Instead of going for the usual 13 best records or records that changed my life, I have gone for 13 album covers that I love. To me album art is at least 50 per cent of the reason for record collecting, sometimes more. Many times I have bought a record for the cover alone. It doesn’t really matter to me how good or bad the record is, it can always be saved by a great cover.
I love vinyl, not in a postmodern hipster way, but for the full sleeve art, gatefold sleeves, inserts, coloured vinyl, all the fetishistic qualities that the fragile format offers. My own CDs sound identical to how I intend them to sound, the audio quality is far better than the antiquated format that is the LP. All this bullshit about vinyl sounding warmer winds me up. It doesn’t. Shut up – technically you are wrong, vinyl cannot accommodate the full audio spectrum. But think of the amount of art you can squeeze on 12"s over the diminutive CD sleeve. Don’t even start me on downloads… what is the point? I have a huge interest in art and collect it in all shapes and forms, but especially on the 12" sleeve.
Andrew Liles has just finished an album with Current 93, which is released this month and is editing a triple live album of Nurse With Wound material. He is also recording a new solo LP for his Monster series of releases, the cover to which has just been finished by the artist Zeke Clough. You can keep up with Liles’ activities here
