Ivy - CD Cover

Ivy – Apartment Life

Image

Mise En Scene

Colour – The dominant colour is white which may suggest that life is still a blank page at this point and that the artist herself doesn’t want to make a specific statement by having a colour dominating the background. The colours of the props used throughout the image on both the inlay, back cover and the front cover are red, blue and yellow. These are primary colours that have connotations of youth. This may be significant to the artist as she may be holding on to her younger years and grasping to the fun and joyous times of youth.

Positioning – As shown by the inlay, the setting stays the same but the person changes and where the person is positioned in the frame changes as well. The fact that the image with the woman is the front cover shows that she is the most significant of the three. However the other two are both male and one is to the far left of the frame, the other to the far right. This may suggest that the artist has men within her life. And may also be representing the idea that women are reliant upon a man in their life, yet it also could be gong against the stereotype as they are less focused on and less important than the woman. However the band is made up of two men and one woman, her being the lead singer and the positioning communicates this.

Copy

Font – The font is consistent and often small and thin. This perhaps indicates that the text is less important to the band on the front cover however the inlay shows that the band make up for the lack of text on the front there. This may be because lots of text puts people off as they won’t stop and read things, you have to grab their attention with one glance.

Colour – The colour reinforces the idea of the less significant text as it is just plain black, traditional but it stands out from the white background so its still reinforcing the idea of standing out which is significant to the genre.

Genre

The elements show the genre well, mainly because they show a chaotic lifestyle in which the band themselves are included, showing them as normal everyday people – which is key in indie music as it’s a less glamorous genre. Furthermore its quirky and stands out from the crowd which again is an essential idea within the indie genre.

Target Audience

The target audience seems to be younger people like students/young adults. This is reinforced by the use of colour throughout the CD. The target audience for this band would have to be open to different music that’s not like everything else out there on the market and have an interest in something outside the routines of normal everyday life.

Mode of Address

The only person that looks directly at the audience is the woman, and the fact that we see all members of the band throughout the CD covers gives the audience a sense of recognition and familiarity towards the band. Its important that the band have used the woman looking directly at the audience as the front cover because they obviously want to draw the audience in through the use of this image. The tone of the piece is that the band members seem bored with everyday life, which suggests their music will break away from this.

Tagline/Title/Name

The bands name is “Ivy”. This could be significant as it is something that flourishes and develops overtime which may suggest that the band have big aspirations and hopes for their music. Also it’s an aspect of nature, which is generally something associated with the indie genre as nature can represent the freedom and natural feel of the artist’s music.

The name of the album is “Apartment Life” which anchors this idea of the band wanting to break away from everyday life. It may also suggest that it is something that the band likes to direct their music towards. Almost like a way to express the routines of everyday life through their music.

Blurb/Inlay

The inlay is the three images each the same setting with the band members in different positions in each one. This gives each band member the limelight in one photo suggesting they see each other as equally important and gives the idea of teamwork. It also emphasises individuality, which is very significant to the indie genre.

The blurb inside just names everybody involved with the band and the making of the CD and gives thanks to the families and friends. This shows that family and friendship is important to the band and makes them seem much more personal and easy to relate to – down to earth.

Representation

Youth - The main types of props that can be identified are things like saucepans, plastic bowls, and a clock. The room looks disordered and this is a dominant stereotype of the younger generation. Young adults/students are stereotyped as messy and still chaotic on the inside as they are trying to find themselves and get themselves an identity and at a place where they are comfortable in their own skin.

Enigma

The enigma is created by the fact that we don’t really know why the band seems to have an issue with everyday life. This will make the audience interested in what the band has to say in their lyrics about “Apartment Life.” Again the colour white creates an enigma as we are left to wonder what the band is about – they leave it to us to interpret them but first we have to buy the CD and listen to them before we will know.

How are the ingredients common within the specific genre/subgenre?

Overall the ingredients are common within the indie genre because they highlight this quirky nature of the band along with the sense of non-conforming and breaking away from the usual expectations within the music industry.