UK bass label hyperdub has quickly become one of the most revered labels in the planet via their consistent take on future bass musics from the likes of burial, kode9 & the spaceape, zomby, king midas sound, and many more. what initially began as a 100% music focus, with simple vinyl artwork featuring the label’s logo and record info, has shifted to a more complete package with the futuristic graphics provided by london based studio optigram.

somewhat mysterious and elusive, optigram is a sister company of electrofunk label citinite, and has done artwork for several labels and brands including Clients include Hyperdub, Warp, Planet Mu, Hum + Buzz, Sähkö, Public Information, The Wire, XLR8R, MIT Press and the Red Bull Music Academy.

often recurring to geometric and repetitive patterns, their artworks are a perfect companion for hyperdub’s often mold-braking releases that hover between future garage, grime, house, and techno. however, they are equally effective when stepping out of their comfort zone as is the case on the beautiful and much more organic kode9 + the spaceape album cover (picture above), which is reminiscent of early japanese print art.

follow the label on twitter @hyperdub and keep track of optigram’s work via their website

also check out this spotify playlist featuring some of our favorite music from hyperdub

we turn our attention of the colectivo futurist series to our first illustration collective feature. based in Brussels, the Hell’O Monsters are a three-piece group formed by graphic artists Jérôme Meynen, François Dieltiens and Antoine Detaille. the three have been working together for the past ten years and have amassed a stunning collection of drawings featuring curious creatures and monsters that are inspired by the astute words of argentine writer Borges in The Book Of Imaginary Beings and “the creative wonder of childhood”. for the most part their creations can feel a bit naive from a distance, but taking a closer look there’s a lot of symbolism and serious subjects to be found in their ultimately sophisticated drawings. check out some of our favorite pieces and read a short interview about their past, present, and future below.

 HELL’O MONSTERS (illustration collective, Brussels)

website | facebook

* how did the three of you come together to form Hell’o Monsters?

Ten years ago we all met for the first time in front of a wall for a painting, we became friends by affinity of ideas and a strange sense of humor. We then started to work more together with really good osmosis. Three years later we decided to create a more coherent structure for our work and hell’o monsters was born. Initially our style was very similar and it became more inseparable to the point where people couldn’t recognize who was doing what. In this way we created a type of unique form for our idea, three people united as one.

*  what is your work process like? do you come up with a concept and then start drawing together? or do you separate tasks to achieve the final piece?

We don’t always follow the same process, but usually one of us comes up with a general concept for a drawing or a whole series. Afterwards, everyone brings their own personal ideas and tries to confront and create dialogs with the others. Usually our drawings are composed by a lot of little things (and creatures) which together create one big theme. We don’t necessarily tend to separate tasks, instead each one of us does whatever is necessary in order to complete a piece.

* so far you have put your assortment of monsters on posters, books, shirts, and walls. which of these mediums is your favorite? which new surface would you like to explore in the future?

For sure drawing on paper in black and white with Indian ink is our favorite medium, it’s like the base for all the other things we do. At the moment, we are a little bit scared about colors because we have used them too much in the past, now we try to use it more carefully with a lot of attention to detail; but we love to explore a lot of different techniques and mediums, such as collages, painting on wood, etc. We are really interested in doing more three-dimensional things like sculptures and installations without necessarily ignoring the drawing side. Instead we are trying to find the best way to associate the two naturally.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?  

* what is your favorite thing about living in Brussels?

Brussels is a quiet city to live in, but with lots of cultural things to do. It is very stimulating to do our work here. We also enjoy our friends of course.

* which projects are you currently working on? what do you expect to be working on in the future?

Currently we are busy preparing two exhibitions, which will be opening soon. The first one opened this past weekend at the MOHS exhibit in Copenhagen. This is naturally consuming a lot of our time because we’ve been preparing a lot of new artworks: paintings to be exact. In the short future we want to realize a series of different sculptures; while looking further ahead, we expect to continue to work together in the same way or even better because so far our method has worked well.

we’ve just stumbled upon this brilliant animated film by one of our favorite film makers, Spike Jonze, in collaboration with french filmmaker Simon Cahn and fashion designer Olympia Le-Tan. together they have crafted a short story inspired by Olympia’s embroidered clutch-bag collection called Mourir Auprès de Toi. the film is based around the love story of a clumsy skeleton and his flame-haired amour played out amidst Le-Tan’s illustrations of classic first-edition book covers. shot inside one of paris’ most iconic bookstores, shakespeare & co., the film features around 3,000 pieces of hand-cut felt pieces created by the burgeoning designer. check out the film below, courtesy of nowness (twitter @nowness) and read their interview with Spike about the project here.

Spike Jonze: Mourir Auprès de Toi on Nowness.com.

also check out a short making-of below

we’ve been recently captivated by the illustration work of chicago based Bryce Wilner, hence why he’s our next colectivo futurist featured artist. Bryce’s work can be found at the crossroads between stunning illustration and smart graphic design, in fact it’s the way he mixes both that makes his works so enticing.  combining the influences of his upbringing in the 80s/90s and modern day digital culture, Bryce is able to bring simple concepts to life with the use of stunning colors and rough edges to convey a sense of constant movement. read our interview with Bryce below and as usual we hope you enjoy his work as much as we do!

BRYCE WILNER (illustrator / graphic designer, Chicago)

website | behance | twitter: @BryceWilner

* when did you first start illustrating? how do you feel your work has evolved during the years?

My first memories of “illustrating” are ones wherein I’m at age four or five and copying X-Men cards (I still remember my two favorite illustrators from those days: Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell). I’ve been drawing pretty regularly throughout my entire life, but I never really considered myself an illustrator until I started attending design school at the University of South Carolina. It took me a little while to distinguish between graphic design and illustration, and, while the two can certainly complement one another, I think it’s important to note that they exist as very separate entities.
During the last three or four years, my work has gradually moved from paper to screen. I still keep sketchbooks and draw by hand all the time, but I have much greater interest in what can be done on a computer screen. I have great respect for images that are unabashedly digital.

*  your work has a very distinct approach to bright colors and the use of light, where do you normally draw your influence from?

I think a fondness for bright colors can be traced back to the clothes I wore, the cartoons I watched, and the tapes I heard throughout my youth in the late 80s and early 90s. I felt a strong connection to the radio R&B and pop of the era, and the images that accompanied those sounds were often rendered in these really wonderful pinks, greens, and turquoises.
Like everyone else, I now spend my days meandering through the blogosphere and return with ideas of varying quality. I don’t quite have a fixed source from which I regularly pull inspiration, but the guys at But Does It Float have done a great deal to refine my digital tastes in the past couple of years. Clicking through that blog, I’m met with the same feeling I get when I walk through the stacks at the public library. That said, I consider libraries (the content they carry as well as their general concept) to be a huge presence in my life.

* cubism elements are ever-present in your works, how do you achieve a balance between the influence of cubism from the past and your own personal signature?

I get loads of comments likening my work to cubism and Italian futurism, but it’s not an association I initially set out to trigger. Figures in my drawings have their features cut into planes and defined ridges, which was initially a product of my interest in modulating the human body. I can see the similarities and I understand why that connection gets made, but I hope the impression is not one that is totally derivative.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?  

My brother works for this amazing, Chicago-based electronic music journal called Little White Earbuds. He keeps me up to my ears in techno, house, and bass music. I like to think my tastes are relatively broad, but I am really interested in what a lot of those people are doing right now. More and more often, my aesthetic tastes are leaning toward the ethereal and the sensual. I hear a lot of that when I hear dance music.

I’m not one to rattle off lists of artists whose works I’ve absorbed in hopes of validating myself, but I will say that I’ll work for John Roberts, Floatings Points, and Gas for absolutely free.

* what is your favorite thing about living in Chicago?

Chicago has a rich design and art history in which its citizens take a lot of pride. The design community is enthusiastic, supportive, and ambitious. I’ve only lived here for about a year, and I’ve had some really kind people reach out to me. I take comfort in the fact that I already recognize a good amount of the faces I see when I’m out at cultural events. I feel like I still have a great deal to gain from the area.

* which projects are you currently working on? what can we expect from yourself in the future?

In the future, I’d like to take on more editorial illustration jobs. Most of my images are self-initiated. I’m interested in seeing what others might brief me to do.
I’m doing a couple of record sleeves for some friends, but those projects aren’t very far along at the moment. I’ve about reached the halfway point with a new book that I’m writing and illustrating. It’s currently untitled; I should have it finished by this winter. Books are always really engaging because by the time I’ve finished them I feel like the idea with which I began has completely changed. I don’t know for sure where this one’s going, but you might place it in the neighborhood of science-fiction.

morphologic studios is the partnership of marine biologist colin foord and musician jared mckay. based out of miami, they use a local aquarium as their primary source of inspiration to study the artistic possibilities of living coral reef organisms. these studies usually result in short, yet stunning HD quality videos that portray aquatic lifeforms in a very intimate and beautiful setting. however, they don’t stop at capturing marine life from an artistic standpoint, they also collaborate with biologists from the université de provence in marseille to develop a living genetic database, aquaculture techniques, and biological assays of coral species.

‘Man O War’
Physalia physalis
Film + Aquarium: Morphologic
Original Soundtrack: Geologist

recently, morphologic‘s beautifully crafted shorts have been garnering attention in the arts and music communities, as evidenced by their inclusion in the animal collective curated ATP back in may (infos). they’ve also featured in public installations in miami and more recently in cairns, australia. they’ve even made an appearance on cult tv network adult swim (link), and they’ve produced a video for electronic duo ‘walls’ on the much revered kompakt label (see below)

check out some of our favorite shorts by morphologic studios below. also keep track of their future projects via their website or by following them on twitter @coralmorph

‘Corynactis viridis’
The feeding of a Corynactis viridis corallimorph
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios

‘The Florist’
Leptopsia setirostris (Decorator Crab) scavenging amongst a Zoanthus polyp garden
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios

‘The Squat Urchin Shrimp’
Gnathophylloides mineri on Tripneustes ventricosus
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios

‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’
Dissodactylus primitivus on Meoma ventricosa
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios