full of in-depth analysis. We can see in transparency the “flower of life”, which is represented on many ancestral monuments around the world: passing through certain pyramids and which represents the “golden number” or the “continuation of FIBONACCI“…

Welcome to the magical and long-kept secret world of sacred geometry !

The Flower of Life is a concentrate of the golden ratio, of the Fibonacci sequence, it is represented by several circles which overlap and intersect. The starting point is the central circle. From its center develops a basic geometric structure that illustrates that all life forms from a single source such as cell division. Cell divisions continue until each life form has reached its right harmonious form. The golden ratio is found in all dimensions of the flower of life.

The titles are quite evocative too, just look at what they correspond to…

EXILIUM 1.0

EXILIUM means “exile” in Latin. A track that can be listened to over 20 minutes to escape in his head, even out of his body! Head for the stars ! And this cover is the eclipse that I photographed at 6:40 am in the middle of the Australian bush in 2012, but we’ll come back to that later. In any case, it seems to me well suited to go… where ? Up to you…

JURASSIC SOUNDS

Not much to say because the cover sticks to the skin, if we can say that it is a skeleton, a dinosaur, and the title is evocative! You should know that the title of an album is as important as the visual … otherwise … bowl!

The idea of this cover was to showcase a past era, hence the choice of the skeleton, but which is still relevant today as it is the story of our beautiful house: the earth.

Moreover, the scientist HUBERT REEVES speaks very well about it in the title “IMPACT“… what an honor to have had to work with this great man ! Thank you life !

2008/2021 – ARTHUR RIMBAUD Trilogy

The black visual of the 1st Volume was born during a nap, in the middle of a dream. I was beginning to know RIMBAUD’s work well. I had seen this light in him at the same time as the shadow he knew so well to describe in his texts. On the cover, his light is represented by the typo of his name in gold color. The shadow is the black background painted with the knife technique, by my cousin and painter IDA… with all the imperfections one can easily imagine in humans.

The sleeves of the 2nd and 3rd Volume are White and Red, which represents his temperament. Red can symbolize several conflicting values ​​at the same time such as love and hate, life and death. It also represents passion, temptation, fire, blood, forbidden, emotion, anger, aggressiveness, strength, power, power, luxury, energy, perseverance, combat and determination… all RIMBAUD what !!!

2015 – U.F.O

My album “UFO” was born after seeing a superb eclipse in 2012 in the Bush in Australia with my Aboriginal friend Phil. The urge to say what I was feeling at the time was too powerful to be able to express it! Finding myself on the axis of 3 stars and planets at the same time fascinated me for the second time, the first having taken place in 1999 in France. And all of a sudden I thought to myself that it was impossible to be alone in the universe.

Then my digital sculptor friend MARC BOULAY shows me his work on Aliens… and there, it’s the flash ! It’s exactly the same strength that emanated from this image compared to what I wanted to express : we are not alone !

Of course I don’t have proof, but it is an intimate conviction with all the questions that this may bring. And I think that must be felt well on the visual of this cover… and the general message of this album. Moreover, between the visual and the titles, it is without ambiguity I think, but that is only my opinion of course !

DIDGERIDOO LIVE IN ROMA

After doing a very special version of the track “NOTHING ELSE MATTERS” by the famous group METALLICA under the artist name “LE GRAND DUC DEEJAY“. Here I am invited to ROME in ITALY for 4 days of dreams in a universe worthy of the actor ROBERTO BENIGNI… to give a concert to a group of well-meaning people in a magnificent house ! And it was while walking in Rome that I was able to shoot this photo myself… it seems to me so well suited !

2014 – TYMPANUM

This hominid of the “GIGANTOPITHECUS BLACKI” type is the fruit of a magnificent work of my friend MARC BOULAY who also made the cover for UFO, do you remember ? … And yes, we do not change a winning team !

The idea was to have a visual that marks, that challenges, even shocks ! And this monkey, so to speak, represented for me the magnitude of the didgeridoo mixed with electro music. And at the same time, it represented a personal identification of the human being with the other. In fact, a lot of people in NEW YORK would ask me if it was me! And I answered them that “yes of course, it’s me when you get on my nerves, when I want to, when I fail, when I win, when I’m sad, when you don’t listen to me when I tell you. say that I love you, when someone pisses me off etc… ”

2011 – RISK OF DREAMS

I still have a love for “road movie“, because I think my life is, sort of. The guy who can’t keep still, always wanting to see what it is like elsewhere etc.

It was in this context that I imagined this cover with jeans pants and a leather jacket… the guy who keeps moving. Like the well-rooted covers of BOB DYLAN, BRUCE SPRINSTEEN etc. And it was also the desire to remove the shackles the Didgeridoo was in ! I wanted people to stop imagining me with my face full of Aboriginal paint. Not that I didn’t like it, on the contrary ! But because I am not an Aboriginal, quite simply! I work with Aboriginal friends, yes… but I don’t identify with them because I just feel good as I am. This does not prevent me from putting the Didgeridoo in color on this “RISK of DREAM” cover and me in black and white… and personally, I like the balance that it creates.

2008 – MASQ

This is the album that really troubled my life so much I played the game of breaking the masks! So much so that on the day of the photo shoot, with my excellent talented photographer friend BENJAMIN BENI, I really got naked and reflected on my attitude towards life… my life! And that day was the starting point for a great depression that lasted for 2 years. 2 years in a dark tunnel and in which my light, at the very end, was the discovery of ARTHUR RIMBAUD… who will have served as my guide in a way. So 2 years of composition between this album “MASQ” and the 1st Volume of ARTHUR RIMBAUD… with all the magic of seeing a peplum of artists like ARTHUR H, DENIS LAVANT, FABRICE EBOUE and so on… who understood them this phase of destruction / reconstruction more than those who judged me at the time… thank you guys ! And thank you life again !!!

2004 – VIBRATIONS et TECHNOLODIGE

Two sleeves which come from 2 superb paintings by the artist STEPHANIE DE BEAUVAIS whom I had met by chance during a market. She took me to her magnificent studio near the Eiffel Tower with a breathtaking view of our Iron Lady !

Always linked to the earth, the vibration of his painting resonated in me… and it was my first collaboration which made me understand how important the visual was!

1998 – ONE DIDGE… ONE BEAT

The album “One Didge … One Beat” never came out after several crappy hits from a songwriter I worked with, and a big record label that had totally screwed up at the time. Result: I abandoned the project. This allowed me to understand that you always have to take the time and choose your direction wisely. I was young and in too much of a hurry too.

However, the visual was really nice with this Kangaroo that I had pictured in the bush…

CONCLUSION :

So different images, paintings, photos, experiences! But what I remember today is a journey of which I do not have ONLY memories, but that sounds and covers can make us meet extraordinary people with whom we will share wonderful moments of exchanges and friendships… sometimes for a few minutes, and sometimes for years ! Once again… THANKS LIFE !!!

Raphaël Didjaman.

Ps :   If you have some magical stories to tell on your album covers, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments, I think it deserves to be read… 😉