See the Sound: Homegrown Album Art That Transcends Traditional Visuals

Gone are the days of polished and glossy covers that showcase the artists' glamour and glitz. Instead, many musicians are opting for a more raw and personal approach, creating album covers that reflect their personality and artistic vision. They capture the spirit of the times and define the cultural landscape of an era. Here’s a comprehensive list of generation-defining album art.

1. TERI MAIYAT KE GAANE by Chaar Diwari

   Art by Sahil Singh

Chaar Diwari’s EP ‘TERI MAIYAT KE GAANE’  is characterised by an organised chaotic energy that is both raw and deeply textured, and it begs to be screamed into a void. At its core, this EP is rage-fuelled and experimental, with lyrics that explore themes of anger, frustration, and angst.

The album art for ‘TERI MAIYAT KE GAANE’, created by artist Sahil Singh, is a striking and gritty representation of the music contained within the EP. The artwork is textured and grainy, with an unpolished feel that perfectly captures the raw sound. The inspiration for the artwork comes from a photograph of Chaar Diwari, which is rendered by Sahil Singh to seem familiar and strange, with distorted proportions that hint at the experimental and chaotic nature of the music.

2. Tabia by Prabh Deep

Prabh Deep’s concept album ‘Tabia’ explores the artist's journey of self-actualisation.  As he voices the silences between his thoughts and the inner workings of his mind, he recounts the delicate moves he makes as he navigates through turmoil.

‘Tabia’ in Punjabi refers to moves made in the strategic game of chess, and Prabh Deep’s album art conveys exactly that. It features the artist as a chess piece on a chessboard, which reflects the album's theme of carefully navigating through life's challenges. The walls that surround the chessboard suggest confinement and limitation, while the clear blue sky suggests a sense of freedom and endless possibility. This reflects the inner conflict and tension that plagues the rapper’s mind as he verbalises the fragility of choices.

3. Bismillah by Peter Cat Recording Co.

‘Bismillah’ is a genre-fluid album by Peter Cat Recording Co. with an emphasis on its groovy and jazz-centric sounds. The album art features PCRC’s frontman Suryakant Sawhney’s father-in-law who likes to say "Bismillah" when he has a drink. This detail makes for an offbeat album cover and adds an element of quirk and culture to the experimental soundscapes of Peter Cat Recording Co. 

4. Nakshatra by DRV

Art by Yung Wuz

As rapper-producer DRV undertakes a tumultuous spiritual journey on his third album ‘Nakshatra’, his versatility expands and forms a soundscape that is both dreamy and sobering. 

The artwork, created by Yung Wuz, depicts DRV facing a vast and otherworldly mountain range, set against a backdrop of twinkling stars in the night sky. The album art evokes a sense of solitude and introspection, capturing the intense spiritual journey that DRV embarks upon in the music. ​​The album art invites the viewer to join DRV on his journey, to explore the boundless expanse of the human soul and the power of self-discovery.

5. Saacha Sahib by Kanishk Seth, Kavita Seth, Javed Bashir

Art by Adarsh Panicker, Shikha Sharma

This experimental yet cohesive record treads unfamiliar waters with a fusion of Hindi classical and electronica. ‘Saacha Sahib’ explores the impermanence of life and navigates mysticism. 

The cover art for "Saacha Sahib" is a captivating and thought-provoking image that perfectly complements the experimental and mystical nature of the music contained within the album. The digital illustration features a monochromatic colour scheme, with shades of black and white. At the centre of the art, a larger-than-life meditative figure sits in deep meditation, his eyes closed and his body perfectly still and is faced with a smaller figure that stands contemplatively.

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