Dinos Chapman’s Luftbobler

Well, ‘pop’ music may be slightly pushing it, but nonetheless, one half of the Chapman Brothers has now released an album, described by The Wire as ‘a sort of David Lynch on the dancefloor.’

Entitled Luftbobler (apparently the Norwegian word for the bubbles found in Aero chocolate), the thirteen track LP’s cover – created, of course, by Dinos, is something of a triumph, at least to this writer’s eyes.

The simple brown card-like background and black edging frames a characteristically disturbing image – a menacing shadowy beast prowling the woodland. It’s all sinisterly spindly trees, ominous moonlight and wobbling gravestones, perhaps giving us a sense of the equally eerie sounds Chapman says he’s spent the last decade cooking up.

The typography is just as menacing – thick black lettering creeps forward, increasing in size with mismatched shapes jostling together.

A limited-edition of 300 copies of Luftbobler will include a hand-tipped colour etching by Chapman.

For the release, Chapman is also creating an audio-visual installation for The Vinyl Factory’s Soho store, which will be in place until 4 March. The show will premiere eight new short films created by Chapman, accompanied by the sound of the album.

According to the Vinyl Factory, the album is inspired by ‘insomnia, horror movies and boredom’. Created in the basement of Chapman’s east London home, the sound is apparently influenced by the wonderful Throbbing Gristle, German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen and electronic music artist Squarepusher. Judge for yourself…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCvCvSGNWqE

Though of course, none of these influences sum it up quite as straightforwardly as Chapman himself.

‘…like a naked mole-rat plucked untimely from its snuggly basement-burrow, on its back, all squirmy, exposed to the suns dissecting rays’, he says. Of course.

Luftbobler is released by The Vinyl Factory and is available here