Waldo's Gift
Malcolm's Law
Design by RUFFMERCY
Russ Murphy (aka RUFFMERCY) is a video artist, director and animator based in Bristol, UK. He has created video animations for musicians including Thom Yorke, DJ Shadow, Nightmares on Wax, Jon Wayne and The Chemical Brothers. We spoke to Russ about the artwork for 'Malcolm's Law' the debut album by the Bristolian new wave experimentalists Waldo's Gift.
Released on Severn Songs (2025)
Hello. Please tell us about the brief and commission. RUFFMERCY: I'd known about Waldo's Gift for a while. There's a Pub at the bottom of my road called ’The Gallimaufry’ (26-28 The Promenade, Gloucester Road, Bristol, UK) that has regular live music events and The Waldo’s started jamming together there on a regular Wednesday night. I think that’s where they actually formed the band through these sessions. There would constantly be a variety of other musicians joining them and sometimes the singer from Ishmael Ensemble (Holysseus Fly) would be up next to them on stage, painting whilst the band performed. I didn't make it every Wednesday but I caught a few of these sessions and they were always impressive.
Anyway, James Koch (one of The Gallimaufry owners) reached out to me saying the band would like to commission me for the album and single art. The band were pretty open to ideas but did suggest incorporating some photographic elements and an outside location.
How did the music inspire the ideation process?
RUFFMERCY: Man, the music is so wild – sometimes chaotic and overwhelming but never so much it becomes a mess. Controlled chaos. I love it. It feels very unique to me. Highly skilled musicians just letting the music take them on a journey.
What did you research when developing ideas for artwork?RUFFMERCY: There’s a natural landmark not far from Bristol called 'Cheddar Gorge' and within that area is a place called Black Rock. I just thought it would make for an interesting texture and base layer for me to play with and add too.
Please share an insight into the design development.
RUFFMERCY: The guys in Waldo's Gift were super cool and trusting. It was a case of taking local landscape photos and then playing with them, alongside analogue textures of paint, which were photographed and collaged along with drawings. I shared a few initial collages, which I developed depending on how the band responded. Nothing was rejected and I made a lot of variations to the collage. I probably overwhelmed them - my revenge ;)The band seemed pretty happy with the results and I think it was a great collaboration.
How did you develop the design and how does the final artwork reflect the music?
There’s a song called ‘CANDIFLOSS’ on the album. I feel like the cover artwork and this track are perfectly synced with each other. Beautiful Chaos.Design by RUFFMERCY
The Gallimaufry Pub
Buy the ‘Malcolm's Law’ vinyl here