Chris Slabber's "We Set Sail": A Fusion of Art and Music

Exploring the Intersection of Dance, Music, and Visual Art in Album Design

Slabber's inspiration for "We Set Sail" came from the mystical and mysterious behavior of the animal kingdom, particularly their communication. He was also fascinated by the dynamic movement of powder paint in the air, which he felt symbolized the need to relinquish control to fully experience the music and the accompanying artwork.

The album's songs consist of intricate arrangements made up of loud and soft instrumental textures. Slabber aimed to reflect these contrasting aspects in the design, as well as the connection with the title "ANIMAL". He believes that music, like animal communication, is frequency-based, crossing boundaries between species. Thus, to transcend into the spiritual realm where all men and beasts are equal, one must submit to the frequencies.

The design realization involved a model/dancer performing movements that would produce the most dynamic clouds of powder paint. The lighting was from one side to create strong contrasts. The selected shots were graded in Photoshop to enhance the colours and contrast. The "Animals" had to be composited into their individual clouds, appearing naturally for the concept to work at its best.

Slabber faced several challenges during the design process. Limited time was allocated for the shoot, making thorough research essential. Another challenge was finding the animals within the clouds. It was crucial that the animal contours were embedded within the shot, and then extracted through digital manipulation using a mixture of matte painting and photographic elements.

In today's society, Slabber believes people's spirits are constantly suppressed by rules. "We Set Sail's" music allows people to tap into their inner emotions or, in this case, their inner "ANIMAL" spirit. The goal was to illustrate the different contrasts of the music by blending different animals with paint clouds. Predators were used to show the aggression within the music, and grazing animals were used to show the more elegant side of it.

This design was awarded the Golden A' Photography and Photo Manipulation Design Award in 2015. The award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.