Phantasmagoria in Blue - Album Art

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"Phantasmagoria in Blue" is Mick Harvey’s new album of duets in collaboration with Mexican artist Amanda Acevedo.

The album contains 14 tracks sourced from existing duets, songs that previously were not duets, translations from Spanish and a sprinkling of original compositions. Thematically it explores

the perennial themes of mortality, love and mankind’s search for meaning as well as an enthused engagement with the enigmatic and mythical. Harvey and Acevedo met several years ago in Mexico City, but it was during 2020/21 that the project burst into life, as ideas were exchanged across

the oceans and through the ether. The resulting collection of songs is lush and sweeping in its emotional content and is full of nourishment for the imagination and the senses.

(by Mute Records)

About artwork:

Title, tracklist, and their thematic essence swiftly guided my design vision. The primary source of my inspiration was drawn from the cover of Leonard Cohen's "New Skin for the Old Ceremony" album—an imagery derived from the alchemical manuscript: Rosarium philosophorum.

The album itself resonates with a plethora of whimsical creatures, evoking a sense of longing and

a fairy-tale-like aura. However, the main symbol representing its essence is the captivating siren.

In sync with Amanda's unique and rich artistic style, I aimed for a careful balance. Our primary objective was to create an album visual that not only piqued interest but also made the audience want to explore further. What secrets were waiting on the back cover? What enchanting surprises hid within the booklet? We wanted to spark excitement upon opening the CD packaging.

Confidently, I can say that we succeeded in achieving these goals.

Above: close ups of the CD format.

The spiral inside of the CD cover was writtten by Mick Harvey and as I really liked his handwriting,with little editing, it became a part of the final design.