Our favourite vinyl artwork and packaging of 2021

Sound and vision

Kicking off VF Magazine’s 2021 feature coverage of our favourite releases of the year, we begin by exploring artwork and packaging.

Over the past twelve months, the bounds of vinyl artwork continued to unfold in transfixing ways – with record sleeves, box sets, and picture discs that thrilled, mesmerised, and elated in equal measure.

With the power of cover artwork alone, artists’ utilised the medium of vinyl to portray the album’s inner life in full 12″x12″ glory: JASSSS’ eyes and mouth emerge witchlike from crimson moss; Lotic’s exultation is washed in blue; L’rain emerges from hazy, sepia waterfall.

Elsewhere, illustrators created their own worlds on their square cover canvas, transporting you to realms entirely of their own imagination – like Al White’s work for 12th Isle, and Bruxas’ aerobic introspection.

Some harnessed vinyl’s spinning substate to create dizzying art in motion, like Bambounou’s visual patterns which echo the looping electronics contained within.

And, as ever, artists explored the box set in all its glory, as best seen in Utter’s unfolding art box housing Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny’s Phantom Seance Ballett universe.

Showcasing the work of individuals and groups who let their visual panache shine in the format, these are our favourite vinyl artwork and packaging releases in 2021.

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Lotic

Water

(Houndstooth)

Photography: Matt Lambert | Design: Marwan Kaabour

Buy

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JASSS

A World Of Service

(Ostgut Ton)

Artwork: Matt Lambert | Layout: Yusuf Etiman

Buy

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L’Rain

Fatigue

(Mexican Summer)

Front cover photograph: Jason Omar Al-Taan | Design and layout: Bailey Elder

Buy

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Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra

Promises

(Luaka Bop)

Artwork: Julie Mehretu

Buy

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Weval

Changed for the Better

(Technicolour)

Artwork: Vasjen Katro

Buy

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Tarotplane

Horizontology

(12th Isle)

Artwork: Al White

Buy

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Bruxas

Muscle Memory

(Dekmantel)

Artwork: Stefan Glerum

Buy

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Bambounou

Cascade

(Bambe)

Design: Dimitri Erhard

Buy

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Perila

How much time it is between you and me?

(Smalltown Supersound)

Buy

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Meitei

Kofū II / 古風 II

(KITCHEN. LABEL)

Art Direction and Design: Ricks Ang

Buy

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downstairs J

basement, etc​.​.​.

(Incienso)

Design: Josh Abramovici | Illustration: Jes Sweat

Buy

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James K

036

(AD 93)

Artwork: Alex McCullough

Buy

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Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny

Phantom Seance Ballett

(Utter)

Artwork: Lena Willikens & Sarah Szczesny | Design: Till Sperrle

Buy

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Meemo Comma

Neon Genesis: Soul Into Matter²

(Planet Mu)

Photography: Kenstreet | Design: Jacob Wise

Buy

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The Exaltics & Helena Hauff

Futuros

(SolarOneMusic)

Artwork: Godspill, Mehdi Rouchiche

Buy

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Banner artwork by: Patrick Savile.