The German critic Joachim-Ernst Berendt once wrote that the tradition of jazz created an effect where each individual composition has no beginning and no ending. Each performance is a point along a continuum, and part of a larger masterwork.
While admittedly a bit idealistic, this notion persisted throughout both packages for Ravi Coltrane. For his first release on RCA Victor, the “round box” (i.e. the human head) suggested the idea of typography as an ongoing line going around the front and back covers.
And for In Flux, we used a similar approach to the internal artwork. In both projects, the left and the right, like the past and the present, continue beyond the field of perception.
The John Coltrane live set “One Down, One Up,” was originally a live radio broadcast. For decades, a bootleg recording of that performance was shared amongst fans, until the day Ravi discovered the original and mis-marked reel-to-reel tape. On the tape, the music fades in, mid-performance, and after a few pieces, fades out. Creating a similar aesthetic effect to our work for his son.
Sometimes, we’re amazed how things end up harmonizing with each other.