Anlässlich einer Ausstellung aus dem Jahre 2006 ein kleines Essay von der Webseite von Russel Mills. Hier nach zu lesen.

Quelle: http://www.spiderbytes.com/ambientrance/intmills.htm

(This interview posted October 27, 1999)

AmbiEntrance: Of your book and album covers, what were some of your personal "favorite" projects and why?

Mills: Hard to pinpoint and kind of unfair to isolate some above others, but if pushed then I guess I would have to choose "The Pearl" by Harold Budd and Brian Eno and "Between Tides " by Roger Eno along with all the work I've done for "The Downward Spiral" for Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. These are favourites partly because I really believe that they work and operate successfully on several levels.

The images I made for them have direct contextual relevance to the content or moods of the music and yet also work independently , they have a visceral connection and a visual beauty which blends the seductive with menace. Also these albums and my covers/images/designs for them signified important turning points for me where I discovered a more appropriate way of responding which was also not overt or obvious. Others that I feel are equally successful have been the two box sets for Brian Eno "Eno I & II", the 5 CD boxset for David Sylvian "Weatherbox" and more recently I've been really pleased with the work done for Bill Laswell's "Hear No Evil", Cocteau Twins double "BBC Sessions" and, surprise surprise, for my own UNDARK : "Pearl + Umbra".

As for bookcovers the same criteria applies to the images/designs as for albums and as such the following are the ones that I feel are successful ; a series for Samuel Beckett's novels (he's been one of my favourite and most inspirational writers for years) ; a series of covers for the novels and short stories of Ian McEwan; all of the covers I've done for the American writer Jayne Anne Phillips; "Exotica" by David Toop; "Continent" by Jim Crace. That'll do for now.

Quelle: http://www.innerviews.org/inner/mills.html

Q: Explain how you work with musicians to create album art. Of course, this likely varies greatly between projects. But in general, what direction do you seek from an artist? And what is the ideal scenario for you in this regard?

A: Naturally, this process is dependent on the individual artists, their personalities, the album in question and the ideas that each artist may bring to bear. My initial response is to the music and sound. I try to get inside the essence of the work and lock onto its prevailing mood suggestions. As with my "personal" images, paintings and assemblages, I endeavour to seep personal ideas into applied works such as album covers.

The works for Nine Inch Nails on The Downward Spiral are a good example of the ideal, successful process being realized with relatively no pain. The tone of the music suggested ideas of catharsis, being into dissolution into being, both on a personal and sociological level. The lyrics, whilst tending towards that adolescent confessional rant, also referred to images of personal decay, descent and futility and yet had some spark of hope. Conversations and a meeting with Trent Reznor about the approach to the art revealed that my instincts were correct. Following these discussion, all I needed were a few key words to meditate on and to build on: attrition, decay, uncertainty, lost dreams, broken promises and temptations. The images I produced attempted to strip these subjects down to enigmatic but conceptually certain grounds, simplified metaphors.

The organic prevailing over or feeding into the industrial is a common theme in my work generally and in this instance was particularly apt for the art required. Bandaging soaked in wax, paint and blood, became as a ground for sheets of man-made metal which has become paradoxically more beautiful in decay as the elements of water and air had played upon it producing the intricate colourings of rust. Added to this were insects, moths and the remnants of webs; all intricately beautiful and marvellous, even in death. These are gestural elements which invite multiple readings. All of the other complementary images produced for this album and the accompanying singles followed these ideas throughout.

Quelle: CMJ Magazine, Issue 50, October 1997

Ich vermute mal, das ist in den ehemaligen "Nothing Studios". Die Bilder tauchen dann später vermutlich auch weiter unten im Wohnzimmer/Esszimmer auf.

Die nächsten beiden Bilder sind vom ehemaligen Wohnzimmer in New Orleans.

Das Esszimmer