My Given Name

I had already been a fan of My Given Name when Josh approached me on Threads to do a collab. I absolutely love his voice - it reminds me so much of Andy Bell from Erasure - plus the pop-synth style of his music just rounds out the overall cool vibe. So, I was more than eager to jump in and brainstorm about what we could do for his single, Today. 

MGN's artwork is a kaleidoscope of color, imagery, and movement, so I pitched a macro technique I'd been experimenting with: oil, milk, and paint. You basically layer the three in a dish, then add targeted drops of dish soap to start a chain reaction called saponification. As the bubbles form, the paint moves and flows in haphazard ways, mixing and resisting, to form beautiful patterns. Pop on a macro lens, then turn up the shutter speed, and you've got the recipe for an amazing cover.

We played with several different color stories, but settled on the blue and gold. It was pure serendipity that we caught that shot. The movement of the lone gold bubble into the blank milk white canvas was the perfect metaphor for the song, but also vibes with so much of what MGN is about - using music and visuals to push boundaries and look for joy. 

It was so much fun working with MGN! Josh is brilliant, gracious, and so kind. You can check out his music here on Bandcamp!