︎ ︎ ︎ Mixcloud / Spotify
Santiago is an artist and illustrator based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Hi there Santiago! Can you tell us a little bit about your tape and your song selections?
Hello! I envisioned this party where everyone is a bit confused because the DJ doesn’t seem to be playing any bangers. I love things that feel almost like something, but not quite, and there is something off in this party - in a good way.
There’s a lot of percussion oriented grooves, some more voice commanded, one or two danceables, a tongue-in-cheek intro, a break from the beats, an outro - it gets weird! To be listened to in a non-party setting too.
How did you go about the artwork?
I was thinking that the people involved in this party would be asking themselves ‘uh, but how do you dance to this… ‘. I was putting some references to the content of the playlist itself here and there, and thought that one of the two main characters is definitely a tiger. Everyone in the scene is mildly confused but they are enjoying themselves.
What are your fave album covers, records with a great music and artwork combo, or musical projects with a visual component?
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain – Pavement
1994, Matador
I really like all of Pavement's album covers, their sloppy-yet-spontanous, breaking down structures, yet keeping it melodic and digestible attitude had such a big impact on my drawings. It feels very honest and carefree. See also the darker sibling Sister by Sonic Youth.
Richard D. James Album – Aphex Twin
1996, Warp Records
Artwork: Richard D. James
This guy. It's such a sinister picture, but he doesn't take himself very seriously. I love that combination.
Ummagumma – Pink Floyd1969, Harvest
Design: Hipgnosis
Anything touched by Storm Thorgerson, especially. He with his partners Hipgnosis had a talent for turning mundane scenarios into these surreal landscapes. Terrific photographs on their own too, I steal their compositions a lot for drawings and my Instagram pictures.
Tour de France – Kraftwerk1983, Kling Klang / EMI
Design: Hipgnosis
Kraftwerk has this collection of covers that represent exactly the content within. There's so much movement, so few colours and it's so slanted. Bonus mention to the original Trans Europe Express cover with all the band posing as if it were a 40s movie poster, wearing suits and looking in different directions. And that little pin, so much going on here, so plastic, tongue in cheek...
Post – Björk1995, One Little Indian
Design: Me Company
Photography: Stephane Sednaoui
This just says Björk so much, look at all those colours and that shoulder tilt as if she was about to come forward.
What did you listen to growing up?
At home there would be a lot of classical music and classic rock around. I also loved video game soundtracks, especially the original Metal Gear Solid, that combined with watching Pink Floyd's The Wall DVD repeatedly is what I blame for my ingrained love of atmospheric music.
My first big music love affair was with Nine Inch Nails, that then brought me to many others, David Bowie most notably. At the time I was also really into Tool, Deftones, Sigur Rós, Joy Division, Radiohead, Björk. Pavement and Aphex Twin came along holding hands with all the others too. There were often mixtape CDs and MP3s exchanges with friends, and friends' older brothers who were this mystic source of musical knowledge.
I'm in the midst of a few projects that at the moment of writing I don’t know if I can talk about them, but other than that I just keep drawing. On the topic of crossing sound and vision, I'm also trying to prepare a performance of some music I made last year, so fingers crossed that happens!
Where can we find you?
Here is the number 1 source for all my art:
︎ @tabrrna
Thank you Santiago!
TRACKLIST
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - You Can't Force a Dance / Party / Super Secret Lo-Fi Beat Collective - Kept Crystal Castles / Thom Yorke - YouWouldn'tLikeMeWhenI'mAngry / TSVI - Root / OOIOO - moss trumpeter / 33EMYBW - Popop / David Byrne - Strange Overtones / Global Goon - Dance Seven / Ogoya Nengo And The Dodo Women’s Group - Ohangla I / Animal Collective - We Tigers / Kraftwerk - Metal on Metal [2009 Remaster] / Nine Inch Nails - You Know Who You Are / Deradoorian - Weed Jam / Holly Herndon - Chorus / Aphex Twin - T69 collapse / NEU! - Super 78 ︎