Graphic designer Lasse Ermalm is one of Sweden's foremost cover makers, who has made Swedish album covers since the 70s.
Artists such as John Holm's, Carola's and Cornelis Vreeswijk's album covers are among the around 2500 he has created over the years.
Portrays the music in pictures
In his book, he shares how it happened in the cover workshop.
"In the Metronome studio, where I started working, they had a big brown corduroy sofa that you could kind of sink into. Then everything poured over me – and that's where my process simply started," says Lasse Ermalm.
"It's about visualising and portraying the music in pictures in some way. That is, to transfer what you hear – into something you watch. The music shouldn't be a big surprise.
A unified work of art
The album covers played a major role for a long time, until the era of streamed music when the covers were replaced with images and clips adapted for the digital platforms.
At the same time, interest in vinyl records has returned and it is predicted to become increasingly common with CDs for, among other things, merch, due to delays and production errors at the vinyl factories.
That's why the covers as an art form still live on, says Lasse Ermalm.
"You can never get away from the fact that at the end of the day, it's the music that's at issue. But to have it packaged in an attractive way or something that appeals to you and adds something extra, that adds to this album thing – that it's a unified work of art so to speak.