Ulysses

Interview by Pocko

Bella Union is an independent record label that was started in 1997 by a successful group of musicians who had become disenfranchised by the monopoly of record labels over their artists. The musicians of this story were an extremely talented trio called the Cocteau Twins. Eventually they broke up but what remained is the progressive Bella Union label, led by Simon Raymonde, former bass player, writer and arranger for the Cocteau Twins.

Prior to the digital age and the boom of the internet, the choice of what album to purchase was based on radio listening, written music reviews, and the visual effect that an album sleeve could have in catching the eye of a possible listener.

The artwork of an album cover always played a big role as a treat before the enjoyment of the songs, and created the opportunity for listeners to engage with music on a visual level. Today, streaming with Spotify, YouTube and Sound Cloud has changed the role of cover artwork in the world of music. We speak with Simon about the internet age in the music business and to discover what drives the artwork behind his label, while taking  a peek (and a listen, in some cases) at some of the historic covers of Bella Union.

“Thought is the thought of thought” is a quote of Stephen Dedalus (James Joyce`s literary alter ego, appearing as young artist and important character in Ulysses) as he speculates on Aristotle and remembers his time in Paris in the episode “Nestor.” Does this mean that thought can only lead to other thoughts and thus never actually sets a foot in the world? Thought is always different than things in the world, but is still somehow connected with them. How can we describe the relationship between thought and the world? Language and the world?

The “ULYSSES” images were taken going back and forth from James Joyce’s text to the places he still haunts, like Trieste, in Italy, where the author wrote the first part of his masterwork, and spent several years after his self-imposed exile from Dublin.