Ben Tousley

Hello, today I’m sharing a record of music that I’ve created with some very special people. It’s called “Madrague/Saména EP” and was written and recorded in Marseille and New York City between 2021 and 2024. It’s been immensely rewarding to chase strange sounds, smash my own feelings into waveforms and watch it take flight through collaboration. The EP will be released under the name Unforeseen Plans this Friday, August 23 on all streaming platforms with limited edition vinyl pre-order available now via Bandcamp. The music will be accompanied by full length visualizers premiering on September 22. You can visit Unforeseenplans.com to watch the trailer, pre-save the record and check out the vinyl. Portraits by the very talented Christopher Barraja (@reveparty )

Box set designs for Steve Reich “Collected Works” Twenty-seven disc set spanning the legendary composer’s sixty year career. Available now for pre-order from Nonesuch Records. The designs utilize a restrained system of typography and gradated color as navigation through Reich’s pioneering minimalist works. It contains two extensive booklets featuring new essays by Robert Hurwitz, Michael Tilson Thomas, Russell Hartenberger, Judith Sherman, Nico Muhly, archival photos, liner notes, and a comprehensive listener’s guide by Timo Andres. Thank you to Steve and Nonesuch for the honor of working on this monumental project and to the teamwork of Karina Beznicki, Sidney Chen and Maya Bouvier-Lyons for making it happen. David Stith for expert layouts and management of these huge booklets! And to Ben Ross for these beautiful renderings. There are decades of great designers and artists who created the individual covers included here — Carin Goldberg, Barbara Dewilde, John Gall, Stephen Doyle, Beryl Korot, Gerhard Richter, Joel Meyerowitz, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Sol LeWitt and many more! Shoutout to John Provencher for contributing beautiful work early on in the process and to Schick Toikka for making the best typefaces. What a project. A lot of time and care went into this collection and I’m thrilled to finally share it and celebrate the brilliance of Steve Reich. Released March 2025 via @nonesuchrecords .

Unforeseen Plans “Madrague / Saména EP” visualizer film is now live streaming on YouTube for the next 24 hours. Head there to join the stream or watch the visualizer clips individually. Enjoy. ♡

Vinyl repressing for Grizzly Bear’s four seminal albums, including all the original artwork and designs from over the years. Big love to the band, Warp and the whole team for taking such care getting these records back in print. @grizzlybear @warprecords 2006 - Yellow House – Photos by Patryce Bak 2009 - Veckatimest - Art by William J O’Brien 2012 - Shields - Art by Richard Diebenkorn 2017 - Painted Ruins - Art by Chyrum Lambert #vinyl #vinyldesigns #vinylart

Album designs for The Westerlies “Have You Heard? The Music of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1” @westerliesmusic @bill.frisell Available today March 20, 2026 Featuring artwork by Sean Sullivan (@parade.pimlico.pearl ) as well as some photos I took. The record is a collection of music written by Bill Frisell and reimagined here for brass quartet, arranged and beautifully performed by The Westerlies. There’s a great piece of writing by Bill included in the package, as well. Thanks to The Westerlies for including me and to Sean for his gorgeous artwork which seems to map the many layers and twisting paths of this music 🔵

Logo design and branding for Fire Island Pines Historical Society @fipines Thanks to @fipines , @johnfdempsey and Bobby Bonanno for the opportunity. It was an honor to give the organization a visual update as they continue their mission to preserve Fire Island’s vibrant LGBT history. Photo on slide two by PaJaMa circa 1940-50s.

Album designs for Will Graefe & Spencer Zahn “I Envy Light” Available this Friday, March 13 via Sudden Quarterly @suddenquarterly is a new record label for instrumental music founded by @spencerzahn . The label will release four records a year, each year with a new theme. This marks the inaugural release for Year One: Duets, with collaborations between two different artists each quarter. Very grateful to work with Spencer on designs for the label and packaging and can’t wait for you to hear the music he’s been working on. SQ001 @gravywill @spencerzahn @suddenquarterly

Mark Armijo McKnight “Posthume” @markarmijomcknight Oversized monograph containing fourteen photographs—each reproduced as 8 × 10-inch tri-tone printed, hand-tipped plates and housed in a silkscreen printed box. The book’s cover is a custom paper created in Oaxaca, made from native agave fibers and embedded with dried petals of the cempasúchil flower, traditionally used in Día de los Muertos altars. Lettering and graphic design @bentousley Book design Paul Schiek Published by @tbwbooks November 2025 Available now.

Cover art and visualizer clips for “At Least You Tried!” by Unforeseen Plans The cover image is a collage featuring a Polaroid I took mixed with elements of Daniel Bermudez’s (@spanielbermudez ) hand painted animations and illustration. This visualizer features surf footage I shot in Morocco, as well as surfing footage from Panama shot by Samuel McGuire (@samuelmcguire ). Shout out to @rainbowsurfretreats . As with all four visualizers from this EP, it also features Super 8 & telescope footage I shot, additional Marseille landscapes shot by Marvin Mastroianni (@animalsauvage_raw ) and cymatics by Jesse Laughter (@large_eddy ). Editing by Oscar Keys (@oscarkeys_ ). You can watch it now, as well as the full EP visualizer film, on YT + Vimeo + all streaming platforms. @unforeseenplans

On November 6, to coincide with the largest supermoon of 2025, I’ll be premiering the two final visualizer installments of my audio/video project Unforeseen Plans (@unforeseenplans ) — “Mistral” and “At Least You Tried!” They will be available in a 24-hour livestream featuring a continuous loop of all four EP visualizers, as well as individually at YouTube and Unforeseenplans.com. The videos feature Super 8 and telescope footage that I shot in Marseille, as well as surreal cymatics (the study of sound and vibration) by Jesse Laughter @large_eddy , original hand painted animations by Daniel Bermudez @spanielbermudez , surfing footage from Panama and Morocco by Samuel McGuire @samuelmcguire and myself, and additional Marseille footage by Marvin Mastroianni @animalsauvage_raw . Editor Oscar Keys @oscarkeys_ helped weave them all together for these final two videos. I’m very proud of the result and hope it feels like something that could be enjoyable either playing in the background or watching it through like a short film. I wrote and produced this music using radio samples I recorded while walking around Marseille. It was then brought to life with a group of talented musicians, including brass by Andy Clausen @aclausent and Riley Mulherkar @rileymulherkar (of The Westerlies/Fleet Foxes), harp by Jacqui Cornetta @jacquiblues , and additional production/mixing by Gabel D’Amico @gabeldamico (of Mr Twin Sister). I’m really looking forward to sharing the final installment of this chapter. Thank you to the talented contributors who brought this to life and to my friends who have encouraged me to continue in this path. 🌕 See you at the next supermoon.

Album designs for Jessica Williams “Blue Abstraction - Prepared Piano Project 1985-1987” Cover Art: “Blue Paper Gate” by Matt Connors @cattmonnors Producer: @kyepotter Mastering: @studioschwebung Vinyl mastering: @joshbonati Pre-Echo Press: @preechopress Available November 21 via PRE-ECHO on Digital, Vinyl LP, and limited Cassette Pre-orders open now via @preechopress Bandcamp Thank you too Matt, Kye and Marnie for including me in this beautiful project 💙 From @preechopress : PRE-ECHO is overjoyed to release and celebrate Blue Abstraction, the lost recordings of pioneering trans jazz pianist Jessica Williams (1948-2022). She altered the piano by placing vibrating and/or muting elements on top of and between the strings at varying distances across the harp-some sounding like bells or gongs (screws, bolts), others like percussion instruments (clothespins, hairpins, washers, erasers). The effect radically expanded the instrument’s possibilities, sometimes making it sound metallic or ghostly, other times muted, tactile, almost broken. She forged a personal musical language grounded in improvisation, nuanced timbral control, and compositional precision. Even dissonant elements land precisely within the parameters of her tonal framework. The resulting beauty and listenability of these works are a testament to Williams’ vision and mastery.

Album designs for “Oh Snap” by Cécile McLorin Salvant @cecilemclorinsalvant Designed with Cécile and featuring her handwriting and illustrations. Photography by @kate_sterlin . Available on vinyl and CD with fluorescent neon yellow ink. This is my third record working with the creative wonder that is Cécile Salvant. It’s a masterful collection of original songs with wide emotional range, styles and performances, and it’s a true joy to listen to. She is an incredible talent and I cannot recommend enough! 💛 Thank you to Cécile for trusting me again in this collaboration, and thanks always to @nonesuchrecords @karinaisahug @mayamayhem for including me and making it happen. Listen to Oh Snap!