Space Echo

Analog Africa’s album story turned picture book

Space Echo – The Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed! (Analog Africa Nr. 20)

The illustrations are an interpretation of the album’s text which presents a story about Cape Verde’s Funaná scene. It tells of how the electronic instruments that washed up in a ship on São Nicolau’s beaches were taken in by schools. “Keyboards found fertile grounds in the hands of curious children, born with an innate sense of rhythm who picked up the ready-to-use instruments.” This led to the modernization of local rhythms like Mornas, Coladeras and Funaná.

I was inspired by textile patterns, namely Pano de Terra from Cape Verde and the icons on museum pedestals designed by Tomi Oladipo for Vlisco. To tie into the music component, I painted graphic scores all across the illustrations, almost like sound waves, weaving through and on top of other elements.