Over the next months, I’ll be up-dating the shop with new merchandise while adding to the gallery some of the more interesting commissions I’ve completed recently.
Check out the brutal animation for KMFDM’s , Hell Yeah album here.
I have also recently completed the artwork for Omicron, a forthcoming album-book by Nowhere Nation which was a real style departure for me. Keep checking back here for updates or join my Fan Page on Facebook for upcoming samples.
Please subscribe to the blog for the latest updates and merchandise and feel free to contact me with your commission requests.
While I was back in New Brighton, podcaster and publisher, Justin Hooper, suggested an interview covering my memories of growing up in the locality and what I’ve been up to since I moved away (plus much, much more). I fear I may have got a bit carried away. Great chat and gorgeous Guinness (x3)
A few years ago, my old mate Paddy suggested that I check out what entrepreneur and visionary, Dan Davies, had been doing to restore the reputation of my home town of New Brighton on Merseyside, a place I’d escaped from twice and was in no hurry to return. However, I contacted Dan and together we hatched a plan to commemorate myself and BRUTE! co-creator, Malcolm Bennett, with a giant mural in the area’s Victoria Quarter whose streets are already exploding with vibrant paintings. Below are some photos of my time there. Special thanks to Andy Brezaux, Rory Wilmer, Paddy Haig and Dan Davies and to those hundreds of well-wishers and fans who showed up on the final day.
In 2001, after years of frustration with local media, Rory Wilmer (RAWCUT) and I embarked on a quest to bring real news to the Wirral peninsula. Over the course of a decade, the Wirral Groan built an audience of local and international fans while breaking real news stories in amongst the smut and satire. Sadly, the pressures of work, relocation to another continent and the burgeoning responsibilities of new families brought the project to a halt in 2009. However, after returning to the UK for the creation of a BRUTE-inspired mural recently, I met with Rory and we decided to publish a proper newsprint version. Fake news, as ever, is the backbone of the paper but now with added AI art to further confuse and amuse. Read all about it in our first issue of the Wirral Groan, Mersyside’s finest satirical newspaper. https://www.wirralgroan.co.uk/
KMFDM has forged its own singular path over the course of 38+ years, continuously refining and redefining the parameters of modern music, while also never missing the opportunity to address the social and political zeitgeist in brazen, belligerent, and boisterous fashion. HYËNA marks the 22nd studio album from the Ultra Heavy Beat, and what title could be more appropriate as the band laughs mockingly at the frayed and frantic state of world affairs? Driven by the vicious and virulent vocal onslaught of founder Sascha “Käpt’n K” Konietzko and Lucia Cifarelli, the aural and angular guitar wizardry of Andee Blacksugar, and the forceful percussive thrust of Andy Selway, HYËNA blasts through the speakers with the force of a napalm airstrike. From the hip-thrusting rock & roll swagger of “BLACK HOLE,” the in-your-face industrial/rock of “LIQUOR FISH & CIGARETTES,” and the funky hip-hop overtones of “ROCK’N’ROLL MONSTER,” to the punky thrash metal fury of “BLINDFACE,” the sardonic blackgrass whimsy of “DELUDED DESPERATE DANGEROUS & DUMB,” and the irresistibly danceable electro of “HYËNA” – KMFDM remains as vital as ever, never afraid to assimilate any musical style, all the while keeping the lyrical talons sharpened and poised to strike against any and all injustice. Several members of the KMFDM family return to leave their indelible marks on HYËNA, like guitarist Jules Hodgson, rapper Andrew “Ocelot” Lindsley, and Bruce Breckenfeld on the Hammond B3. On top of that, Sissy Misfit appears to add a decidedly venomous digital hardcore flavor to “ALL WRONG – BUT ALRIGHT,” leaving Kumar Bent to close us out with the familiar yet fresh dub take on a KMFDM classic on “IN DUB WE TRUST.” HYËNA is a maniacal laugh in the face of maniacs who assume control, desperately trying to convince you that what you see, what you hear, what you read is not real – don’t you believe it! Nearly four decades on, KMFDM continues to keep it real for you as HYËNA proves to be among the group’s leanest and meanest efforts, feeding fuel to the fury! HYËNA MEDIA AND MERCH AVAILABLE NOW!
After 35 years and countless attempts to get it published (OK, six), I am proud to be able to finally offer this iconic slab of pulp fiction to the public.
Originally, we hoped to publish it with Titan Books but, due to a disagreement about the content, they passed on the proposal and co-author and -creator, Malcolm Bennett, sadly died while we were still in negotiations. After another year of stalled plans, we were finally approached by Eyewear Press who promised us complete artistic control and final edit and the result is now available online.
Please, share the link to get BRUTE! recognised as the cultural landmark it is. Buy it!
Over the last few decades since the publication of the Sphere paperback, we have attempted to find a new publisher to reprint the stories from my BRUTE! magazine into one volume. After being turned down by several companies, we have secured the services of Eyewear Press and I’m proud to announce that the book will be on the shelves in May 2020. Featuring all the stories from the seven BRUTE! pulp magazines and the paperback plus the short stories from Blitz and BIKE magazines, this is a comprehensive collection that includes several never before published yarns and illustrations.
To pre-order your copy, please click the link HERE:
A couple of years ago, I was asked by Nowhere Nation to produce a number of illustrations to compliment the music in their latest album, Omicron and now the album has finally been released.
Check out the animated vector art and album here.
My illustration for the band has been gestating since I first signed on for the project over 5 years ago in which time several obstacles had to be overcome before its release. However, the band re-contacted me to renew communication after they invited me to see their show in Prague last year and the artwork proper began in earnest.
I suggested in my initial briefing with the band’s Robert Del Naja that a Jack Kirby-style cover would suit the nature of the release and I came up with a number of concepts before the idea of a super-powered Mad Professor blasting away at a horde of giant insects (referencing the Colorado beetle cover on the cover of their 1998 Mezzanine album) struck a chord and was completed in a couple of weeks.
Album available here: https://massiveattack.lnk.to/MadProfVinyl
A couple of years ago, I was asked by Nowhere Nation to produce a number of illustrations to compliment the music in their latest album, Omicron and now the album has finally been released.
