New Work: Roy Harper, ‘The BBC Tapes’

Harry Pearce has designed the sleeve art for the re-issue of The BBC Tapes, a set of CDs by cult singer/songwriter Roy Harper, released by Harper’s Science Friction Records.

Pearce’s design for the series emulates Harper’s subtle poetry in its central motif; portraits of Harper, taken during the period the recordings were made, have been cropped so that the singer’s eyes are the same size within each image; evoking the intensity and intimacy of the recordings. The simple, vertical typography, set in Akzidenz Grotesk, and monochromatic treatment of the photographs means that the most direct way of differentiating between CDs at a glance is through Harpers’ facial expressions.

Recorded at sessions for the BBC between 1969 and 1978, The BBC Tapes is a record of some incredible live performances by a legendary English maverick who has collaborated with Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush and Pink Floyd, amongst others.

Harper writes of the design: “To maximise an original intention, its packaging; the vehicle of its presentation to the world, should always aim to be more than the sum of the design. At best, it should always have its own complimentary but very separate meaning, which should transcend written explanation.

“I’ve known Harry for the past 27 years. Our friendship has developed in the crucible of many shared views of the nature of humanity and our response to it. The purity of the palette we have generally chosen to use for my work over the years exemplifies our shared belief in allowing images to speak for themselves. A lot of content that would seem to be inaccessible can be made more available with the help of commiserate imagery.”

Photography by Nick Turner.