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Music

Meet the Artist Behind Ta-Ku's Gorgeous Floral Album Covers

Artist Samuel Burgess-Johnson crafts yet another colorful cover design.
Samuel Burgess-Johnson, Ta-Ku, "Down For You", Front Cover, Images courtesy of the artist

Last week, following the June 12th release of his new album, Songs To Make Up To, Australian beat maker Ta-Ku dropped a follow-up single entitled "Down For You", featuring singer Alina Baraz. The single's cover flaunts yet another beautiful floral decal from English art director and designer Samuel Burgess-Johnson. This isn't the first time we’ve seen the artist's work on a Ta-Ku release: he was also commissioned for cover art for Songs To Break Up To, Songs to Make Up To, and the Jaden Smith collaboration: Beast Mode.

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Burgess-Johnson creates dynamic floral images by photographing bouquets of flowers at various angles, against a black back drop reminscent of Dutch still-life paintings of the 1600s. From there, he pieces the series of photographs together and edits them to make one cohesive image. “I think the inspiration came from my own style initially," he tells The Creators Project. "I have always used a lot of florals in my work and my work was getting 'darker' so these two aesthetics eventually combined for these Ta-Ku projects. Obviously, it was also the concept of the EPs that lead me to these results; love, loss, heartbreak etc.”

Burgess-Johnson’s says that the beat maker from Perth has turned into one of his favorite clients. In this business, he explains, sometimes you need to have faith in the designer to deliver, “I think this work is a good example of what can be achieved when you put trust in the designer. Respecting the 'experts' opinion seems to be ignored a lot more in the graphic design industry than any other," he says.

Samuel Burgess-Johnson, Ta-ku - "Down For You" - Back Full.

Samuel Burgess-Johnson, Ta-Ku - STMUT - Front Cover.

Samuel Burgess-Johnson, Ta-Ku, STBUT, Front Cover.

As a break from his commissioned work, the graphic designer has also started experimenting with paint. These marble-like paintings developed through a "slow-burn" process of trial-and-error, mixing paints until they reacted with each other the way he wanted. He's reluctant to label the artworks, however, wary of shallow sentiments or meanings, “I want people to interpret the paintings for themselves, I don't want to dictate what people see in them, that is the fun.” He describes the paintings as frequently reflective of his state of mind at the moment of creation. “I paint more when I am fed up and going through a reclusive period," he elucidates. "Personally, for me they are an expression of accepting defeat against anxiety and disarray in life.”

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Samuel Burgess-Johnson, The Two Pillars (2015).

For more from Samuel Burgess-Johnson, check out his website and find Ta-Ku's new album on his Bandcamp page.

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