Tapa, the artist behind Malaysia's nostalgic album covers of yesteryear
Israr Khalid
April 16, 2016 05:30 MYT
April 16, 2016 05:30 MYT
Tapa carved a niche for himself as one of the most sought-after album cover designer in the Malaysian music fraternity. - Photos by Astro AWANI/Shahir Omar
IT all started with Pink Floyd's 1975 album, Wish You Were Here.
Mustaffa Ahmad, the Perak-born lad, was a graphic design final year student of Universiti Teknologi MARA (now known as Universiti Teknologi MARA or UiTM).
The group's album sleeve conceptualised by English graphic artist, Storm Thorgerson featured two men shaking hands, one of them set ablaze. The then-young Tapa fell in love with it instantly.
Fueled by a burning interest in music, he knew in his heart that the calling to be an album designer was irrevocable.
His decision to pursue his dream was a life-changing one. A visit to recording giant, EMI to obtain knowledge and learnt the methods in album designing adopted by the company, landed himself his dream job.
Tapa was hired almost immediately!
“They said, artistes would have their photos taken and sent to the printer right away, it is up to the latter to work on them in terms of design concepts, colour and etc.
“I felt uneasy with the concept, and shared my two cents worth about how album designs should be done. Perhaps they found my ideas fascinating … and later offered me a job there."
Tapa started his career at EMI as a graphic artist for album covers as a fresh graduate. His maiden effort was Kebebasan, the 1979 effort by Carefree that spawned the monster hit, Rindu Bayangan.
The vast wealth of knowledge that the local creative industry offered at that time led Tapa to venture into other areas of the industry: advertising. Without a hint of hesitation, Tapa admitted that the nominal wage he was earning was insufficient to sustain life.
He would spend his free time as a part-time designer with projects from EMI and several other recording companies including Warner Music and BMG.
Not just any illustration
Tapa admitted that designing an album cover is not an easy feat. Tapa admitted it was difficult for him to fulfill the constant demands from record label producers, artiste and repertoire (A&R) executives that hindered creative expression and freedom.
Working on Malam, the 1980 effort by the country’s first Lady of Songs Datuk Sharifah Aini, Tapa admitted he was faced with challenges during the early stage of his career.
“For that album, I only featured a lone oil lamp lit in the dark without the music dame's mugshot in the design.
“Just imagine … a household name like her who later became the goldmine for the record label (EMI) released an album sans her face on the cover! The label was concerned that fans wouldn’t pick up the album and they (label executives) were too afraid to take risks.
The record label executives then reassured him that all was good and introduced him to the concept of less is more, so to speak. That a household name as Sharifah Aini could solely stand on her own with just killer songs!
At 61, Tapa takes pride in working alongside A-listers of the music industry including the late Datuk Sudirman Hj.Arshad, Datuk DJ Dave, Noorkumalasari, guitarist Hillary Ang and rock groups Search and Wings.
If it is anything to go by, Tapa's designs have been immortalised on more than 300 album covers, to date.
To say that Tapa's body of work was impressive is an understatement. Elements of surrealism and symbolism are evident, but yet a tad too complex for mass consumption.
That was Tapa’s trademark that catapulted him to prominence and straight into the Ivy League album designers in the country.
For him, each artistes are distinctive, in all sense of the word. The ideas and storytelling in each designs are distinctively unique.
“I love conceptual ideas as they are evergreen compared to human faces. I love and admire Pink Floyd. If you look at their album covers none boasted the band members’ faces except in the first album. The graphic and concepts represented their albums well.
“It's totally different unless you're talking about iconic pop acts such as David Bowie, Frank Zappa and The Beatles.
“So, I tried to absorb that element, although a pop act like Sharifah Aini and Sudirman, I retained the conceptual designs,” he added.
An ardent fan of international rock acts, Tapa has a vast of vinyl records. Most of the time, he would buy them solely to admire the illustrious cover designs.
He openly admitted that he has stopped buying local artistes' albums except by his idols, Datuk Ramli Sarip and rock outfit, Search.
“Recently I was drawn to Pitahati. I found out the members are Datuk M. Nasir’s children, but I have never heard their songs.
“When I saw the album design, I intuitively knew that the group has an edge over other local groups. I ended up buying it (the album).
“I must admit that most album covers these days are interesting and bold in their designs. But unfortunately, they lack in soul. I don’t know the message behind them.
Documenting body of work in a book
After many years in the industry, Tapa came out with the intention to compile his creations in a book.
The idea sparked some six years ago, but admitted that he almost gave up due to budget constraints and sponsorship to finance the project.
“A publisher showed interest but the book would only be in black and white because he said it was a complicated project.
“I was disturbed with the response, especially when there is hardly any financial institutions that could offer financial aid for creative works.
“I was distraught, so I took the mock copy and kept it instead,” he said.
He was fortunate especially after a good Samaritan picked up Tapa's brainchild and brought it to Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia (ITBM). The institute was at that time aggressively publishing old and new works by local arts practitioners.
The project is still a work in progress and will be published in due course. It will feature 200 album designs complemented by their reviews and stories behind them.
Tapa is faced with an obstacle: gathering all the designs he had conceptualised over the years.
“I have to say that we are lacking in archiving. Record labels do not keep them in their archives and I only have half of them. Now, I’m in the midst to gather them and trying all avenues including the Internet, record stores and antique shops.
“Finding them is an issue, obtaining them is another story altogether. Some are selling them between RM200 and RM300 but I had to purchase them. Some owners refused to sell them at any costs!” he lamented.
Tapa hopes that the book will be a reference among industry players in music and visual arts fraternities.
“It is not just about design as a whole but you can also find elements of typography and fashion. You can see fashion evolution from the 70s, 80s, 90s and present day.
“It is not just about album cover. To me, it is about pop culture heritage archiving and the local music industry,” he concluded.