AN INTERVIEW WITH CVSPE // cover artist for The Lumbar Endeavor's 2022 releases:

(The Lumbar Endeavor): 

So that folks know where you hail from on this globe, where do you live?

(CVSPE): 

Born and lurking in the suburbs of Lisbon, Portugal.

A beautiful place, though I've never been, what keeps you there besides roots?
For now my life is built around here, but I have a long term plan to leave this land for a quieter one and become a full on hermit with a decent wi-fi connection.

And how did you get into illustration and other artistic releases?
I remember before my parents ever gave me a Transformers toy, I used to draw my own robots on paper, one side was the robot and the back had the vehicle form, I then cut them from the sheet and let them have epic battles.

(The DIY spirit manifesting!)

Later, when I was around 11 years old, I started drawing knock-offs of Iron Maiden's album covers. That was probably the first real gateway into illustration.

Music was, and still is I guess, the predominant element of my artistic path.

You seem so damn busy, so productive. How do you find time for other stuff in life?
I learned to take a step back and breathe a bit. For quite some time I was engulfed in this hectic maelstrom that dictated that if I stopped I was basically gone. Now I just accept when I'm in need of a break.
My interests all revolve around Art in a way, since they make their way into it. 

And, besides art, what interests you?

Beside Music, in the last 4 years I gradually developed a reading habit so I carry a book with me on my trips to work and take notes of passages that inspire new pieces.

I watch loads of movies, heavy emphasis on horror and cheesy 80's/90's action/ sci-fi flicks, I love reading about and trying to understand Human History, skateboarding (I don't skate anymore though), and Animals, all of them all the time!

So many of us got started the same way, drawing Eddie on notebooks, definitely horror and skateboarding. When did you first hear about The Lumbar Endeavor (originally known as "Lumbar")?
Early 2014, the owner of a local record store, where I would end up working, had just gotten a copy of "The First & Last Days of Unwelcome" and told me he had ordered it because he read a very positive review to it on Mojo Magazine (which never features any remotely heavy bands at all) and was intrigued. I saw it featured Mike Scheidt from YOB and gave it a listen at home. I immediately called the store and asked him to save that copy for me! I then read all about the album, who was involved and how it came to be, and that had a huge impact on me. Reading about Aaron Edge had turned painful symptoms into a beautiful musical catharsis.

Mike really made the story of Lumbar more accessible to more people around the globe, his iconic "stamp" and raw talent... simply amazing. How did you get involved with the five record covers for 2022's The Lumbar Endeavor (as well as the secret two more coming out in 2023, that we're not supposed to talk about)?
Ever since "The First & Last Days of Unwelcome" I have followed Aaron's musical projects. Bible Black Tyrant and Ramprasad led me to Anima Recordings and talking with Dave from Anima led to Aaron's Instagram page where I became more familiar with his photography and design work. A couple years later of mutual support, Aaron reached me about working together as soon as possible, to which I replied an heartfelt "FUCK YES!". Fast forward a few months and Aaron got back to me about revisiting the original Lumbar release and asked me if I was interested in making the artwork for it. After carefully collecting myself from the floor we started brainstorming together and the cover to "Revisiting the Darkest of Days" came to be. 

A great start to this relationship, and it didn't stop there...

Some weeks later, I was approached again with the idea for "Counting Blessings on Broken Fingers" and again, our creative minds were finely in tune. Since Mr. Edge seems to be even busier than I am, three more Artworks were asked, and then... you guessed it, the secret two more for 2023. 

More than working with someone whose work you admire, it's such an indescribable feeling to know that two people, a million miles across the globe from each other, share such an artistic connection.

Amazing, indeed, that music—as well as the internet—can bring likeminded folks together. So powerful. What's next for you?
I'm constantly working on band artwork as well as designs for myself. 

A bird visited me in the dead of night and mentioned some sort of book?

I've been slowly putting together my first book compiling the last three years of work, along with some exclusive new pieces, sharing some behind the scenes sketches and some texts of my own. I can unveil the name here, it shall be called "Mechanized Anguish", which was the name I gave to the series of works that culminated in my current aesthetic.

There's also a plan for a tape compilation featuring bands I worked with, that one will take longer to materialize but it's brewing.

The book needs to be on every coffee table of every high contrast, monochromatic art fan... can't wait for it to materialize. And, that comp will me a massive sonic release, you've worked with some amazing artists and bands. Besides the connections with music, what else have you done in this life that most intrigues you?
That's hard to answer. I'm a "whatever tomorrow brings I'll deal with it" kind of guy, but let me see...

• Finally record my own music, whatever that will be.

• Meet most of my Art Friends scattered across the Globe.

• Travel back to 1995 and watch Nailbomb playing Dynamo.

Lastly, what keeps you alive, breathing, working, giving a damn?
Easy, my cat Astro!

>> Find more wondrous art from CVSPE via Instagram and BigCartel.