This year, a playfully untraditional MP3 blog called LYFSTYL and an experimental psychedelic film company called Synesthesiae Films decided to create Celestial Summer, a compilation inspired by free ambient sounds released by NASA in decades past.

“When I am lucky, I realize that so much of what informs the content that I am working with directly relates to what I surround myself with, and that can create a proactive net wherein all of the people and things around me get painted into the picture.”

A meticulously planned half-hour long visual accompaniment to Fredrik’s latest album, FLORA.

“I’ve always wished that art could attract the same kind of crowd and procure the same sort of enthusiasm [as punk rock basement shows], so we birthed DoodleDrag.” – Marissa P

“Maybe some years back — I don’t know if some people took offense or what… [listeners] would say things like, ‘Hey, you guys are Mexican. Why are you not singing in your native tongue?’”

Chaotic 8-bit musicians Anamanaguchi have certainly taken album covers for digital releases to the next level with their album cover for their Airbrushed 7″, an animated .gif!

“… even if we’re really poor, it’s still a luxury to be able to live off your music.”

“We’ve always made it a point to never really make the same record twice, and I think that we’ve accomplished that.”

“Art will last forever; it doesn’t die with us, and music doesn’t die with us. It has a magic to it that I love, and creating something that way makes me feel that life doesn’t just slip through my fingers… and that it is not just day after day.”

An in-depth feature about the Icelandic music scene, with interviews with top Icelandic musicians, and three mixtapes with MP3 downloads and streams.

“… we live in a rainforest; I imagine that the natural environments have somewhat to do with it.”

“We’ve been making the music we’ve wanted to make for six years, and no one’s wanted to hear it. They’re starting to want to hear it, so either we hit our groove, or people have just finally caught up, or, a little of both.” – Adam Wills, Bear In Heaven

2010 has come and gone, leaving in its wake a magnitude of amazing album artwork. This year, we decided to speak directly with the forces behind the album artwork about creative processes and inspirations. A massive feature with over 90 interviews with musicians and artists.

“I seriously think one huge theme that all of us love in music is a quality of something sounding otherworldly. It sent us chasing the past, but almost from a fictitious [or] science fiction approach.” – Joe Haege

“I guess you kind of have to follow where life takes you…” – Ryan Sambol

“I think we like to keep it tense. I think we like to keep a really healthy balance of, ‘Ohhh, everything could fall apart at any given moment.’” – Josh Lambert