Welcome to the new JILL TRACY website!
I miss that magic of holding an album cover in your hands for the first time. Blasting the music, reading the lyrics, shutting out the world, and feeling a profound intimacy with that artist merely through pictures and text. The album cover, and its inner sleeve secrets were the doorway into a life you wished you were living.
This grand escape doesn’t exist anymore. The album concept has been trampled by thoughtlessly downloaded singles with no regard to continuity or expression. There used to be a time when you couldn’t hear a song from an album without recalling its enigmatic cover–Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup, Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, T Rex’s The Slider, David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World… Sadly, today I’m not sure I would even recognize the album covers to music I listen to the most. There is a complete disconnect there now.
The artist’s website is the closest option we have these days:
Our internet doorway into the mind’s eye.
That was my goal designing my new website- I wanted to get that sense of losing yourself within an album cover, a scrap book, a collection. I wanted you to feel like you were actually spending time with me, in my singular sanctuary. Lavish, sensual, yet simple. No Flash, corporate logos, gizmos, widgets (except for the Mailing List.) Let’s shut out the rest of the world, if only for a moment.
(Don’t worry, there is a Social Networks page. All those ludicrous buttons now have their own little cupboard. Under the stairs.You can find them if you really need to.)
The backgrounds were created by brilliant artist and friend Robert Rossello. (You remember his gorgeous artwork for Diabolical Streak!) We collected and created imagery–all from my personal collection– Even the textures like feathers, fur, old medical perscriptions, antique charts of constellations, opium poppies, apothecary bottles, my talismans– are all originally crafted.
This brand new photo by the fantastic Audrey Penven became the perfect “portal” –the landing page for the website. The entire shoot will be featured soon, so stay tuned.
Many thanks to the remarkable Sue Trowbridge for her endless programming expertise, coaching, and patience as I developed this site. It’s been a long time coming.
I’m excited because this is the first online representation of all my projects in addition to music all in one place. Lots more will be added soon! Let me know what you would like to see. Please explore and enjoy.
JT
