David Shrigley for Chic, Jeremy Deller for James Blake – just some of the dream creative/musical pairings of Pressing Matters
The series of one-off records curated by Pavement Licker is being auctioned to raise money for mental health and addiction charity Music Support.
Pressing Matters is a new collaborative project between the music and creative industries aiming to raise funds for mental health and addiction charity Music Support. Curated by creative duo Pavement Licker – graphic artist James-Lee Duffy and writer Josh Jones – the project began by inviting musicians, labels and managers to donate vinyls, test pressings and acetates of their records. Then, a star-studded list of contemporary artists were asked to design cover artwork for each record. The results see dream creative pairings come together, such as David Shrigley and Chic, Jeremy Deller and James Blake, Larry Achiampong and Michael Kiwanuka, Joy Yamusangie and Underworld, Sarah Maple and Frank Turner, Jean Jullien and Idles, James Joyce and Fatboy Slim, and Jamie Reid and Slowthai.
Duffy and Jones, aka Pavement Licker, aimed to pair each record with a visual artist befitting its genre and themes. For example Jamie Reid’s artwork for Slowthai’s Fear is the Key saw “a perfect pairing of punks,” says Duffy, Reid employing marker pen, photocopy and collage in his cover art. Fatboy Slim donated a very rare acetate of Gutter/Stars, cut for his Glastonbury performance, and in turn James Joyce has created a collapsed smiley face, a playful take on the acid house symbol. And according to the curators, Larry Achiampong jumped at the chance to create something for the test pressing of Kiwanuka. “I’m so excited to collaborate with his work on this project,” the artist says in a statement about the show. “I love his music and I loved his debut album — such a soulful, beautiful soul!”
The final pieces are being exhibited and auctioned at Matches Fashion’s space in London's Mayfair until 29 May, organised by Helium London, with profits going to Music Support. You can also register to bid on the online auction via the Helium website.
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David Shrigley for Chic (Copyright © Pressing Matters, and the artists, 2021)
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Jenny is online editor of It’s Nice That, overseeing all our editorial output. She was previously It’s Nice That’s news editor. Get in touch with any big creative stories, tips, pitches, news and opinions, or questions about all things editorial.