Modular People

Melbourne designer Leif Podhajsky was responsible for the blissed-out imagery associated with Tame Impala's InnerSpeaker and its first single, "Solitude Is Bliss". Leif shares a bunch of the covers that have caught his eye over time from his personal collection.


Free - Free (1969)
Cover by: Ron Rafaelli of the Visual Thing Inc.

"This is one of my all time favourite covers, a silhouette of a women made of stars leaping across the sky, along with the beautifully restrained typography reading "Free" gives the cover a floating dreamlike quality. "

Santana - Abraxsas (1970)
Cover by: Mati Klarwein

"Speaks for itself, any cover by Mati Klarwein is mesmerising, there is so much going on with this one doesn't know where to look first, really great collage style composition and use of colour adds to the confusion. Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" is another one of his great album covers."

The Rascals - See (1969)
Cover by: Rene Magritte

"I love the dark tone of the ocean and the negative space in this painting by Rene Magritte, with the sky magically incapsulated in the cut out bird. I am glad they didn't ruin it by putting any type on the cover also."

CAN - Monster Movie (1969)
Cover by: Wandrey's Studio

The Marvel comic character Galactus on the front makes makes me think of the singer Malcolm Mooney with his raw, powerful and repetitious vocals. The colour palette adds to the surreal image of the floating futuristic knight hovering above the mountains holding his mask or face in his hand with void where it should be. And because I love CAN.

13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (1966)
Cover by: John Cleveland

"The hand drawn wavy liquid like forms, with trippy bubble lettering sort of started the whole 60s Psych look and feel. The Elevators were pioneers of Psychedelic music and lifestyle, there's some debate as to this was the first use of the word "Psychedelic" in reference to the sounds inside, with the Blues Magoo's 'Psychedelic Lollipop' and The Deeps' 'Psychedelic Moods' also being released in November 1966.

Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood (1977)
Cover by: Jay L. Lee

"Ian Anderson reminds me of a fantastical wizard with a flute instead of a sword. I simply like this cover as I often wish I was off in the woods making a tea over the fire on some mystical quest."

Phantasia - Phantasia (1972)
Cover By: Eric Christofel

"This album is a bit of a gem, the cover re-enforces the soft psych-folk feel giving it a bit of a dark and eerie tone."

Tree - On the Shore (1970)
Cover By: Storm Thorgerson

"It's hard to pick a favourite cover by Storm Thorgerson, we all know the famous ones - Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Where Here" - but this one is just so simple and so spooky, shot in a private garden in Hamstead and hand coloured from a black and white photograph. Great use of typography."

Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Cover By: Cal Shenkel

"Strange cover for a strange album, I love how completely insane it all is. Cal Shenkel worked on a lot of Frank Zappa's projects. For the cover he hollowed out a carp that he bought from a local fish market which Beafheart placed onto his face for the shot. Apparently Beefheart picked up a sax and started playing through the mouth of the fish. "

Black Mountain - In the Future (2008)
Cover by: Jeremy Schmidt

"Most defiantly my favourite cover from recent times, even if it is very reminiscent of the past it has a modern distinction to it. Everything about this is quality, the serif typeface and placement, the border, and the otherworldly landscape behind the tiles makes you feel like your on another planet. Designed by the keyboardist from the band.

The Last James - Kindergarten (1996)
Cover by: Andrej Nebb, Lars Pedersen

"I really enjoy the contrast between the traditional and the abstract here, with the painting running down to give new form to what looks like a very traditional religious painting."

Joy Division - Closer (1980)
Cover by: Peter Saville

"I thought about not including a cover by Peter Saville but couldn't do it, his work is so influential to modern design. This cover depicting Christ's body entombed, with its minimalistic approach reflects the albums morbid feel. Designed before, but released shorty after Ian Curtis's death."