MEWGATZ artwork drawn by JEFFREY BROWN - First sneak peak! Plus Release date!

Back in 2007 we met up with legendary comic-book writer JEFFREY BROWN, he of such incredible books as Clumsy and Unlikely, at a book signing in Bristol. We gave him a handful of records we were working on as a gesture to say thanks for the positive effect his books have had on all of us, and to give him something to listen to on the long ride back home to Chicago.

 

When MEWGATZ recently turned in his finished full-length album 'LOVE SONGS AND CAR BOOT ELECTRONICA' we where all taken a back. Over the past year Mewgatz has managed to hone his art of circuit-bending, creating a much more coherent piece of thoughtful electronica. 14 tracks in length the album is an incredibly introspective piece of work that documents Mewgatz struggle with relationships, the injustices of a modern world, and the evaluation of his place on this earth. While heavy in subject matter the record carries an overall feeling of optimism and leaves you with the positive feeling that "it'll all work out". It's a complex record that demands attention and offers rewards way beyond the cheap thrill of danceable electronica.

 

 

Lyrically and musically the record is very reminiscent of the work of Jeffrey Brown. If you're not aware of Jeffrey Brown's work, he's most famous for his auto-biographical novels documenting his life's relationships and their various pitfalls. His brutal honesty is a wonder to beyond and an inspiration to us all. In much the same way that Mewgatz balances the demanding and sometimes aggressive electronics of his recordings with his untrained and unconfident yet humble and inviting vocal, Jeffrey Brown brings his stories to life through his lo-fi and humble drawing technique, you get the sense that Jeffrey makes these books as much as a release for himself as for entertainment for the reader.

 

 

It was therefore natural that we approached Jeffrey Brown with the idea of having him draw the artwork for the forthcoming Mewgatz album. Much to our giddy excitement Jeffrey Brown accepted our invitation and began work on a beautiful series of drawings for the album.

 

The artwork is now all turned in and it's absolutely amazing! We're all so incredibly proud of it. For this release Jeffrey Brown designed a six panel digipak with inner-arm slit which homes a 16 page mini-comic! Each page of the mini-comic is Jeffrey Brown's interpretation of a track from the album but put together they tell a story of Mewgatz struggling to find time in life for everything around him so he builds a robot clone to help him out, however Mewgatz soon realises that his clone is his biggest fan and begins to smoother his creativity, it's a humorous and heartfelt interpretation of Mewgatz musical output. There are also cameos in the comic from the OIB Records family and of course Jeffrey Brown himself! Jeffrey Brown also did the CD face which works beautifully in harmony with the digipak.

 

We don't want to blow all the surprises just yet but here's a sneak peak at a few of the digipak panels and some of the booklet pages!

 

Cover of digipak

 

An inner digipak arm

 

'A_Part' comic page

 

'Linkup' comic page

 

'Style 19' comic page

 

 

The Mewgatz album 'LOVE SONGS AND CAR BOOT ELECTRONICA' will be released worldwide on CD and Digital on October 12th 2009. More details and pre-order coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

website designed by Thomas Ginn - www.thomasginn.co.uk