THE CHAPTERS / 09
BEHIND THE LENS.
Discover music through the eyes of photographers.
Discover the selection
MUSIC THAT CHANGES THE WAY YOU LOOK.
Light, rhythm, contrast. Photography and music do not need to explain one another to trigger something. BEHIND THE LENS explores the records that evoke images and provide space for a unique perspective.
MUSIC EXPLAINED.
LOOKING WITH YOUR EARS OPEN.
From an iconic portrait on an album cover to music for selecting your own photos. Twenty records about image, mood, rhythm, and focus.
Read the storyA SELECTION BY SJELF.
THE RECORDS.
Twenty album picks by SJELF for people who love photography and visuals. Sometimes the connection begins with the cover, sometimes with the mood or the composition of the music. This is our own selection, not a list of recommendations from the aforementioned photographers.
THE IMAGE BEFORE THE FIRST NOTE.
01 / 1975
HORSES.
Patti Smith
Robert Mapplethorpe’s portrait immediately sets an attitude. Lay the cover next to you and listen to how Smith’s voice can shift between restraint and outburst.
02 / 1977
HEROES.
David Bowie
Masayoshi Sukita’s portrait turns a gesture into an image that sticks. The music moves between direct songs and instrumental passages with plenty of room for your own associations.
03 / 1971
BLUE.
Joni Mitchell
A face comes close, but not everything is revealed. The personal songs are a beautiful occasion to reflect on distance and intimacy in a portrait.
04 / 1985
HOUNDS OF LOVE.
Kate Bush
Voices and sounds allow images to emerge without pinning them down. Pay attention to the transition to the second half of the album: a different order changes the world you end up in.
05 / 1973
THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON.
Pink Floyd
The cover uses a graphic prism, not a photographic portrait. That difference is interesting: one clear image can make an entire album recognizable, even before the first note sounds.
LIGHT AND OPEN SPACE.
06 / 1978
AMBIENT 1: MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS.
Brian Eno
Loose sounds and long intervals let your own gaze move freely. Try this record while quietly looking back at photos, without constantly skipping to the next track.
07 / 1998
MOON SAFARI.
AIR
Rounded basslines and soft keys color a space without filling everything in. A light choice for sorting through images where mood is more important than heavy action.
08 / 2015
THE UNIVERSE SMILES UPON YOU.
Khruangbin
Guitar lines move over a relaxed rhythm section. The open sound invites you to linger on a single image and observe the edges of the frame as well.
09 / 2001
MELODY A.M..
Röyksopp
Electronic details and melodies alternate between rest and movement. Listen to how different layers appear, much like foreground and background within the same photo.
10 / 1972
PINK MOON.
Nick Drake
Small instrumentation makes every accent visible to your ears. A record to pair with a sober photo series: how much can you leave out before the image loses its strength?
TEXTURE AND REPETITION.
11 / 2000
KID A.
Radiohead
Voices, rhythms, and instruments take on alienated forms. An invitation to also pay attention to repetition, distortion, and the allure of something not immediately clear in your images.
12 / 1988
SPIRIT OF EDEN.
Talk Talk
Silence and eruptions together determine the scale. Try leaving a photo up longer while the music changes in intensity; perhaps your gaze will suddenly land on a different detail.
13 / 2013
SPACES.
Nils Frahm
Piano and electronics work with repetition, buildup, and the sound of the space itself. Suitable for a long session in which you let a series of images emerge rather than looking for one perfect photo.
14 / 1998
MUSIC HAS THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN.
Boards of Canada
Warm, distorted sounds provide a sense of memory without pointing to one specific recollection. An interesting combination with old photos where the full context is no longer known.
15 / 1992
SELECTED AMBIENT WORKS 85–92.
Aphex Twin
Rhythmic patterns and soft soundscapes exist side by side. Try following a single repeating detail and notice how much the environment around it can shift.
SHADOW AND MOVEMENT.
16 / 2016
BLACKSTAR.
David Bowie
The music shifts in scale and direction; familiar forms are broken open. Our choice for images that don't tell everything at once and reveal something different upon repeated viewing.
17 / 1998
MEZZANINE.
Massive Attack
Deep bass, sharp edges, and voices emerging from the shadows. Think of contrast: which parts of an image grab attention because the rest remains dark?
18 / 1994
DUMMY.
Portishead
Noise, rhythm, and a closely miked voice create tension. A record that can make you reflect on grain and imperfection as a component of an image.
19 / 2010
BLACK SANDS.
Bonobo
Acoustic colors and electronics glide past one another. The alternation between detail and movement fits perfectly with finding rhythm within a photo series.
20 / 1999
ÁGÆTIS BYRJUN.
Sigur Rós
Long lines and grand transitions give sounds an almost spatial scale. Let the music coexist with a landscape without every moment needing a literal translation.
These albums are listening recommendations. Please check the current vinyl stock for each artist. Multiple editions may exist on Spotify; compare the title and tracklist with the record you are looking for.
THE MAKERS BEHIND THE RECORDS.
THE ARTISTS.
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PATTI SMITH.
Horses · 1975
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DAVID BOWIE.
Heroes · 1977
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JONI MITCHELL.
Blue · 1971
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KATE BUSH.
Hounds of Love · 1985
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PINK FLOYD.
The Dark Side of the Moon · 1973
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BRIAN ENO.
Ambient 1: Music for Airports · 1978
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AIR.
Moon Safari · 1998
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KHRUANGBIN.
The Universe Smiles Upon You · 2015
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RÖYKSOPP.
Melody A.M. · 2001
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NICK DRAKE.
Pink Moon · 1972
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RADIOHEAD.
Kid A · 2000
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TALK TALK.
Spirit of Eden · 1988
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NILS FRAHM.
Spaces · 2013
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BOARDS OF CANADA.
Music Has the Right to Children · 1998
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APHEX TWIN.
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 · 1992
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MASSIVE ATTACK.
Mezzanine · 1998
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PORTISHEAD.
Dummy · 1994
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BONOBO.
Black Sands · 2010
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SIGUR RÓS.
Ágætis byrjun · 1999
BEHIND THE RECORDS.
THE STORIES.
ALBUM STORY.
KID A. (Radiohead)
After OK Computer, Radiohead changed their own rules. Kid A shows how distorted vocals, electronics, and fragile melodies became a new language.
Read the story
ALBUM STORY.
HOUNDS OF LOVE. (Kate Bush)
Five songs that take you by the hand, followed by a night at sea. How Kate Bush gave pop and imagination the same space on Hounds of Love.
Read the story
ALBUM STORY.
BLACKSTAR. (David Bowie)
Seven songs, a new band, and a voice that kept searching for the unknown. How David Bowie opened up a different musical world one last time with Blackstar.
Read the storyWhich music suits your way of seeing?
Tell us what your passion is, which three albums belong to it, and why. Your record selection could be the start of someone else's new discovery.
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