Illustrated Tapes 131: Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss
Curated by Anya Perepelkina
09.10.21
spoti.fi/3oRgy0p
Curated by Anya Perepelkina
09.10.21
spoti.fi/3oRgy0p
Anya is an illustrator based in Chelyabinsk, Russia
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Hey Anya. Can you tell us a little bit about your tape and your song selections?
Whenever I feel like I’ve been putting things off and the deadlines are coming up, I always press play on songs that make me feel powerful and like a girlboss in a non-ironic way. It’s not so much about the way it sounds as it is about the way it makes me feel. I put all of these tracks on my tape so we can smash those deadlines and shatter the glass ceiling and grab our dreams by the balls together!
What direction did you take with your cover art, and what was your process?
I wanted my cover art to feature a very feminine person feeling their power and living their fantasy. It’s heavily inspired by Charli XCX, Kim Petras and other hyperpop girls. I imagined something that they could actually put on their album covers and went from there!
What are your fave album covers, records with a great music and artwork combo, or musical projects with a visual component?
Lorde came out with a companion piece to Solar Power titled Te Ao Mārama and the cover art for it is strikingly beautiful. I’ve been really enjoying her visuals for this era and this was a total cherry on top! And another one I remember actually catching my breath is Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. I by Foals (one of my all-time faves!), which is also a total no skip album for me.
Te Ao Mārama – Lorde
2021, Universal Music NZ
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2021, Universal Music NZ
Artwork: Rei Hamon
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 1 – Foals
2019, Warner Bros.
2019, Warner Bros.
Design: Mike Lythgoe
Photography; Vicente Muñoz
Photography; Vicente Muñoz
What did you listen to growing up?
Growing up in Russia, I listened to a lot of Russian music. I remember one of my favorite cassette tapes was Irina Saltykova’s ‘Blue Eyes’, which came out in 1996 and it’s also the year I was born! The music is very 90s Russian pop, but the cassette cover was so fascinating to me I could literally look at it for hours as a child – the flyer inside was frayed at the edges because I would pull it out every day and just stare at it. I feel like I should actually include it as one of my fave album covers in the previous question… And then the music video for the title track is what dreams are made of! A LOT of animal print, lip glitter, very voluminous blowouts – it’s a slay yes mama boots the house down moment if I’ve ever seen one.
Lorde really hit that sweet spot with her comeback album – I know a lot of people were underwhelmed by her direction but it really spoke to me in those last hot summer days! Years & Years have also been coming out with new music and I can’t wait for their new album next year. Other than that, I’ve actually been listening to my tape! :-)
What’s happening in your creative world at the moment?
I have a Skillshare class out (and working on a second one)! It’s all about getting inspiration from your everyday routine and turning that into a cool & simple frame-by-frame animation. You can check it out here!
I have a Skillshare class out (and working on a second one)! It’s all about getting inspiration from your everyday routine and turning that into a cool & simple frame-by-frame animation. You can check it out here!