Roosevelt

Marius Lauber (Roosevelt) is a dedicated musician who is drawn to all forms of dance music. From yacht rock to Balearic textures, house euphoria to sub-zero techno, it’s the warm emotional touch that drives his music and makes people fall in love with his breakthrough ‘Elliot EP’, outstanding debut album ‘Roosevelt’, bold and addictive follow-up ‘Young Romance’ and his daring forthcoming album ‘Polydans’. His latest release ‘Polydans, comprised five singles, including Feels Right, Strangers, and Lovers. I was approached by Always Create to design a set of motion graphics for their Polydans singles ‘Strangers’ and ‘Lovers’.

Bold / Alive / Melodic / Vibrant / Ethereal

These keywords summarise the visual direction of this project. Roosevelt’s music is meant to make people feel lost in the moment during the catchy and emotional moments of the song. It’s something listeners can dance to, feel inspired, and keep their creative flow going. I aimed to capture the abstract feeling of how music flows through us and visualise his signature modern pop yet 90’s nostalgic sound. It also had to suit his aesthetic but be bold and different from his previous discography.

Strangers

I was presented a 15 - 20 second snippet of the song, one with instrumental and one with vocals. I felt a sense of a melodic groove coming from the drums and bass, with synths, guitars, and vocals driving the vibrant, ethereal atmosphere forward. To further encapsulate that ‘outer world’ atmosphere, I got the idea of soundwaves moving about as a background aesthetic in a 3D form of movement.

I developed a 15-second teaser without lyrics that was atmospheric soundwaves, which then progressed into a 20-second advert with lyrics, typography, and an 8-second Spotify Canvas. Currently on Spotify, Strangers has over 29,000,000 streams and is his most popular track.

Lovers

Given the success of Strangers, I was commissioned to create a 20-second advert for Roosevelt's follow-up single to Strangers 'Lovers'. Roosevelt's team wanted to go for heavily vibrant colours that played into the theme of Valentine's Day.

To do this, I created liquid acid visuals with inks, oil and water to symbolise the love of chemistry that felt natural through a DIY setup using a Sony camera to capture the fluid motion. Initially, they rejected the idea of using Valentine's colours, so I heavily recoloured the visuals in After Effects to look similar to the dark purple and red colours of Strangers.

On My Mind / About U

I was commissioned again to create artwork for Roosevelt's follow-up to Polydans with the double single On My Mind / About U, which would be released on vinyl alongside a motion graphic and tour posters.

‍"Sometimes, I feel like you can't see what's on my mind because it feels like a blur in my head, and I can't get out what I'm trying to say to you".

This conversation with my partner inspired the idea of experimenting with gradients to create an atmospheric artwork that symbolised being unable to see what was on one person’s mind.

Artwork Direction

After much experimentation with texture, colour, gradients, design layout, and typography, the client chose an atmospheric and ethereal design that would resonate with listeners. Inspired by 90's art and the Polydans record, the visuals invoke a feeling of warmth and nostalgia. The artwork was designed to visually represent the atmosphere and sound that permeate the track. This was via background colours depicting an ethereal streak of light across the sky, mirroring the music's celestial quality.
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