The Beatles

 

Over the duration of the quarantine and self isolating, I needed an escape and something to focus on from being stuck inside. I've always wanted to explore The Beatles' back catalogue but never had the time to do so - now I had plenty of time! I really found myself transported to another era through their early, muffled recordings of positive, catchy pop rock, to folk and soul, to outright psychedelia and art rock. They were the soundtrack to swinging 60s culture, the ultimate trendsetters and had an interesting linear progression; going from 4 young clean-cut local boys who evolved their image and sound informed by their experiences of travelling the world and experimenting with drugs. Their later compositions became more innovative, more lush, with multiple layers of playful sounds creating an intriguing ambience. It gave me a nostalgia of an era I wasn't even alive in and reinvigorated my interest in life and learning.

I saw parallels of their progression in myself of how I started out my practice as someone staying within the rules and not exploring beyond what was comfortable, to then being changed by life experiences, age and travelling, and a need to express myself in a more loose language.

I learned about the history of the vinyl covers for each record and how it informed a visual language of its own. The "Rubber Soul" era particularly interests me both musically and artistically. It was the first record of theirs not to feature their name, a testament to how big they had become. The font was created by Charles Front who was influenced by the album name and produced something akin to the globules from a rubber tree - starting narrow and then filling out. The rounded letters used on the sleeve established a style that became ubiquitous in psychedelic designs and a staple of poster art for the flower power generation. The elongated photo was entirely an accident when photographer Robert Freeman projected the image for the band onto cardboard but it fell slightly backwards.

This history of the vinyl is intriguing and showcases how the Beatles continued to test the limits during this time - something I wish to do with my practice.