Vinyl records aren’t just about the music, are they? If you’re a vinyl lover, a big reason is most likely because vinyl records evoke all the senses. You can touch it, you can smell it, you can see the needle going in the grooves, and most of all, you are attracted to the album cover art. From the art of Jim Flora to the photography of Glenn E. Friedman and the design of Reid Miles, the record cover has always been seen as a piece of art. Enter epic designer Storm Thorgerson, a member of the graphic art group Hipgnosis, responsible for some of the most iconic record covers of our time. Along with Aubrey Powell, and later on some point Peter Christopherson, Hipgnosis was responsible for album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, The Pretty Things, AC/DC, T.Rex, XTC, 10cc, Def Leppard, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Alan Parsons Project, Black Sabbath and many others. Later on, as a solo designer Thorgerson put his touch on records from Mars Volta, The Cranberries, Catherine Wheel and more. NYC film maker Roddy Bogawa has put out a film entitled Taken By Storm about the life of Thorgerson, his work, and the classic design of many of music history’s most well known records. In other words, this guy has designed at least one of the records in your record collection. I was surprised at how many I had here at the Flea Market Funk labs.

Taken By Storm a film by Roddy Bogawa Trailer

Check out the feature on film maker and vinyl collector Roddy Bogawa on Dust & Grooves

Roddy will be talking about his movie and play some of his favorite records at the Dust & Grooves Culture Club event “For the Love of Vinyl” @ Noise Pop Festival, San Francisco. Saturday March 2nd. 3 PM

Keep Diggin’!