Julian House is a graphic designer, a musician, and the co-owner of the

Ghost Box Ghost Box is an independent, UK-based electronic music record label, launched in 2004 by graphic designer Julian House and producer Jim Jupp. Its roster includes artists such as Jupp's Belbury Poly, House's The Focus Group, and the Advisor ...

record label.Interview with Julian House
, ''FACT Magazine'' - from the ''Ghost Box'' website He records music as

the Focus Group The Focus Group is a project of experimental electronic musician and graphic designer Julian House. The Focus Group's sound is a blend of influences ranging from old library music sounds produced in the 1970s, 1960s-inspired pastiches, public ...

Graphic design

House is associated with

Intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

, a London-based design/production direction company who work in many media. House is perhaps most known for his album cover design; most notably for

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...

, Oasis, The Prodigy, Broadcast, and

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...

amongst others. His work is largely collage-based, and draws heavily on record sleeve design and comic book art, with an acknowledged

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

influence - in House's own words, "the 'pulp' end of things which still informs me today, as much as classic design… Strange old vinyl LPs, paperback books, found ephemera…" In the same interview, House named many artists across many disciplines as influences, ranging from Peter Saville,

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

and

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, Bryon Gysin, H. P. Lovecraft, and

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

.Interview with Julian House
, ''Soul Riot'' House also contributed design work to the 2012 Peter Strickland movie

Berberian Sound Studio ''Berberian Sound Studio'' is a 2012 British psychological horror film. It is the second feature film by British director and screenwriter Peter Strickland. The film, which stars Toby Jones, is set in a 1970s Italian horror film studio. Plot B ...

. As well as producing posters and recording studio ephemera for use within the film, he conceptualized and designed the credit sequence for the ‘film within the film’ on which the movie is based.

Music

House releases music under the

alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

The Focus Group The Focus Group is a project of experimental electronic musician and graphic designer Julian House. The Focus Group's sound is a blend of influences ranging from old library music sounds produced in the 1970s, 1960s-inspired pastiches, public ...

on the label

, which he is co-founder of with Jim Jupp. The releases on the label tend to share a common aesthetic, both in design and sound, which draws heavily on the sound of the

BBC Radiophonic Workshop The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering work in electroni ...

, musique concrète, the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

s to

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

from the 1970s, and

library music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgroun ...

. He lists his most recent work as collaborating with

Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, '' Maxinquaye'' (1995). S ...

, some

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

s for

Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, ''Live Earth'' was built upon the be ...

, ongoing Ghost Box work and a musical collaboration with Broadcast.

References

External links

Intro, a London-based design firm with which House is associatedGhost
{{DEFAULTSORT:House, Julian British electronic musicians Ambient musicians Living people British graphic designers Ghost Box Music Year of birth missing (living people)