A chat with Robert Beatty and Ariel Pink on their recent record sleeve collaboration

Back in September in the run up to the release of Ariel Pink’s 11th album you may have spotted some promotional posters or a sleeve that made you look twice. Of course, like many of the greatest sleeves and art direction for music of recent years, the creative campaign for Ariel Pink’s Dedicated to Bobby Jameson was led by Robert Beatty, a name you’ll recognise from being stamped on endless thank you’s on the back of records, from Thee Oh Sees to Kesha.

But for this campaign, Robert was enlisted to do something that showed a twist on his frequent psychedelic stylistic tendencies. We had a chat with both Robert and Ariel on their admiration for each other to find out how this one of a kind sleeve was created.

Can you tell us about Bobby Jameson, when you first listened to him and how this grew into dedicating a record to him?

Ariel: It was a decision I made just in the course of reading his personal blog. A friend of mine sent me a YouTube link of him about a year and a half ago. Check him out. 

What was your relationship with Ariel Pink before this release? Are you a fan of his releases?

Robert: I’ve been a huge fan of Ariel’s music for a long time now. The way I found out about his stuff is kind of strange: around 2003 I played in a band called Ulysses with Robert Schneider and John Ferguson from The Apples in Stereo. John’s dad played with R. Stevie Moore in the 70s so John has known R. Stevie his whole life.

R. Stevie had a bunch of weird Angelfire fan sites for John’s bands and made one for Ulysses and there was also a site with a bunch of Ariel’s art and music. I was honestly more impressed with Ariel’s drawings than the music at first, but I saw him open for Animal Collective in Lexington on his first big tour in 2004 I think, it was a totally insane brilliant mess and I became a fan after that. All that said, we had never communicated until working on this album art together.

What attracted you to Robert Beatty’s style of work?

Ariel: His record sleeves are everywhere. It’s totally idiosyncratic and his surrealist airbrush slimer aesthetic reminds me of those Germanofone CD bootlegs of those 70s Thirsty Moon and Embryo albums. I thought it would be a good fit, but I asked him not to do his signature Beatty style and though it does have this indelible quality to it I think he did a heck of a job. It was a breeze and privilege. 

Was there any kind of brief given to you – if so what? 

Robert: Mexican Summer reached out to me to see if I would be interested and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. When they told me the title of the record I had listened to both Ariel and Bobby Jameson’s album Color Him In within the past week, so it felt like it was meant to be.

I spent an hour or so talking to Ariel on the phone to figure out what he was looking for. Before I even spoke with him I knew doing something for him would be different than what I’m usually asked to do. What I do for most artists wouldn’t have worked for Ariel and I have been listening to his music for so long that I felt like I had to do it justice in the way it deserved.

We talked about the art for The Doldrums and capturing some of the vibe of his earlier releases. Ariel definitely didn’t want the airbrush style which I didn’t think was appropriate for his music anyway, and after we talked for a while there came a point in the conversation where I could tell he realised I knew his music very well and that he was in good hands. 

How did you work together on the sleeve design? Were there any references you gave him for inspiration?

Ariel: Yeah we spoke a few times and I felt we were on the same wavelength. I just sent him a few images for him to play with and incorporate and he was off running with all sorts of stuff.  

Was it a continuous conversation between you and Ariel or did he leave to you get on with it? 

Robert: I was basically supplied with a bunch of stuff at the beginning and then we passed things back and forth as I was working. What ended up being the back cover was what I was working on as the front cover for the first rounds of drafts. Once I started working on the back we both felt like it was a more evocative image and captured the feel of the record better. A bit more shrouded in the camp Halloween vibe than the other image, something classic and a bit grotesque.

What is your process for creating a record sleeve in general and did this release differ from the usual method? 

Robert: I usually try to get the feel of the record before I start working on it, and in this case a strong presence was already there just based on the music, the title, and Charlotte Ercoli’s photos. It’s really just about seeing where ideas take you and what works and this one came together pretty quickly.

What do you think Robert’s final design displays about the record if you’re just looking at and haven’t heard it yet?

Ariel: I love the design! It’s got an air of mystery and a classic sense of space, like “oh I wanna go wherever that is” kind of vibe.

Robert, can you tell us about your own musical projects that you do alongside your design work?

• Robert:* I’ve played in the band Hair Police since 2001, we all do our own things more full time now, but we end up playing a show every year or so and are working on a new record. I’ve had a few solo projects, Three Legged Race, Ed Sunspot, and now I mostly play live under my own name. I also make a fair amount of work with the Resonant Hole project, which is a shifting collective of Lexington artists and musicians making warped mutant pop music. Hopefully I’ll be doing a cover for some of my own music soon (or better yet getting someone else to do it, ha!).