Duckspeak

2014-2025 | Indie & Folk Rock | Band

Project Overview:

Originally the solo music project of singer/songwriter Giovanni Colantonio, in 2014 Duckspeak became a multi-member band with the release of their album “Past Perfect”. Since then they have released 3 albums, 1 EP, and a collection of rarities & demos—and for each release I have had the privilege of touching some aspect of the packaging design. With each release has come a different visual aesthetic, still relatively simple in approach, but varying in medium and content. All releases have included some form of photography, whether it is a press photo of the band within a digital booklet or a photobashing of textures within illustrated elements, something from the natural world is often included to keep things grounded.

Creative Credits:

Music by Giovanni Colantonio & Duckspeak

Design, Photography & Illustration by David Flamm

Additional Design, Photography & Illustration by Giovanni Colantonio [Bones & Skin], Taylor McIntyre [Riveter], Jack Samels [Past Perfect], Georgi Gregori [Past Perfect] & Cate Dingley [Past Perfect]

Past Perfect

2014

For the band’s 2014 release I had been handling all of the audio elements while Jack Samels handled the packaging design using Georgi Gregori’s artwork and Cate Dingley’s photography. When it came time for the release we decided that an inner booklet should be included, so I went about the designing of 12 page pamphlet featuring the song's lyrics as well as photography I had taken during the many recording sessions.

Creative Credits:

Music by Giovanni Colantonio & Duckspeak

Packaging Design by Jack Samels

Illustration by Georgi Gregori

Photography by Cate Dingley

Additional Design & Photography by David Flamm

Riveter

2016

“Riveter” was the first time the band had recorded a full album together and with it brought a more electric instrumentation. Lyrically the songs were quite personal, with a soundscape that included a number of natural sounds including various bird calls. When trying to decide on a design direction for the packaging I found myself wandering around worn out buildings in a New Jersey park. Inspired by the way nature was eroding the manmade materials in the area I photographed a number of worn metallic textures to portray the complicated beauty that can be found when nature and humans co-exist.

Creative Credits:

Music by Giovanni Colantonio & Duckspeak

Design & Photography by David Flamm

Additional Photography by Taylor McIntyre

Cities From Above

2017

During the practice sessions while recording for “Riveter” in 2016, Duckspeak had already begun work on a small batch of songs that they couldn’t wait to get back into the studio for. Unlike with their last album that leaned more into folk rock these songs felt more like an experimentation in a variety of genres, looking more toward indie rock, dirge, and country. The EP’s lead single, “Cities From Above”, set the tone for the design as a whole. Leading up to the release the band posted a variety of overhead map views of cities around the world, eventually finishing with the album’s cover. The cover itself is a photograph taken by me during a flight from the east to west coast of the US.

Creative Credits:

Music by Giovanni Colantonio & Duckspeak

Design & Photography by David Flamm

Death To All Kings

2020

For Duckspeak’s seventh album singer/songwriter Giovanni Colantonio pens about tumultuous times. What originally began in 2016 as an album about the current climate of political unrest, by its release in 2020 had begun to balloon in to something much larger and more personal. For the album’s artwork the first concept that came to me was the idea of watching the panic of the world from our small tv sets. Originating with an illustrated television in a photobashed basement space, I soon wanted to explore the idea of fitting in as many symbols of the album’s lyrical concepts as I could and so decided on an illustrated border to house the scene. For each of the 9 songs I wanted to create a scene involving the illustrated television set and the symbols on the album cover’s border. The photography was taken during an outing in upstate New York while listening to the original demos and attempting to find the right mood. Many of the singles also include an image of a ghostly figure which originated in the music video for the album’s first single “March 18th”. The ghosts are included to represent a feeling of unease that lingers throughout the album. These images could additionally be found in the album’s 28 page lyric booklet.

Creative Credits:

Music by Giovanni Colantonio & Duckspeak

Design, Illustration & Photography by David Flamm

Bones & Skin: 2012 - 2022

2025

In 2025 Giovanni Colantonio, singer/songwriter of NY indie rock band Duckspeak, exhausted by the constant buzzings of artificial intelligence in the art and music scenes, decided to release an album of rarities, demos, and covers spanning from 2012 to 2022. For the album’s artwork he wanted something minimal and naturalistic, hoping to lean into the album’s human themes. While exploring around New York City I photographed the remains of a marble pillar peeking through a hole in the more modern architecture around it. This texture, with its many colored veins, felt like a perfect encapsulation of the album’s concept.