I was stoked to see local contemporary visual artist, designer, and former small bicycle cyclist (he now rides a full-sized “fancy” bike), Christian Petersen, getting a nice li’l nod for his album artwork via local arts & fashion blog, Vanguard Seattle; it’s a short Q&A in The Artist’s Way section. Petersen is perhaps best known as the feller behind I Want You Studio, I Want You magazine and, occasionally, he can also be found creating live visuals at underground music events, including Rare Air. His very contemporary, layered and/or distorted, “keepin’ it weird” style is clever, quick witted, and arresting. However, his particular album art design, he says, is typically his reflection of the music—from the atmospheric image used for Silver Jackson‘s album You and I Should Try Again, to the kaleidoscopic distortions of Erik Blood‘s well-received album, Touch Screen, and Shabazz Palaces‘ toothy #CAKE (Animal Collective Premature Deflirt Mix). What’s interesting to me is, when making album art, his process is quite traditional: Tho’ the album art is created within HIS visual language, Petersen uses the music to tailor his image, so he’s working within the classic design boundaries of making the art and music as one. The images then are not just a “cool picture” to attract punters; they are the VISUAL sense of what sounds to expect, and his connections are beautiful.