Sacred Bones Records

Sacred Bones Records is a Brooklyn based record label founded in 2007 by Caleb Braaten. They serve a diverse rooster of independent music, ranging from psychedelica and folk to post-punk and electronic experimentation. With over a hundred releases under their belt, they have established themselves as one of the strongest (and sometimes strangest) new voices in comtemporary music.

One of Sacred Bones strongest aspects is the consistent design of their LP covers, achieved by using a template that has remained the same since their fourth release, Factums’ The Sistrum in 2008.

That’s always been a deliberate part of Sacred Bones: We wanted to be distinctive and to be known for [our] design. That’s our background. Those are the people who have inspired us over the years. Peter Saville [of Factory Records] is why I’m a designer. — David Correll

Influenced by classic British labels like Factory and 4AD along with Penguin Books and the layouts of classical music, art director David Correll created the iconic template Sacred Bones use for their album covers. Dubbed simply “the LP Template”, it is set entirely in various styles of Sabon, using the same formula of artist name in bold followed by “an LP recorded in 20XX”, the title in italics, and then the track listing. Variations are created by manipulating type color, illustration and — later in the series — the entire background.

With releases where the LP template — for whatever reason — does not fit, they use a smaller colored frame with nothing but artist name and catalogue number.