LEONARD COHEN
thanks for the dance
SERVICE art direction & complete album design
CLIENT adam cohen & sony music canada
Complete graphic design concept for the posthumous and very last
Leonard Cohen album; Thanks For The Dance.
In march 2019 VISLA was approached by Adam Cohen, son of Leonard Cohen. He carefully explained to that he was in the process of creating the very last Leonard Cohen album, consisting of a collection of previously unheard material from the iconic Canadian singer.
He further explained that he’d been exposed to some of the work created by VISLA, and asked whether it would be interesting to contribute to the project. As one can understand, VISLA did not think twice before accepting.
The main focus regarding the art direction has been to carefully bring some of Leonards very personal sketches and illustrations back to life, using them throughout the design. Part of the result within this gold/black composition are nine unique icons corresponding to nine unique tracks.
On the cover Leonard´s actual handwriting from one of his songbooks has been resurrected, and on the back cover we are greeted by the man himself with a self-portrait.
The final piece includes Javier Mas, the Spanish laúd player who formed part of Cohen’s band for his last eight years of touring, and indie music stars including Beck, Bryce Dessner of the National, Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire, Damien Rice and Leslie Feist.
The likes of Rick Rubin, Justin Vernon and Daniel Lanois are also people who contributed to this very special piece.
The design experience was also translated and carried over to the Spotify platform where the icons are integrated within the storyline section, revealing the background and lyrics of each tune of the album.
