Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future (Limited Edition)

Packages arrive through the post on a regular basis with regards to cd submissions for the Fluid playlists. This always excites me and sometimes I feel like the young child on Christmas morning eagerly waiting to find out what could possibly be inside…

This week however I had the luxury of opening a package that was ‘above the norm’ to say the least. Something that had so much attention to detail with regards to design, appearance, funcionality and of course, sound.

The package that I talk about is the upcoming limited edition photo book release of ‘Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future’ by Ian Hazeldine, otherwise known as Antonymes.

On opening this gorgeous book I was immidiately struck by the personal hand written message from Ian on the inlay. Only a few words needed here instantly tapped into my deeper understanding of  what the artist wants to convey through this release, and his genuine love and passion for searching out and expressing experimental modern classical structures through both design and sound.  This message felt personal, and I was instantly drawn in to investigate further.

The opposite side of the personal note contained a three panel opening design with expressions of intimate thoughts, feelings, and insights…

‘You can see Hills, Ghosts, Rocks Formations’

‘To Some extent, They could remain hidden forever, Measuring life, Feeling their way, Breaking the surface, Capturing mood, Taking their time, Immersing themselves, Staying in touch’

‘They express, In a personal way, Using the sound of sound, And the nearness of silence’

‘Can lines, Curves, Directions, Shapes be heard’

Then as I managed to pull myself away from the expressions and thoughts (samples above and picture) I explored further into the book and found 19 stunning black and white polaroid photographs laid out on cream card stock and each one individually covered and protected in soft featherd type paper. It is hard to convey in words just how high the standard of each of these pages/photographs is to be honest and the following pictures are the best way to do just that…

Now that in itself would surely be enough to convince and impress most people about the quality of packaging that this release presents, and I was personally thinking the same. Yes I actually did not realise that there would be a sumptuous cd presentation waiting for me on the final page of the book! To say I was grinning frome ear to ear when I discovered there was would be an understatement!

As I arrived at the back page I was presented with a simple black card stock design, folded and placed perfectly square to the page. My curiosity got the better of me, and as I slowly lifted the flap I discovered the new limited cd sitting comfortably in a carefully designed slot, accompanied by four high quality printed photo cards with information on the back of each containg track list, credits and gratitude list…

‘At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person’ – Ian

All this before we even get to the music! Now that is some treat, and like I mentioned at the beginning is most definitely ‘above the norm’ compared to my daily parcel openings.

On listening to the 8 tracks from the release I was immediately taken in by Ian’s artistic skills to orchestrate splendid patterns of sound that have a gentle theme running through each one in keeping with the design and feel of the whole project.

Nothing feels rushed here as gentle piano structures wash over the listener with such graceful ease. This music is uplifting, healing and deeply meditative, and you can’t help but sense some kind of emotional resonance with the artist as you ever so slowly journey through the listening experience.

In summary ‘Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future’ is without doubt an exceptional release that manages to capture everything that is so special about experimental music, and is up there with the likes of Skelton for the message that the music conveys through both sound and design. 10/10

When an album is both a book and a record.

I’d had the idea to produce something that was more than just a record for quite a while. Being a musician, graphic designer and photographer, I’ve always tried to combine my disciplines.

I’d bought a lovely photo album a year or so ago and a plastic Russian camera. I had a vague plan to fill it with some of my shots, but never got round to it.

When David Newlyn and I started on the cover for Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future I mentioned the book idea to him. He sent me some incredible, dark photographs. I new that these would be perfect for an expanded edition. I’d known Kim Smith for a few years and had always admired her work. She agreed to be involved, so we set about shooting some “portraits”.

It’s now 6 months since I embarked on this project and it’s finally completed. – Ian (Antonymes)

Purchase info/description:

The deluxe, A5 clothbound version of Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future is presented as an individually numbered, limited edition of 30. It consists of an 8-track CD [including a new 13 minute recording, No Dominion], 19 original photographic prints, full biography text by Paul Morley and 4 double-sided, litho-printed information cards.

It’s available for dispatch from April 5th 2010. Cost: £40 (including worldwide shipping) at www.antonymes.co.uk

Any questions email book@antonymes.co.uk

www.antonymes.co.uk
www.myspace.com/antonymes