Branding Our 3rd Album - Part 1

Release of Spooky Kool Album, "I AM" is well underway, but we want to bring you into our world and share the steps we take to release and publish new music for distribution while elevating our brand. This should benefit us all.

Spooky Kool is a Phoenix, Arizona-based international band and collectively planning the release of their 3rd album entitled, "I AM" We noted in an earlier LinkedIn POST that we would walk you through the process and requirements to release music for international distribution, and the first thing that we realized is that a LinkedIn ARTICLE is the best vehicle for getting large amounts of content out to members on the site.

The title track recording is completed, and while many artists are satisfied with their initial recording, the real work is just beginning. Time should be taken to listen to your recording and make adjustments to balance and blend all of your components and this is the mixing aspect of your project. I suggest that you listen to your tracks several times and on different devices and speaker systems so you have an honest comfort for how your music will sound once released to the public. We've completed the mixing aspect for the single and title track, "I AM" and the mastering of the music is next, but there is significant background work that must be done. I call it "Branding" and "Packaging."

I'll talk more about Branding in another article (this article is actually a part of "Branding" and elevating awareness of our product), but I like to share with you the importance of "Packaging." Our first album cover was created by Fine Artists Barbara Rudolph, https://www.barbararudolphfineart.com. My horn was the model used for this wonderful work of art and I was grateful to blessed with such beautiful art on the cover of my first album.

I created the graphical designs for our 2nd album cover, "Do You Have The Time" and the cover for our EP, "Live At Michael's."

The Artwork for our 3rd Album, "I AM" has to deliver a message as the content of the album is speaking out to everyone, and the title track has to jump out at you. Gregory noted that, "You can't tell a book by it's cover...but you certainly want the cover to elevate the shopper's interest." So we have engaged in conversations about the lyrics and what message are we trying to portray and how that can be captured in the art work.

Gregory is no stranger to the world of art. His Artist Statement is as follows:

My name is Gregory A. Lee. I am an illustrator and graphic designer. I received a Masters of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Miami International University of Art and Design in 2010. For over 35 years, I have used my professional design experience in the corporate world. My goal is to give back my experience through teaching graphic design online.

Just as a musician chooses to express the world through sounds of melodic deliveries, which in turn touches our hearing sensations, an artist is challenged to express the visual aspects of life to stimulate ones visual perception and emotions. He or she is able to create images that can be contained within standard boundaries or can be totally opposite and abstract pushing it far beyond the norm.

Most of my art deals with portraits of individuals. My work is usually defined through bold color and texture. I do experiment with various techniques. My goal is to continue to stretch my skillset.

What is most important to me is my faith and dedication to the Heavenly Father, who has continuously blessed, healed and, kept me and, has given me a charge and direction in this life. I believe within each of us, God has instilled a special gift. It is your choice to nurture it and use it to the best of your ability to bless others and leave your legacy stamp.

Peace.

Gregory will soon be submitting approximately a dozen preliminary roughs for us to proof before deciding the final artwork, so we will keep you posted on our progress along with the other steps we take before the actual pre-release of our single and title track, "I AM". Stay tuned...