My record collection
[354] Luna - Lunafied (2xLP)

I have previously written about the CDR Lunafied that Dean sent me back in 2006 that actually stemmed from a desire to see the album’s artwork on a proper release. That finally happened in 2016 with this absolutely gorgeous double LP from Run Out Groove records.

Luna - Lunafied (front and back)

I wrote about the sleeve in a Substack post a few months back so forgive me re-posting that here:

The cover of Lunafied is by artist and photographer Abelardo Morell and is one of a series of astoundingly beautiful photos taken by turning various rooms into a camera obscura.

When Lunafied came out digitally in 2006 I wrote to Dean about the sleeve:

4th July 2006 00:43
From: Andy Aldridge <andy@grange85.co.uk>
 
Hi Dean,  

I love the "sleeve" of the Lunafied album - particularly as I've been sucked into the pinhole-camera thing of late* so camera-obscura's are very exciting - I keep wanting to turn our bedroom into a camera obscura but Hazel rightly points out that the row of Victorian terraced houses on the opposite side of the road isn't quite the Empire State Building!

Does Lunafied exist as a "real" CD (maybe as a promo???) I'd love to own a proper CD with that sleeve! (sorry for the unsubtle attempted scrounge there!).

Any news on the Beggars covers album?

Have a nice summer,

-=Andy=-

4th July 2006 14:52  
From: Dean Wareham
            
Hi Andy,

the lunafied image is by Abelardo Morell, but perhaps you knew that already. His photos are great.

http://www.abelardomorell.net/

But there is no CD with that image, not even a promo. Rhino wanted it to be exclusive to the iTunes store. They have said that they might get around to releasing it on CD one day, but frankly I don't think it's going to happen. I can burn you a disc of Lunafied (from the master that was prepared).

Dean

Thirteen years on we finally got a Lunafied double album with Abelardo Morell’s beautiful Camera Obscura; The Empire State Building in Bedroom, 1994 that was used on the front, and the also beautiful Camera Obscura: Late Afternoon View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014 and Camera Obscura: Early Morning View of the East Side of Midtown Manhattan, 2014.

On his website Abelardo explains how he makes these astonishing pictures (and cleared up how the inside and rear pictures are the right way up).

I made my first picture using camera obscura techniques in my darkened living room in 1991. In setting up a room to make this kind of photograph, I cover all windows with black plastic in order to achieve total darkness. Then, I cut a small hole in the material I use to cover the windows. This opening allows an inverted image of the view outside to flood onto the back walls of the room. Typically then I focused my large-format camera on the incoming image on the wall then make a camera exposure on film. In the beginning, exposures took from five to ten hours.

Over time, this project has taken me from my living room to all sorts of interiors around the world. One of the satisfactions I get from making this imagery comes from my seeing the weird and yet natural marriage of the inside and outside.

Several years ago, in order to push the visual potential of this process, I began to use color film and positioned a lens over the hole in the window plastic in order to add to the overall sharpness and brightness of the incoming image. Now, I often use a prism to make the projection come in right side up. I have also been able to shorten my exposures considerably thanks to digital technology, which in turn makes it possible to capture more momentary light. I love the increased sense of reality that the outdoor has in these new works. The marriage of the outside and the inside is now made up of more equal partners.

Abelardo Morell - Camera Obscura

Luna - Lunfied (inside)

As well as the cover, the release itself was brilliant. The two previous releases of Lunafied were both incomplete but this release managed to include everything.

US digital release	Run Out Groove	UK Best of
Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow version)
Indian Summer	Indian Summer	Indian Summer
Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun	Ride Into the Sun
That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say	That’s What You Always Say
In the Flesh	In the Flesh	In the Flesh
Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream	Dream Baby Dream
Seasons Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch	Season Of the Witch
Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel	Thank You For Sending Me an Angel
No Regrets	No Regrets	No Regrets
Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner	Outdoor Miner
Happy New Year	Happy New Year
Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talking	Everybody’s Talkin’
Fly Into The Mystery	Fly Into The Mystery
La poupee qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non	La poupée qui fait non
Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)	Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker version)
	Jealous Guy	Jealous Guy
	Neon Lights	Neon Lights
	Sweet Child o’ Mine	Sweet Child o’ Mine
	Only Women Bleed	Only Women Bleed
	Dance With Me

• Catalogue Number: 12/061
• Artist: Luna
• Title: Lunafied
• Format: 2xLP
• Bought from Run Out Groove for $34.98 + postage

Previously in my record collection:

• [309] Best of Luna - UK 2xCD edition
• [073] Luna - Lunafied (CDR)