for Bands, Brands & Fans
It all started with an «AAAA» moment.
I said: «Little, there's an A missing».
The rest is history.
As a designer, you don't want to leave anything to chance. At the same time, however, it is essential to let go in the creative process and simply let things take their course. We know this phenomenon as «serendipity». The intensive examination of the topic, thorough research and sleepless nights play a decisive role in ensuring that the “aha moment” occurs at some point.
Love at first sight
It happened when I was playing piano for the Big Band Liechtenstein at a studio live session in October 2018: I immediately fell in love with the incomparable ambience and the unique concept created by owner and creative mind «LITTLE» Konzett of LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS . Anyone who has experienced such a studio live session - either as a musician or as a viewer - just wants to be there again and again.
Studio Live Session with Olivia Chindamo, Willie Murillo and Big Band Liechtenstein in October 2018
«But before we turn away, I sincerely want to play.»
I wish you bluebirds in the spring, to give your heart a song to sing.
I followed my heart and approached LITTLE with widened pupils. I wanted to know more about his AAA concept (Analog Recording, Analog Mix, Analog Mastering). His passion as an «audio photographer» (as he calls himself) to capture musical moments on analog tape made sense to me - after all, I am also a child of analog musical instruments, recording devices and recording media. And yes, I also gave away my vinyls, my Roland TR808 and my Fostex tape machine back then and have deeply regretted it to this day.
It was a time when songs like «Da Da Da» in der Hitparade liefen - ich kann mich noch gut daran erinnern, wie ich im Alter von nur gerade 10 Jahren die erste DDD-Produktion in Händen hielt. The CD «Tricycle» by Flim & The BB's was one of the first jazz albums to be digitally recorded, mastered and released. And now, 25 years later, someone in tiny Liechtenstein is planning to rewind everything from DDD to AAA. I, who was able to witness the rapid change from Plaka to Illustrator, from Omnichrom to 16-bit color monitors, from Ilford photo paper to inkjet, from 35mm film to CGI and from stopmotion to keyframe animation during my professional career, could immediately understand his passion for analog media. As a “digital immigrant with a letterpress background”, it was literally an «AAAA» moment.
The «AAAA» Moment
I said «Little, Triple-A sounds great, but how about an extra A that stands for "Analog Letterpress Covers”?». Little is a real design and technology aficionado, so his pupils now widened, too.
Just the next day, I put a stack of my hand-printed posters, cards and print tests on his analog SSL mixing console, and we started brainstorming ideas for our “Limited Art Edition” vinyl covers.
The rest is history.
LITTLE and PHIL
Rest of the story: Good things come to those who wait.
As I was still working in a marketing job and hardly had any time, progress was a little slow. But the idea of designing analog record covers and printing them myself never left me. I started to familiarize myself with the subject again at Typorama in Bischofszell. A crushed fingernail and weeks later I had a prototype for the anniversary cover of Pink Ribbon Liechtenstein in my hands. At the same time, I spoke to Remi Nescher, the owner of Gutenberg Printing, and reminded him of our old plans to reactivate the dusty fonts and presses stacked up in the cellar.
Initial skepticism was gradually replaced by widespread enthusiasm. I tidied up, organized fonts and blank material, repaired old shelves. Highlight of the clear-out: discovery and reanimation of a beautiful old Korrex Berlin. A 50 x 70 cm press large enough to print gatefold record covers.
A Helvetic letter salad
Korrex Berlin being repaired
First test print with Remi Nescher from Gutenberg Druck AG
Big Band Liechtenstein: Limited Vinyls and Posters
In September 2023, it was time to do a «reality check» and produce prototype album covers and posters. I had just designed the new logo for the Big Band Liechtenstein, so it made sense to design a poster with a new look for the 40th anniversary tour with our long-time friend and star trumpeter James Morrison I also started designing a limited art edition record cover, which I completed in April 2024. The result is something to be listened to and looked at - it's called «Life's a Pitch» and offers first-class big band jazz with a selection of songs from the 2018 live session with Olivia Chindamo and Willie Murillo. By purchasing the album, you are also supporting a good cause: all proceeds from the limited edition of 100 copies, sponsored by Philipp Büchel, Gutenberg AG and myself, will go to the Big Band Liechtenstein association. Details about the Limited Art Edition...
Big Band Limited Art Edition Vinyl: Cover
Big Band Limited Art Edition Vinyl:
Sleeve and vinyl record
Big Band Liechtenstein & James Morrison 40 Years Anniversary Tour Poster
Wood and lead type composition of the Big Band poster
Big Band Limited Art Edition Vinyl:
Close-up of the inside spread
Incognito: Use music to bring us together
November 1 and 2, 2023 was an absolute highlight: «Incognito» performed two studio live sessions in a row at LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS. As I've been a huge fan of Bluey and Incognito since my youth, I was of course particularly excited. I was anything but disappointed - on the contrary: the band blew us all away. The Live Stream went through the roof.
Bluey also impressed us on a human level: his way of paying tribute to the band and the individual musicians at every opportunity is unique. So it was that he captivated us all with an emotional speech at the end of the first session.
I got up at 4 a.m. that same night because I couldn't let go of one thought: I wanted to immortalize the essence of his speech on a poster and make it a gift for him and his band.
Bluey/Incognito Poster
Limited Edition #1 (Original - 14 pcs)
Bluey/Incognito Poster
Limited Edition #2 (XMas - 84 pcs)
Bluey/Incognito Poster
Limited Edition #3 (Rainbow - 60 pcs)
Bluey/Incognito Poster «Rainbow»
20 of 60 signed by Bluey & Philipp
Said and done.
I boiled down Bluey's message to the most important statements and created the wood and lead type composition. The fact that I didn't have all the letters from the chosen fonts forced me to mix them up a bit - normally a typographic «no-go». But these little challenges are exactly what I love about letterpress printing. They force me to show perfectionism my middle finger repeatedly, make quick decisions and get the best out of the options available.
The result: The first edition (14 copies in black/red) was intended for the band. I had them signed by Bluey and the whole band on the same day and gave one to each band member. The second edition, the Christmas Edition (80 copies in silver/gold) was a Christmas present for friends and backers. A few copies of the 3rd edition (50 copies in Rainbow Colors) are still available - 10 percent of the proceeds go to Pink Ribbon Liechtenstein.
Let it all roll away – «A.i.R. Session» mit Shawn Jones
The idea of «A.i.R. Sessions» (short for «Artist in Residence» or - in my world - «Artist in Resonance») has existed as a concept on paper and in our heads for some time. The basic idea: to spend time with artists before a studio live session and allow them to focus on preparing for their performance while giving free play to their creativity. This can include developing new songs, designing potential album covers, or simply having inspiring conversations in the studio, in the car, or in nature. The resulting creative output serves as marketing material for social media etc. and as additional inspiration for the artists and the audience at the studio live session that follows.
With the Studio Live Session, which took place at LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS in May 2024, we wanted to realize such an «A.i.R. Session» for the first time. Actions speak louder than words. So, several weeks before Shawn arrived, I started talking to him, not knowing where exactly the journey would lead. From the first second I realized that I was dealing with an extremely profound, peace-loving and passionate person, which made me feel extremely confident. This allowed me to let go, and when Shawn showed up, I had a conversation with him for almost five hours, trusting that we would end up with an essence, a thought or a story that would touch us all.
And so it was. While it would be impossible to boil down the content of a five-hour conversation to a single truth, we ended up with a simple but powerful plan: together we designed a letterpress poster with the lines «Let it roll away. The next thing you know, it's all gonna roll your way» from his single «Roll Away», released in May 2024.
«Ich bin mir endgültig sicher.» (I'm definitely sure.)
November 23, 2023 was a landmark day for me in many ways. On one hand, I celebrated my 50th birthday with seven magnum bottles plus a 12-liter bottle of red wine, and on the other, I was able to present the first prototypes of the Limited Art Edition by jan SEVEN dettwyler at the VP Bank Session that evening. How this came about and what Jan, Little, VP Bank and the 7+1 wine bottles have to do with it, is a longer story. However, from that day on, I was certain that I would live my life even more intensely and in resonance with design and music.
The story behind jan SEVEN dettwyler's Limited Art Edition Vinyl & Cover Art
But “long story short”: in spring 2023, I was already able to tackle creative development of VP Bank Session together with the VP Bank team and LITTLE. A few creative brainstorming sessions and brand workshops later, it was clear that two unique additional aspects would be added to the already magical Studio Live Session: One, the experience from the live session should not “only” be recorded on analog tape as usual, but on top be cut live on an original lacquer master. This recording resulted in a limited edition of 100 vinyl records, each handmade and individually signed and numbered. These records offer a unique opportunity to be part of this musical journey and invest in this magical moment. On the other hand, the income generated from this and ongoing collaborations will contribute to the long-term development of VP Bank Session to become a talent promotion platform.
