“Immersion” by “Pendulum”

CD Album Textual Analysis 2

‘Immersion’ by ‘Pendulum’ Released 2010

Typography: the closest font I can find to the one used on this album front cover is a stretched out ‘impact’ font. The font is thick and although relatively small in size in comparison to the overwhelming image, it is a font that stands out. ‘Pendulum’ is prominent and not lost in the image. It is almost as if they are making a bold statement, that their band is clear and strong. The tinted grayish colour to the font although thickly applied is of a similar colour to the coral and depths of the ocean in the image. It both blends in and stands out. What is very conventional to the genre is how “pendulum’ is of a greater size than ‘immersion’, perhaps this is because this is the only manor in which the group can connect with their artists and emphasize their presence, as drum & bass album covers rarely have images of the artists.

In terms of the layout, if we use the rule of thirds as a template when analyzing the album cover the two people in the center of the image are the focal point, it is in the middle third if we split the image into a grid. Above the typography they lie, my eyes first noticed the people, then drifted down to the writing, and then finally embraced the surrounding, thriving reefs filled with animals and coral. Perhaps this is because the message the image is trying to convey is in the two people immersed in the water, and therefore they are the prominent element.

It is all one primary image that fills the entire album cover. The image is, to say the least, mesmerizing. Aquatic beings camouflaged amongst the corals and algae gathering to watch the two lovers. It is the illumination of their scales, their eyes, from the light seeping in through the waters surface that is truly beautiful. I cant help but believe this has religious connotations, the naked ness of the man and woman, in their primary state in a hedonistic universe parallels Adam and Eve, arguably, just underwater. It is here where we experience an image very conventional to the drum & bass genre, and image we cannot fully comprehend; something we cannot really relate to the artist specifically, but never the less a detailed complex image that evokes a clear emotional response.

Album front cover:

We can see how the colour has been carried forward to the two inside panes and onto the CD. The colours used are ones conventional to our delineations of the sea; blues, greens, iridescent colours that mimic the shimmering of water. What one may argue as unconventional to the genre is that these colours and the overall images create a very calm, tranquil atmosphere. Drum & bass is all about outlandish hectic colours and sounds, so this is somewhat subverted here. It is however still conventional in that the artwork is very intricately detailed and beautiful.

Same typography, layout, and image as the front cover on this inside pane. This is similar to the chase & status album analyzed. I’m assuming now that it is conventional to the genre to have the same image on more than one pane of the album, perhaps to reaffirm its message. This idea that the viewer cannot escape from it. it is consuming.

The image on the CD is of water trickling down. It is very beautiful and very realistic. It looks as if it is really trickling down the CD. The typography is of the same size and font as on the front cover and inside pane, in the same location also. The image of the jellyfish beside pendulum could be there to reflect the ‘natural’ side of the group. That their music is so mesmerizing and prepossessing that it is a part of nature. The jellyfish is of a translucent colour, illuminated somewhat, which keeps in with the fishes on the album’s front cover and inside pane. It is this revolving theme of nature that we cannot escape from when looking through each pane of the album. The use of a revolving theme is very conventional to the drum & bass genre; and the themes are mainly very unique or hard to understand.

Same colours and image of the depths of the ocean on designed on the pane behind the CD.Logos of Warna brothers. Institutional information on the CD then also.

Back Pane:

Conventional to the drum& bass genre to include track listings on the back pane of the album. The font has changed slightly from that used to write “Pendulum” on the album front cover, but I believe it is still the same font used to write “immersion” on the front cover. It is also much larger to allow for clarity when the person is looking at the back pane, as the image is still so overpowering. The colour has changed slightly, it is now more of a blue/green grey, what's quite artistic and alluring is how the colour of the font changes from where it is in the shadows to where it is illuminated by the sunlight seeping in. This has been digitally created and has given me an interesting, similar idea for my final design.

This revolving theme of nature and the sea is present here on the back pane clearly. We see the seeping sunlight again, which could perhaps be symbolic of freedom. The image is beautiful and conventional to the drum & bass genre because of this, literally, due to its picturesque design. The foundation of drum & bass culture besides music is artwork.

Institutional information and barcode. Warna brothers logo again, Cleary stated.