Yagow – Yagow LP cover and ads

“It is an exploration of vibe and mood, space-gazing through its 42-minute stretch propelled by unknown fuels” — The Obelisk

YAGOW, the psychedelic rock trio out of the German province, have released their self-titled debut record (in a limited edition of 300) on June 16th, 2017 via Crazysane Records.

The LP is printed in two spot colors (PMS Violet and 802 Neon Yellow) and comes in a screenprinted PVC overbag. As soon as you pull the record out of the overbag, the album artwork starts to move and sucks you right into a mesmerizing vortex.

The animation technique was patented back in 1896 by W. Symons and premiered in “The Motograph Moving Picture Book”. Today, it is mostly known by the name “kinegram”.

The YAGOW LP is an early use of the revived Hershey Fonts, a type family with roots just as obscure as the music on the record. Frank Grießhammer dug deep and told their story at TypeCon2015 in Denver. The LP type system is a combination of different Hershey Fonts: Yagow’s “logo” is rendered in Hershey Italian Gothic, a set of Lombardic caps that A. V. Hershey modeled after Will Bradley’s Missal Initials (ATF, 1904). The whirlwind-like arranged track listing uses the “simplex” (single-stroke sans serif) roman, which is an adaptation of an alphabet found on Leroy lettering sets. Track numbers are in Simplex Script, with side labels in bold letters from Hershey’s “complex” alphabets.

Minotaur Sans and Shatter join the Hersheys and add a bold touch to the LP release and concert advertising banners.