Jake & Dinos Chapman & Sir Paul Smith for Secret 7" 2014

Globally renowned artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sir Antony Gormley and Sir Paul Smith have all created original artworks for this year’s Secret 7”, the charity project which offers hundreds of designers a chance to create an original vinyl artwork, this year in aid of War Child.

The heavy hitting line up of world famous artists is the biggest that Secret 7” has seen in its three years. Two Turner Prize winners and two knights are alongside hundreds of creatives from all four corners of the globe who are contributing artwork inspired by the following tracks:

Black Sabbath / Age Of Reason 

Elbow / Grounds For Divorce 

Jake Bugg / Strange Creatures 

Lorde / Team

Massive Attack / Karmacoma 

Roxy Music / Virginia Plain 

T-Rex / Get It On

To see the full list of contributors and all this year’s artwork head over to the Secret 7” website.

All of the 700 one-of-a-kind vinyl covers will be exhibited at Downstairs At Mother in East London next month. For one weekend – April 12 and 13 - the public will be able to view the collection in its entirety. The following Saturday, April 19th, Record Store Day, visitors will be able to take a small part of the exhibition away with them when the unique vinyl sleeves go on sale for £45 each. However, none of the buyers will know who created the sleeve, or even which song it’s for, until they have parted with their cash...the secret lies within.

The limited edition 7” records have been lovingly pressed by our friends at The Vinyl Factory. They pride themselves on crafting the best records in the world, frequently collaborating with some of the greatest musicians and visual artists to release on their own record label.

Artists Stanley Donwood, Alex Chinneck, Fred Butler and Pete Fowler sat down with Secret 7” and The Vinyl Factory to discuss the project and the importance of visuals in music.

Every penny of the profits from the Secret 7” 2014 sale is going to War Child.

All manner of artistic disciplines are represented across the Secret 7” spectrum. A number of other artists and collectives include: (Turner prize winner) Jeremy Deller, Dan Tobin Smith, Modern Toss, D*Face, Gavin Turk, Fred Deakin, Studio Moross, StormStudios and Big Active.

Those close to the project have also been eagerly preparing their sleeves. Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja, artist and Massive Attack founding member, will be proudly exhibited alongside illustrations from youngsters in Afghanistan that have been supported by War Child.

This year Secret 7” and the musicians are joined on the judging panel by Tom Munkton Design Director of Mother, Liv Siddall It’s Nice That Editor, Maria Murtagh Creative Director of Universal Music’s Globe division and Ben Knowles Director of War Child.

This is the third year that Secret 7” has taken place since its conception at Universal Music’s HQ. The project has previously worked with the likes of The Cure, Elton John, Public Enemy and Florence + The Machine and last year Secret 7” counted Ai Weiwei and Gilbert & George amongst their contributors. The 700 sleeves were snapped up in a matter of hours on Record Store Day, with first choice going to the enthusiastic music and art fans who braved the elements to camp outside in Shoreditch on a Friday night. To date the project has raised an incredible £63,000 for good causes.

Iakovos “Jake” Chapman and Konstantinos “Dinos” Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, whose shocking works have covered all manner of taboo subjects and picked them up a Turner Prize nomination in 2003.

British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley is known best for The Angel Of The North, his public sculpture near Newcastle upon Tyne. He received his Knighthood in this January’s honours list.

One of the few British-based fashion designers to combine commercial success with critical credibility, Sir Paul Smith is renowned for his take on traditional British styling - classics with a twist.