COVER STAR
Achieving cult status in the artwave scene of the late 2000s, Art Brut based their name on a notion of outsider art, reforming this year and signing to Alcopop! Records. Enigmatic frontman Eddie Argos, as well as writing songs, singing and playing a vacuum cleaner on stage, turned his hand to painting some of the album artwork on debut single Formed A Band – a take on Andy Warhol’s soup-can imagery. Fast-forward a decade or so, and Argos has embarked on a DIY journey to create works of art based on well-loved album covers – even hand-delivering them around the globe, if requested. At the request of fans and for a relatively modest payment, he’ll paint any album cover while listening to said album, before penning a review at the end. “It’s something I’d had at the back of my mind for a while”, explains Argos. “I’m quite a nosey person and I was curious about what other people’s favourite albums are.
Not journalists, normal people like myself. I knew if I asked a load of people what their favourite albums were, they would give me a list and I’d put it in a drawer, forget about it and go back to listening to The Monkees and The Yummy Fur over and over like I usually do. I’m quite selfish I suppose, I just thought it was an interesting way to open myself up to new music and maybe find some new bands to love.”