Cartel "Band In A Bubble" Aftermath
Monday July 23, 2007 - 13 months ago
Posted by James Ellis / Filed under Design, New York
We have been working with Cartel, the Atlanta pop-rock band on Epic Records, for some time now. Projects include everything from music videos and album packaging to the band’s official website. Most recently we completed work on album packaging for the band’s upcoming self-titled release, the follow up to 2006’s Chroma. What made this project unusual was that Cartel was the featured artist for Dr. Pepper’s “Band In A Bubble”, a corporate-sponsored four-part MTV mini-series that aired over May and June.
The crackpot concept:
Construct a giant “bubble” structure on Pier 54 in Manhattan, put Cartel in the bubble for 22 days (they don’t get to leave), film their every move as they record their album, broadcast every moment 24-7 on the web, and cut the footage down for four episodes on MTV, including a finale concert episode.
Pre-bubble
While we knew we were doing the packaging, I don’t think we found out about the bubble until February. We like crackpot schemes, so we were happy to go along. Further, as individuals invested in pre-internet punk rock and hardcore, we are continually fascinated by the MySpace generation and the no-apologies, seventh-wave emo rock culture.
There was a lot of pre-bubble hype (see here and here), with plenty of haters. Things were really heating up—people around town were talking about the show, and there was a general bubble fever enjoyed by anyone that gets excited about the music business or teen culture.
And to up the ante, Cartel’s management informed us that they wanted us to make an appearance on the show and go inside the bubble. Apparently the design of the album’s packaging was important enough to warrant a “bit” in the show. We would go inside the bubble, present our designs, and chat about it all on camera. Ridiculous!
Visits to the bubble
We went to the bubble twice. First, we went in to go over photos with the band and discuss the design. Some photos from that one…
Heading down with Cartel’s manager
Pre-interview outside of bubble (interviewing Chris Black)
Then, a week later, Jason, Wes and I went back to present the initial design concepts. We presented the comps, made some jokes, and got out of there. And we had to do a little post-interview on the way out.
Inside the bubble
Final design
Despite the storm of insanity surrounding the record, the band had plans for a more mature and considered record. With the record being self-titled, the band wanted a simple, iconic graphic for the cover.
The band chose the “peachtree” direction, which we then expanded upon to create the final album artwork.
Of course, someone leaked the cover within days of final approval. We really enjoyed the discussion on Absolute Punk.
i didint mind the atrwork on the last one it wasnt too special but i re4ally dont like this.
its cool to rep the home town and all but this just is awfull. i see this in a store and it makes me not want it. and the bad thing is i ususally just dont really care about the artwork very much but i see this and it makes me not want it.
Conclusion
After all the hubbub of visiting the bubble, putting on fancy wireless mics, being interviewed on camera, etc., we never made the cut for the show. I’m afraid design comps just aren’t exciting enough for reality TV. So, we got to experience the bubble first-hand, without any national embarrassment. Not so bad.
The finale concert went well…
The record
We recently got an advance copy of the album. Rather than go into an in-depth review, I’ll just say that the record goes beyond our expectations. We expected the rockers and air-tight singles, but we were surprised by many of the tracks that expand on Cartel’s usual repertoire of pop rock tunery. Terms like “blues hammer”, “Miami sound machine”, “Pearl Jam”, and “hot-doggin vocals” were used to describe various tracks. The record is set to be released August 21, 2007.