Top 5 fanmade Ultraviolence covers

"Ultraviolence" will be upon us June 13! So in anticipation of this release I went onto deviantART to find some cool fan-made designs for the album! Here are my top 5 designs made by users on deviantART. 

5. by hristeang
I love this design because it's artistic and also quite simplistic in terms of setting.
It's also quite dark and gory which reflects Del Rey's dark image. 

4. by Hyonicorn
Another simplistic yet effective design making use of colour and effects. The typography
makes this design particularly impressive. 

3. by 8BitDesire
This design makes use of imagery more than anything and this image of Del Rey
is particularly striking and the placement and size of the typography is very neat.
A very sellable design. 

2. by PerfumeManiac
This design is really pretty. The image and colouring work together to create
a really pretty design. It contrasts from the black and white image used on the actual artwork
yet it still looks really authentic and vintage. 

1. by DrewCasta
This is my favourite design because it's really imaginative. It contrasts from the other images
as it features a setting rather than Del Rey herself. It also looks typically American and really vintage.
A really unique and interesting design! 

There's a lot of great talent on deviantArt.com so I really suggest heading over there and checking it out! If you're an artist and want to share your works and get feedback then make an account. You can submit anything you want without it having to go through moderation so you're guaranteed to be able to display your work. 

What would your design of the "Ultraviolence" artwork be like? Comment below to share your thoughts. 

10 things you didn't know about Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is currently Artist of the Month on my blog and has a very interesting history in terms of her career and her biography! Here are 10 interest facts about Lana Del Rey.

1. Lana Del Rey released her first ever demo album "Sirens" under the name of May Jailer. The album was recorded between 2005 and 2006 and leaked in 2012. It contains 7 songs, the titles of which are unknown.

2. She is of Scottish descent

3. Lana went to Fordham University to study metaphysics which is a type of philosophy. Metaphysics deals with abstract concepts, in particular "being"

4. When Del Rey chose her stage name she had been visiting Miami several times and speaking Spanish with Cuban friends. She said "Lana Del Ray reminded us of the glamour of the seaside" eventually her lawyers convinced her to change it to Lana Del Rey.

5. Del Rey was featured on a live MTV Unplugged album by Swedish rock band Mando Diao in 2010.

6. Del Rey suffered from alcohol dependence at the age of 15.

7. Lana Del Rey claims she draws influences from "the masters of each genre". These masters include Elvis, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Nirvana, Eminem, Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen

8. There has been a lot of speculation about how genuine Del Rey's image is. Under the name of Lizzy Grant her music was described as "light and airy" however as Lana Del Rey it has been described as "dark and sultry". As well as her music her appearance has changed considerably causing a lot of speculation.

9. Her second album "Born To Die" was number 1 in 13 countries on it's first week of release.

10. Lana Del Rey's father Rob Grant was responsible for the marketing of her debut studio album "Lana Del Ray" which was withdrawn from iTunes due to Del Rey being unable to fund it.

Del Rey has certainly had an interesting past and with her new album "Ultraviolence" coming out her future looks interesting too!

SINGLE OF THE WEEK: Lana Del Rey "Shades of Cool"

The "Ultraviolence" campaign is moving on steadily with the album due to be released mid June. The fantastic lead single "West Coast" was released in the UK yesterday and is currently 18 on the charts.

However we now have a new track to sink our teeth into entitled "Shades of Cool" and this one takes another stripped and cinematic twist from her previous works. I have to say she really knows what she's doing with this album. The two tracks we've heard so far are incredibly authentic and really nostalgic. "Shades of Cool" has high pitched lullaby vocals and a vintage jazz beat, it won't feel right listening to this album on anything other than a vinyl as it's gonna be a great big trip to the past. Cannot wait!

Ultraviolence is now available for pre-order on iTunes where you can buy "Shades of Cool" and "West Coast"

Listen to the track here!

Top 10 fan-made Lana Del Rey covers

 Believe it or not Lana Del Rey is Artist of the Month and I have to say I've been neglecting her. Oops. So to make up for it I went onto coverlandia.net last night. It's a great website on which you can submit your designs for album covers and there's a real diverse range of talents and designs on there. While on there I searched for Lana Del Rey album covers and selected my 10 favourite designs submitted by users! Here are my top 10 fan-made Lana Del Rey covers for her "Born To Die" album.

10. by Bossmanda59
This cover is beautiful and sparkly, almost instagram-like

9.  by SonOfAdam(Sictastic)
I love this vintage flowery cover, it really reflects the graceful and sultry sound Lana Del Rey has. 

8. by AdamDelRey
On this cover, simplicity is a weapon. Just like Beyonce's album cover. Sometimes the simplest designs can be the most striking!

7. by bon-bona
This cover is cool because it reflects the whole idea of the album. It's heavenly and shows Lana Del Rey like an angel showing both death and perhaps paradise. Great image!

6. by Cervaantes
Again simplicity is a weapon but also beauty and colouring. This simplistic but beautiful image of Lana would make anyone reach out and grab the album in a store. 

5. by Junior Myers
One of the cleverest designs I came across, making use of colour and shape to reflect Lana Del Rey's American look and persona. It's also really vintage and cool. A real clever design! 

4. by Novemberrain
What I love about this cover is that it's a colourful and sultry improvement on the original cover. The use of colours and filters makes this cover really spectacular and warm to look at. 

3. by Factory Girl
One of the darkest covers I've seen. I love the close up shot of Lana with the blood red colouring. It strays far away from the original cover and shows off the album in a dark and deadly way. 

2. by mimo.andres
This cover is probably the most beautiful one I came across. The dramatic image of Lana is great with the simple typography on the top. I think it shows off this lady-like image Lana has been achieving throughout the album campaign. It's also vintage and just in general really captivating to look at. 

1. by Bad
By far the most interesting image I found. It's deadly, it's dark and it's artistic. The use of the skull and the black and white setting really reflects the dark songs on the album and to be honest it's really just a clever idea in general. If only the actual cover looked like this!

If you haven't already then sign up to coverlandia.net. It's a great way to show off your work and express your ideas on what album covers should look like. Pretty soon I'll be doing a similar post for user designs of "Ultraviolence" so if you want the possibility of your cover being chosen then sign up! Or submit it to me on instagram, tweet it to me on twitter or leave it in the comments below this post! I want to see your designs! 

NEWS: Lana Del Rey unveils Ultraviolence tracklisting

Lana Del Rey has revealed the tracklist for her brand new album "Ultraviolence" due to be released next month! She announced the tracklist via her Facebook page today (like about 5 minutes ago).

The track list is as follows:
Cruel World
Ultraviolence
Shades of Cool
Brooklyn Baby
West Coast
Sad Girl
Pretty When You Cry
Money Power Glory
Fucked My Way Up To The Top
Old Money
The Other Woman

The bonus tracks are as follows:
Black Beauty
Guns and Roses
Florida Kilos

How excited are you for Lana Del Rey's new album? Comment below to share your thoughts

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: Lana Del Rey- West Coast

Well it's finally here! The music video for Lana Del Rey's brilliant new single "West Coast", the lead single from her highly anticipated third album "Ultraviolence" released in June.

The music video follows a similar style to Lana Del Rey's other material. It's sultry and dramatic and has a vintage look and feel to it which goes really well with Lana Del Rey's image and personality. The video has something for everyone, a young romance on a beach in black and white showing Lana and a male partner messing around with some friends which is displayed throughout the acoustic verses. For the chorus it switches to an older romance, Lana Del Rey in a car smoking a cigarette with an older man, which again follows this style from other videos such as "Ride". Then at the end for us visual lovers, Lana Del Rey in a red dress surrounded by flames over pictures of palm trees and scenery.
What I like about each scenario is that it coincides with a part of the song, the young beach romance for the verse, the older romance for the chorus and the flames and visuals for the last chorus.
Overall it's a great vintage video and shows off a rougher and even more vintage side to Lana Del Rey.

Watch the video here

What do you think of the video? Comment below to share your thoughts.

ARTIST OF THE MONTH MAY 2014: Lana Del Rey

It's official! Artist of the Month for May 2014 is the sultry Lana Del Rey! Her new album "Ultraviolence" is released early June so that gives her a whole month to shine prior to the album's release!
Expect news, reviews and quizzes throughout May related to Lana Del Rey as well her totally taking over the appearance of the blog!

Listen to Lana Del Rey's new single "West Coast here!