We're hoping to catch up with Alex soon to discuss his highly original and groundbreaking work - Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves. This photographic project and book really is a labour of love and does justice to all the creativity that went into the visuals of the Record sleeves. Through Alex's work we can see how the select locations across London were used to shape the albums' identity. It's British Reggae History captured to perfection.
The official profile reads as below: Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London is a project by photographer Alex Bartsch documenting reggae album covers shot in London between 1967 and 1988. After years of research, and working in close collaboration with Al ‘Fingers’ Newman of One Love Books, Bartsch has identified and photographed more than 50 UK reggae sleeves in their original locations, holding them up at arm’s length to blend in with their surroundings, decades later. Presented in this way, the images document the passing of time, and provide a fascinating insight into the history of reggae music in the UK, a largely overlooked but immensely important part of Britain’s popular culture and musical identity. | To augment the photographs, Bartsch and Newman have traced and interviewed people that were involved in the album in some way, be it the original artist, photographer, designer or somebody from the record label. Excerpts from these interviews, which provide rich cultural and historical context to the album covers, are included alongside each photograph.
|
Alex Bartsch's Covers Photography and Reggae History Explored
We're hoping to catch up with Alex soon to discuss his highly original and groundbreaking work - Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves. This photographic project and book really is a labour of love and does justice to all the creativity that went into the visuals of the Record sleeves. Through Alex's work we can see how the select locations across London were used to shape the albums' identity. It's British Reggae History captured to perfection.
The official profile reads as below:
Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London is a project by photographer Alex Bartsch documenting reggae album covers shot in London between 1967 and
1988. After years of research, and working in close collaboration with Al
‘Fingers’ Newman of One Love Books, Bartsch has identified and
photographed more than 50 UK reggae sleeves in their original locations,
holding them up at arm’s length to blend in with their
surroundings, decades later. Presented in this way, the images document
the passing of time, and provide a fascinating insight into the history of
reggae music in the UK, a largely overlooked but immensely important part
of Britain’s popular culture and musical identity.
To augment the photographs, Bartsch and Newman have traced and interviewed
people that were involved in the album in some way, be it the original artist,
photographer, designer or somebody from the record label. Excerpts from these
interviews, which provide rich cultural and historical context to the
album covers, are included alongside each photograph.
Visually stunning and contextually fascinating, the book will appeal to those
interested in reggae, vintage album cover art and the historical documentation
of London and other parts of the UK, as well as the broader evolution of
popular culture in Britain.
• Fifty reggae record covers – by artists including Alton Ellis, John Holt,
Peter Tosh, Smiley Culture, and Bob Marley & The Wailers, on iconic labels
such as Trojan, Pama, Greensleeves, Bamboo and Ariwa – reshot in their original
London locations.
• Previously unpublished photographs by Ged Grimmel, Noel Hawks and Syd
Shelton.
• Excerpts from new interviews with people involved in the creation of the
record covers.
• A fascinating insight into London’s role in the story of Jamaican music.
