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A vibrant, symmetrical illustration featuring bold geometric shapes and flowing lines in blue, yellow, pink and black. Two yellow rectangular frames sit at opposite angles, dividing the abstract composition.

First look at the brilliant sleeves from this year's Secret 7" show

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Date
10 April 2015

The annual Secret 7” show is always eagerly anticipated and this year’s exhibition – which opens today at Somerset House in London – looks like it lives up to our high expectations once again. The brainchild of Kevin King, the format’s success is tied to its simplicity with seven tracks from seven well-known musicians offered up to creatives from around the world. This year’s songs include Underworld’s Born Slippy, Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, The Rolling Stones’ Dead Flowers and St Vincent’s Digital Witness and the artists and designers taking part range from big names to young talents. For the time being whose sleeve is whose is kept under wraps, but we’ve spotted a few styles that we can immediately identify. After the show all the sleeves will be sold off for the same price with proceeds going to music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

700 sleeves have gone on show and you can see them over on the Secret 7” gallery page in all their eclectic glory. Everyone will have their favourites, but the It’s Nice That team has been through to pick out some of the ones that tickle our fancy.

The show runs officially runs until 3 May, with the sale happening on the following day. Next Tuesday (14 April) we’re hosting and evening dedicated to music videos – tickets are available here.

An illustration of a person dancing in a spotlight within a blue-toned cafe. They wear a yellow shirt and a flowing red skirt, surrounded by other figures seated at small tables.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of a large, surreal figure with a white head and red body lying across a city street. Several police officers in blue uniforms surround the figure, some holding batons. A yellow banner at the bottom contains Hebrew text, and a yellow strip on the right edge also features vertical Hebrew lettering.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A crowd of people hold up smartphones to take photos of the Mona Lisa. The painting is blurred in the background, while the phone screens show clear, framed images of the artwork.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of a person walking away down a winding yellow path through a colourful, abstract landscape. The scene is framed by a pair of open white window shutters.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A grid of colourful abstract compositions on a black background. Each unit consists of overlapping circles in shades of green, blue and red.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A four-panel illustration showing a person photographing a classical male statue on a smartphone. The sequence shows the person zooming in on the statue’s genitals and posting the close-up to social media.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of a yellow brick wall with a large, jagged hole broken through the centre. A vertical pipe runs down the right side, with a streak of pink liquid dripping down its length.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A person with curly brown hair lies with their head resting on a dark wooden surface. They look towards the camera with a neutral expression, wearing a yellow top.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A colourful illustration of a supermarket produce flyer. Various fruits and vegetables are shown with handwritten prices, including “3.99 ea” for oranges and “2/$5” for tomatoes.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of several distorted, surreal figures in a bold, psychedelic style. The figures are rendered in vibrant shades of purple, green, pink and blue with heavy black outlines.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A circular window reveals a swirling pattern of pink, teal and cream marbling. The surrounding background is a dark, textured brown. In the bottom right corner, small white text reads “APPLY HEAT TO REVEAL WHAT’S BENEATH”.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A vibrant, abstract illustration featuring a symmetrical arrangement of bold geometric shapes and fluid forms. Bright primary colours and pinks overlap in a complex, mirrored composition of sharp angles and organic curves.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of two surreal figures dining at a table with a patterned pink tablecloth. One figure has a blue body and a mechanical head, while the other wears a yellow suit and has a head of orange flames. A waiter in a white jacket stands between them, pouring a drink.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A collage featuring a nude person seen from the side and a figure in a traditional Japanese kimono. The person holds the fabric of the kimono, which flows between them against a plain light grey background. Vertical Japanese calligraphy is positioned to the left.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of a pink, pill-shaped figure with long yellow limbs sitting on a green background. They are surrounded by floating blue and pink organic shapes and several detached eyeballs.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

An illustration of a tall glass half-filled with water. It sits against a minimalist background of yellow walls and a blue square.
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Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

A colourful illustration of two figures entwined in a central yellow circle. They are surrounded by a red and green background filled with floating geometric shapes and abstract forms.
Above

Unknown: Secret 7" 2015

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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