Fatboy Slim album revived

April 02, 2012 | Be the first to comment

Fatboy Slim's iconic 1998 album 'You've Come A Long Way, Baby' has been totally reimagined by Computer Arts readers for a competition run in partnership with Robert Horne's Revive paper range. Here's what they came up with.

Fatboy Slim is well-known for his masterful sampling, so he was the perfect choice to approach for Computer Arts' contest with Revive paper. Fortunately, his label Skint Records was more than happy to rip up the cover of You've Come A Long Way, Baby and give emerging designers a blank canvas to start with.

The concept was simple: revive the iconic album artwork in your own style. Entries flooded in, and the top 15 were put to an open vote on Revive's site to reach a shortlist of six, before a panel of judges chose a winner based on originality, craftsmanship and relevance.

London's Shoreditch House played host to the final shortlist, who were treated to a three-course meal and presented with a framed vinyl-sized reproduction of their entry, not to mention Fatboy Slim's original album artwork at CD size - hand-signed by the man himself.

Competition winner Daniel Cookney is presented with his framed vinyl cover by Robert Horne's Janine McNab

"I really enjoyed it," enthuses overall winner Daniel Cookney (above), whose simple-but-effective concept of a faded, distressed vinyl record inner particularly impressed the judges, who felt it was faithful to the Fatboy Slim aesthetic as well as subtly hinting at themes of sampling and recycling.

"It was useful to get out from the environment that I usually work in, and talk to people about what I do and their interpretations of my work," he adds. "Winning was a massive surprise." Cookney has posted about his entry on Behance.

The other five shortlisted entrants were Marcella Tarable, James Neal, Emmerson Mahoney, Ben Thomas and James Sutton.

Marcella Tarable receives her framed entry, signed by Fatboy Slim — "I'm at the beginning of my graphic design career, and the Robert Horne competition was the first one I'd ever entered," says Marcella Tarable, above. "Having the chance to meet people with the same interests was valuable and Shoreditch house is an incredible venue."

"A lot of people turn up their noses at voting-based competitions, with the continuous argument that they're just as bad as working for free," reflects Wolverhampton-based Mahoney, a recent graduate. "I disagree, and believe they're a great way to gain some PR, some feedback and ultimately some more work. Plus it's always nice to get a pat on the back for a job well done."

Scroll through the final shortlist of six below...

Daniel Cookney

Cookney was inspired by "the whole idea of old vinyl, given the importance of samples within this recording, plus the stature of the album itself as a classic."

Marcella Tarable

"Simplicity. Painting. Playing. Fingers. No schemes. Sometimes five words are so much more than 100," says Tarable of her design.

James Neal

"I took inspiration from my interest in space and the universe, and how life itself may have begun from living cells that would have 'come a long way' through space," reflects Neal. "I researched 1950s / 60s Russian space programme posters, as I thought it would suit the concept well."

Emmerson Mahoney

"The concept was based around Futurism, being lost, and becoming the best," explains Mahoney. "The baby android is seen to be taking over and acquiring the bigger android - a depiction of how Fatboy Slim at one point was the baby of the music industry, and is now a leading figure within it."

Ben Thomas

"The album title inspired me," says Thomas. "My ideas were based around a baby/child in an adult scenario - the conference table was my favourite!"

James Sutton

"A clear memory of mine: whilst at a club, I remember looking at a poster, particularly the Fatboy Slim logo on it," recalls Sutton. "Suddenly I turned to face a giant speaker, and as my eyes were adjusting I could still see the logo as 'Push The Tempo' exploded out, blowing my hair as if I was hanging out of the window of a plane in flight. Good times."