VÄG

BACKGROUND:
At 4:30 in the morning, after it had long been decided to either “go home or go Hemingway,” a singer sold his rock band to Snask for $3,000 USD, under the condition that Snask, as the new acting band manager, could change the band’s name as well as their style of music. The day after, the singer retracted his decision, but a deal’s a deal. We had his signature in blood. But to be somewhat fair, we started our own record label (Snask Recordings) and signed them under the same conditions. We changed their name to “Road” and their style of music to 1970’s Psychedelic Rock. We then contracted one of Sweden’s best producers, Johannes Berglund, who persuaded them to sing in Swedish. It was the right call. To keep up the Swedish standard, we translated the band’s name “Road” to Swedish, and VÄG was born. We did not foresee the rest of the world interpreting this as short for “Vagina.” But, that makes it cooler.

THE CASE:
There was nothing left to do but “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Just kidding, we had to design the perfect identity for VÄG! We immersed ourselves into the 1970’s visual style, influenced by legends like Push Pin Studios and the iconic work of the so-called “Big Five” San Francisco rock poster artists—Wes Wilson, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso, and Rick Griffin. Snask went all in on a classic flower-power logotype that rocked as hard as the band. The logotype was translated into a psychedelic pattern/animation that was used for stage backdrops and digital screens during live shows. We also designed the album art for the band’s first release under the new moniker. It’s Neo Rock Psychedelia in all its glory: wavy, brooding, and most certainly strange. VÄG has played gigs all over the world: France, Slovakia, UK, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, Germany, USA and Switzerland. Want to book them? Email their manager (and Snask Co-Founder) at fredrik@snask.com.

Cover photography by Axel Engström
Live concert photo credits to Design Indaba