projects / album design · 2023

Au 5 de la
rue Courtin

For:
Thierry Riou.
Recording and sound production: Michel Denis.
Photographs: Philippe Pinet.
My role: graphic design, illustration and layout.
Cover of the album Au 5 de la rue Courtin: a house at night, crossed by yellow lines and musical notes
Inside the digipack: a brick wall in yellow light, and the thread winding into a spiral
The disc: the yellow thread spirals in to the centre
The back of the album: the three musicians and the list of twelve tracks
The cover surrounded by the names of the musicians, guests and team
1 / 5
the album

Au 5 de la rue Courtin is a story of family, music, friendships and encounters. The story of a house where Thierry Riou grew up, surrounded by his brothers and sisters, and where his passion for music was born.

Around Thierry, on vocals and guitar: Marc Roger on gypsy-jazz guitar and Jean-Philippe Cazenove on double bass. With two outstanding guests: accordionist Daniel Mille and Jordi Reig Beneyto.

An acoustic album where French chanson, jazz, Brazilian influences and gypsy-jazz sounds meet.

the brief

Design the album's graphic world, its digipack and its 16-page booklet. Accompany the songs and the memories they carry, without overshadowing what they tell.

the gesture

Like an ostinato, a graphic motif recurs throughout the booklet. In counterpoint, Philippe Pinet's photographs, my illustrations and Thierry's words answer one another, page after page, track after track.

As Thierry Riou puts it: “It all began at 5 rue Courtin. Naturally: that's where I was born.”

in the booklet
Opening spread of the booklet: Thierry Riou on guitar in the studio, surrounded by his text
The opening: Thierry's text, in the studio.
Spread of the musicians, in black-and-white photographs linked by the yellow thread
Spread for La Dame du Tage and Les Oiseaux de passage: Lisbon drawn in yellow line, the thread turning into birds
Lisbon, drawn in line, for La Dame du Tage.
Acknowledgements spread: Thierry Riou on stage, Michel Denis in a photograph, Philippe Pinet and me drawn in yellow line
The acknowledgements, and our line portraits.
“Both quality and responsiveness are top-notch at Terra Grafika, which had been recommended to me, and I understand why!”
Thierry Riou, musician, Google review, 2020 · translated from French
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