The Dawn Collective

In this age of mp3s, do people really care about a CD’s artwork and packaging? Well I certainly do, and having spent the last week finishing off the design for our album, I hope that others feel the same. We’ve been throwing ideas around for the last few months, trying to work out what we’d like, and what we can afford. Sadly the burgopak (I’m serious, it’s really called that) was out of our reach, but we decided to splurge a little and go for a six panel digipak.

Of course packaging is just one part, it’s also about what you put on it. We were quite drawn to the idea of an image that would wrap right around all the panels of the case, though what that image might be wasn’t quite clear to us. There was however a consensus that photography was the way to go, and after the success of our last band photos we thought our friend Lucky could be right for the job, and thankfully he was happy to help.

Thus began the process of finalising what we going to shoot. From a desserted old house, to a dinner party in a forest, to digitally manipulated armies of people running over hills like something out of Lord Of The Rings - we certainly weren’t lacking in ideas. But in the end simplicity won out, and we started hunting out for a landscape that would fit the mood.

Whilst out one day I happened to drive past a cleared forest, and caught a glimpse of a group of remaining trees. I thought it could perhaps work, but I needed a few more opinions. Next time I was around the area I was with Rob, and attempted to show him what I was thinking, though in the pitch black of night it perhaps lost some of its impact. Time was not on our side however, as our deadlines were fast approaching, and we decided just to give it a go.

So, early one Sunday morning I met Lucky and drove him out to the site. He liked what he saw, and after scouting around for the best location he started snapping away. Well not so much snapping, as carefully calculating the angle and alignment of each shot. It was all a bit of a gamble, as we really didn’t know what the finished product would end up like. I anxiously checked my email that night, waiting for Lucky to send through the first rough proofs. I needn’t have worried - the results were fantastic.

After a few days of tweaking, searching for fonts, proof-reading and still more tweaking, the final design emerged. And so, I present to you the cover of our album Save A Place For Us. To see the rest you’ll just have to wait (like I am) for the CD. Not long at all to go though.

Our Hopetoun gig last week got reviewed in Brag - in case you missed it here it is:

The Dawn Collective
Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills
Thursday July 31

Nothing reaffirms the reality of the Sydney music scene like a Thursday night show at the Hopetoun. It’s not all flash and pizzazz; sometimes it’s about solid songs played in a regular pub by regular people. And sometimes, the lights don’t even work.

…

For some reason, I’ve never seen The Dawn Collective before. And judging by the half-full Hoey, their reputation hasn’t spread around the music-loving public of Sydney, either. Which is a shame, because as much as this sounds like a dross line from a press release, these guys really are one of this city’s best-kept secrets. Sick of the vacuous, hollow bands that pride style over substance? Check out The Dawn Collective. Their music is hard to pigeonhole: it’s got the austerity of The Frames but guitar aggressiveness encroaching on alternative-rock territory. Marry that with melancholic cello lines, and it’s a sound that beautifully and effortlessly traverses territory that other bands wouldn’t dare tread.

They’re releasing an album later in the year, and I hope that it won’t be passed over as a throwaway disc from a small-time independent act. There’s a depth and substance to the music of Dawn Collective that demands attention.

Dom Alessio

The Brag Issue 273 - August 4th 2008