Interview with MATTHEW COOPER
“it's never a dull label and that's enough to keep you inspired and interested at every turn.”
Please introduce yourself!
Hello. My name is Matthew Cooper. I am a designer and illustrator. I am married to Anita, who is also a designer. We have two children - Maddie aged 6 and Cy aged 3. We live in North London and I work from an untidy studio in East London.
How long have you been active as designer/illustrator?
I have worked freelance since leaving art college, where I studied illustration, in 1988. Initially I was only doing illustration – book jackets, magazine, that kind of thing. My first work for the music industry
were the illustrations for "Black Eyed Man" by Cowboy Junkies in 1991.
You've been working with UK's most independent label, Domino Records since its foundation. What brought you to work with them?
Friends of mine were in a band, Bowlfish, who were signed to Roughneck Records - the label that Laurence Bell ran before he started Domino. They needed someone to put their artwork together and as my friend Richard and I had been to art school, they presumed we'd know what to do. This was in 1992.
What was your first job with Domino?
The first job I did for Domino was to design the logo. I remember the first time I saw one on a record sleeve - it was on the "Soul and Fire" 7 inch by Sebadoh - a thrilling moment!
In those days Domino was run from Laurence's bedroom. I remember sitting on his bedroom floor, laying out Royal Trux album artwork onto bits of cardboard with Pritt Stick.
How does Domino and its artists inspire you? Please also name the artists you¹ve worked with.
I am lucky enough to have worked with most of the artists on Domino, to a greater or lesser degree: Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, To Rococo Rot, Wild Beasts, Four Tet, Villagers, Max Tundra, Adem, Archie Bronson Outfit, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Clinic, James Yorkston, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid... the list goes on. What is also lucky is that I am a fan of just about every Domino band! The list of their bands is so eclectic - I never know what they're going to come up with next - it's never a dull label and that's enough to keep you inspired and interested at every turn.
What album artwork (from Domino) had the most challenging creative process? Please share a story!
Just as Franz Ferdinand's "You Could Have It So Much Better" was about to go to print, I noticed that the lyrics to "Walk Away" were missing. All the lyrics had been handwritten by Alex in old school books and somehow "Walk Away" had been lost. Unfortunately, when I realised the omission, Franz were in the middle of a field at a festival in Belgium. Fortunately Alex had the same pen with which he had written the other lyrics, and another of the school books. He also managed to find someone with a scanner. So I was able
to slot the missing lyrics in at the very last minute. I believe there may be some rare early copies of the US LP that have the lyrics missing.
