Deconstructing a digipak

Kate Nash

'Made of Bricks'




Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
The genre of the artist is Indie, which is shortened from independent. Independent artists are usually unique and independent in their style and their work is usually created at a low budget.

Costume – Indie artists are usually unique and have original style that could be described as ‘quirky’ and different. On the front cover of her album, Kate Nash is wearing an extravagant red dress and heels in the middle of the day. This is fairly typical of the artist and could be seen as her ‘star image motif’ as she usually wears bright coloured tea dresses often from the 1940's. Her hair is usually died red with a big full fringe which is also symbolic of her as an artist.

Setting – The setting on the front of the album is original and certainly unique. The house and surroundings appear to have been computer generated and it is almost as if Kate Nash is a ‘doll’ in a surreal world of her own.

Colour – The colours are bright enhancing the surrealism of the cover. They are kept simple and of the primary colours, emphasising this idea of some sort of childhood dolls house. The red dress that the artist is wearing stands out against the yellow house which makes her the main focus of the album cover.

Typography – The font used is not neat and could look almost like a child’s scrawl. It is slightly strange and in all directions, possibly connoting the strangeness and uniqueness of the album. This is kept the same for the names of the tracks on the back of the album.

Media language
What visual techniques are used?
The rule of thirds is evident on the cover as, although the house is positioned in the middle, the artist is placed on the first third.
As mentioned before, the colours are primary colours, possibly generating this idea of childhood. There is a yellow door which is unusual and connotes independence.
The house in the background portrays the name of the album ‘Made of Bricks’ and shows this idea of a little house made of bricks and Kate Nash in her own little world which she has created her self.

How is meaning generated through these techniques?
All these techniques create the surreal and odd atmosphere. It really gives the sense that the artist has her own little world in her house. The fact that the image is computer generated greatly enhances this idea and the uniqueness of the artist and her album.

What linguistic devices have been used?
The title of the album is ‘Made of Bricks’. Bricks are the foundations of a house and what a house (her own world) is built from. The names of the tracks written on the back of the album demonstrate originality as they are random and show different aspects of life such as ‘Dickhead’ which is probably about a boyfriend, and ‘Pumpkin soup’ which could be described as extremely random.
Is there any intertextuality/references to popular culture?

Postmodernism is unique, much like independent music. There is often no set narrative and ideas are original, unique and sometimes borrowed. Animation and special effects are often used in postmodern texts. This is evident on this album cover as the background is computer generated, which is not alike to most album covers which would be a picture of the artist in front of some sort of scenery. Kate Nash has her own style and portrays this well with the original mix of ideas conveying her independence.

Representation
How are the band/artist represented?
The songs in this album are random and the topics fluctuate greatly from pumpkin soup to a skeleton song. There is no set narrative throughout this album and it is represented through the completely different songs, unique style of the artist and unusual background. This album seems to include many different aspects of life, some typical aspects that the audience can relate to, especially females of the same age with topics such as a ‘dickhead’ boyfriends.

Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This text would probably be consumed in a focused way. This is because somebody would actually go to the shops to purchase the item. However, this focused viewing may have occurred due to accidental ambient viewing. They may have heard one song on the radio or television and enjoyed it, causing the customer to go and buy the album. This could also possibly be as Kate Nash is an independent indie artist and people with acquired taste would buy the album.