Client: The Null Corporation
Creative Director: John Crawford
Artwork for The Echo Chamber with Mike D
Recorded on various fixed and modular analog gear during a particularly gloomy and rainy winter in Jamestown, Washington 2020.
Having worked over a month without a single day off from my primary occupation as a graphic designer, all of the days started blending together. This music was made as an escape and coping mechanism (something to help my mind pull focus), but ironically ends up being something well suited to listen to while working.
Written and recorded in off hours, piecemeal — the patch would be left on the modular for days, waiting to be picked back up again. By the nature of analog modular, when I would go back to it there were tiny differences. There’s always differences. And you can’t go back; what has been recorded is all there is, even with patch notes you can’t get back to where you were. So you just continue, find the pulse, find the pattern and let that guide the process. Sometimes it’s seamless, other times you can hear that a day or more has passed. Time became a theme for this recording as the entire release uses a time-offset composition technique where notes will play, the come back delayed at various rates, which end up creating countermelodies. So this mixture of what is now and what was then ends up weaving together into melodic strands held in place by a clock. Pattern exploration and manipulation — natural cycles of starting slowly then a flurry of activity all leading to the eventual wind down. The work is palindromic in its nature. Complexity emerging from simplicity, and collapsing back on itself, Ouroboros like.
Released March 2, 2020
Written, recorded and mixed by Corey Holms
Mastered by Nathan Moody at Obsidian Sound
Available from Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon.
Exhausted Calm was recorded entirely on various fixed and modular analog synthesizers during the 2020 COVID lockdown in Jamestown, Washington. Increasingly bothered and overwhelmed by the 24/7 news onslaught, I stopped watching and reading all forms of news; this removal of constant, low-level dread and anxiety was followed by disengaging from social media for about half a year, adding to the pandemic's required physical isolation. It's like the feeling of relief to the period after experiencing an intense pain which finally subsides; all that is left is a low, throbbing, exhausted calm that completely takes over. This album is the exhausted calm of severing ties to the outside world for several months.
Written and recorded by Corey Holms
Produced, mixed and mastered by Nathan Moody at Obsidian Sound
Released December 01, 2020
Available from Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon.
The Deviations album by Nine Inch Nails, is a reimagining of The Fragile, where songs are reworked, remixed and made instrumental. It felt very appropriate then to recrop, and recontextualize the David Carson photography from The Fragile for the Deviations album to fit that theme. And importantly, it made sense to remove all text from an instrumental album, so there is no text on the jacket, or the sleeves at all.
Client: Nine Inch Nails
Creative Director: John Crawford
Photography and The Fragile Design: David Carson
Design: Corey Holms
I was commissioned by musician Nathan Moody to create the artwork for his space music album Heliopause. The design abstractly explains how heliopause worked; but in the style of a minimal maquette in a museum.
You can buy the album via his Bandcamp page, it's a really stunning piece of work.
Written and recorded in Jamestown, Washington from January to March 2019. All spoken word material is sourced from public domain recordings. Copyright pertains only to these specific musical compositions.
The songs were all recorded using the Birdkids Bateleur 42hp System. The drums are a mixture of the Bateleur, ALM Akemie's Taiko and various other modular sources.
Released March 29, 2019
Available on Bandcamp
Written, recorded and mixed by Corey Holms
Mastered by Nathan Moody at Obsidian Sound
I was asked to contribute a piece of art for the "i Shout for The Fall" exhibition for the Design Manchester 2018 festival. The brief was to create a visualization of words by Mark E Smith. I chose the song C.R.E.E.P. from The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall.
To execute my idea, I used a Smith Corona Standard typewriter.
Client: Nine Inch Nails
Creative Director: John Crawford
The Veneer Fades is my second release, available for free on Bandcamp.
Written and recorded in Jamestown, Washington from January to July 2018.
Released August 1, 2018
Written, recorded and mixed by Corey Holms
Mastered by Nathan Moody at Obsidian Sound
Written and recorded in Jamestown, Washington from May to December 2017. All of these songs were originally written as one minute songs uploaded to Instagram; the best of that period were chosen and expanded for this EP.
Released January 5, 2018
Available for free on Bandcamp.
Written, recorded and mixed by Corey Holms
Mastered by Nathan Moody
I was asked by Brett Wickens to co-design this remake of Malcom Garrett's classic Buzzcocks sleeve with him. This artwork was shown at the Orgasm Addict Reframed show, during Design Week Manchester.
Creative Director: Brett Wickens
Album design for the Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross soundtrack of the Ken Burns Vietnam War documentary.
Client: Trent Reznor
Creative Director: John Crawford
Design: Corey Holms
Typeface: Pitch by Kris Sowersby at Klim
I was incredibly fortunate to be asked to do the typography for the Chelsea Wolfe album "Hiss Spun".
Art Direction: John Crawford
Photography and Hair Typography: Bill Crisafi
Collage: Muted Fawn
Typography: Corey Holms
Typeface is Magpie by Vincent Connare via Typekit.
Nine Inch Nails : Not The Actual Events Vinyl EP
Each cover is given a variable amount of black powder that intermingles with the artwork, blurring what is printed and what is smudged. It also allows for each recipient to have a unique piece of art.
There is a varnish on the sleeve that when looked at in the light, allows the viewer to see alternate text messages.
Client: Nine Inch Nails
Creative Director: John Crawford
Design: Corey Holms
I was hired to design the Before The Flood soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Gustavo Santaolalla and Mogwai. The photography was provided by NASA from the Images of Change collection.
Client: Trent Reznor
Art Director: John Crawford
This award was presented to Robert Slimbach for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to the field of Typography on August 15, 2015 at TypeCon 2015: Condensed in Denver, CO. I originally created the file in Cinema 4D, rendered out some mockups, which was sent to Nathan Tremblay who manufactured the physical award.
The photography was done by Grant Hutchinson
This award was presented to Fred Smeijers for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to the field of Typography on August 26, 2016 at TypeCon 2015: Resound in Seattle, WA. I originally created the file in Cinema 4D, rendered out some mockups, which was sent to Nathan Tremblay who manufactured the physical award. The photography was done by Grant Hutchinson and Peter Bella.
Thanks to the Society of Typographic Aficionados for allowing me to design the award again. This is the final one of this series in this style as the award design will be handled by someone else next year. I was very fortunate to have been given this amount of leeway in designing an award.
I was hired by Nine Inch Nails to help with design on the Not The Actual Events EP. This is a portion of the campaign referred to as the Physical Component. When you bought the high resolution FLAC version of the EP, a black envelope containing this would show up at your house at a later, undisclosed date. When the envelope was opened a set of lyrics cards were revealed that were covered with an unnamed black powder. This powder inevitably got on both the cards and the recipient creating a unique interaction with the artwork for everyone. To me the idea of the artwork leaving a messy and dirty mark on the user fit perfectly with the music and lyrics of the EP.
Creative/Visual Director: John Crawford [NIN]
Production: Jeff Anderson [Artist In Residence]
I was commissioned by Radco Comics to do the cover and interior spread for Ed LaRoche's Bad Summer. It's a story about Los Angeles during its worst heat wave — taking a city already on the brink, and pushing it over the edge.
This award was presented to Fiona Ross for Lifetime Achievement for her contributions to the field of Typography on August 2, 2014 at TypeCon 2014: Capitolized in Washington, D.C.
I originally created the file in Cinema 4D, rendered out some mockups, which were passed around to the award committee for approval. Upon approval, I contacted Xerxes Irani at FairGoods to produce the award in wood. He found Nathan Tremblay who ended up making the physical award.
This is a personal project I did where I put regular grocery store food dye into water and sometimes oil and photographed the results.
Design for an annual CD compilation titled Stolen Music (for a group CD club of 13 members). Each cover of the yellow and grey compilation was specifically designed for one of the members, That one was for Adam Faja.
This is a custom, all purpose wrapping paper designed for FairGoods.
I was asked by SB Studio to contribute to their 100/100 project — this is my entry. 100/100 is a live collaborative experiment between the public and a carefully selected group of 100 artists, illustrators, designers and writers. 100 collaborators are creating 100 unique labels for each unique name for the beer.
The Liverpool Craft Beer Co. have brewed a very own beer. A beautifully balanced 5% wheat beer, made from blood oranges, coriander seeds, Belgium candy and a variety of hops, used exclusively for this project.
100 bottles, 100 names, 100 collaborators, 100 unique identities. Exhibited online and at the launch in March, all 100 bottles will be available to purchase through a unique online auction and featured in a book that will be available for sale at the event. All profits going to Art Fund.
The company I worked for, Logan, was asked to design the Spectacle Music Video exhibition for the CAC Museum. I got to do the logo and limited edition posters for the exhibit.
I was fortunate to have been selected by my good friend Alejandro Paul to do some 3d illustrations for his latest typeface, Bellissima.
The R didn't make the cut.
Bellissima Script Pro is a complete font with almost 2000 characters full of alternates, swashes, ligatures & ornaments covering a wide palette of latin languages.
