The history of Spiritualized's 1997 album art and their approach to making music as a form of therapy –
The title of the album was taken from Jostein Gaarder’s 1991 philosophical fiction novel Sophie’s World from the line: “Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen,’ they yell, ‘we are floating in space!’ But none of the people down there care.” This context of philosophers feeling perhaps a tad lonely in their pursuit of knowledge is reflected in the lonely tone of the music throughout the album.
If you are feeling lonely and worthless, however, fear not, Spiritualized produced the cure through not just sound, but vision too. The marketing for this album coupled with the novel and quite frankly astounding music made for an incredible work of art. The cover art for the album was a triumph due to its intense simplicity which draws the eye in an unexpected manner. The artist Mark Farrow was inspired by the words “music is medicine for the soul” which he recalls Pierce saying when they first met to discuss the aesthetic direction for the album. With this, Farrow set about designing the sleeve in a way that made the album appear like a medical product... [read more]