Sam Wenc’s handmade album covers for independent music prove the importance of doing it yourself

The Philadelphia-based Sam Wenc, an interdisciplinary artist, composer and “improviser” has been making album covers, show posters and merchandise for over ten years. It really shows. A self taught designer, his work is inspired by various aesthetics which is evident in his taste of music – Yo La Tengo, Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, Arvo Part – all artists he has also worked with. At the core of his practice is a handmade collage-style approach – it’s soulful, non-flashy and folky takes on design, sculpture, textile art and poetry. “They all are pulling from the same well that has its roots in my relationship with sound,” says Sam. “Contrast, harmonics, decay, velocity, attack, rhythm, pulse, texture, heart, all come into play when thinking about making work.”

As the co-founder of Lobby Art Editions, a record label that releases works by artists that explore the boundaries of genre, Sam knows his stuff. “Where I first really grew to appreciate the care and intent of crafting a visual language to accompany albums would be from my time with Hometapes Records (shoutout Sara and Adam!)” says Sam. “I interned with them while I was in undergrad and they ran the label out of their house. This is where I fell in love with packaging, print and the whole presentation of an album.” Through the multi-directional responsibilities of running a label that celebrates indie artists and representing them through faithful album art, Sam encapsulates what is so addicting and warm about underground music.

His album cover designs get to the heart of the DIY attitude with block prints, scanned archival materials, cut up shapes and homespun photographs. Unpretentious and made to touch and hold, Sam’s work is inspired by “hearing and feeling the labour in music, art and design”, – meaning, even the grunt work of packing up records and making runs to the post office feel integral to the process. “I want to know if a human touched it, ran it through their fingers and made a decision and ran with it,” ends Sam.