BRIAN GRIFFIN

Statement reGARDING BRIAN GRIFFIN's PASSING

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the peaceful passing of our dear friend, Brian Griffin, who left us last Saturday in his sleep. His sudden departure has left us shocked and shattered. We feel proud to have spent the last week celebrating our collaboration, NEOTEMPO SENSORIA INTRIGUE, with him.

Brian’s photographs have been a part of our lives since our teenage years. From the iconic photographs featured in the albums of Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, Billy Idol, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Psychedelic Furs, Ultravox, we’ve been fans of Brian’s photographs for decades.

Last year, we had the chance to meet and collaborate closely with him, leading to a great friendship. He always was interested in creating new innovative work and breaking new ground.

Without a shadow of a doubt, he was one of the greatest photographers of our generation, creating images that belong in galleries and museums worldwide. In his work, he mastered lighting, used techniques that gave photographs texture like paintings, and created unique works of art that are timelessly beautiful and deeply intriguing.

Over the past year, we had the opportunity to work with him and witness his creative process. We also observed how he collaborated with other talented artists. He was fascinated by the unique shape of our bottle and how photos could become three-dimensional labels. He loved full-bodied red wines and Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese.

Last week in London with Brian as a guest of honor, we previewed our new wine, NEOTEMPO SENSORIA INTRIGUE and his prints to a gathering of wine lovers, music lovers and art lovers including many of his close friends and colleagues. Brian loved our wines, was proud of the labels, and the prints, and appreciated the positive reception it received from everyone.

In the coming weeks, we will share more photos of the London events and celebrate this iconic photographer who inspired many to push boundaries, innovate, and go beyond the ordinary.

We would love to keep his memory alive and share his beautiful photos with wine lovers, music lovers, and photo enthusiasts worldwide. We will make announcements in due time after a period of grieving.

We are honored to have known and worked with him and wish the best for his family, friends, and close associates.

His timeless photos will live on for generations to enjoy and marvel at this great man’s imagination, artistic approach to photography, and talent to create intrigue.

We raise a glass of wine to his memory, will miss his smile, youthful humor, legendary stories, and the love he shared with us.

Hold on to your friends,

– Tracy and Kia, January 30th 2024

P R O F I L E

Born in Birmingham in 1948, Brian Griffin was one of England’s most influential and creative portrait photographers.

Brian’s work draws from influences as diverse as Renaissance masters, through to Symbolism and Surrealism, with film noir lighting often used in conjunction. He created and perfected analogue photographic techniques to add texture and depth to his photographs which made his photos captivating, thought provoking and routinely transcends the boundaries between capturing a photo and a work of art.

He studied at Manchester Polytechnic’s School of Photography, where he first discovered a multitude of artistic movements to influence his work.

Since 1972 has lived in London as a freelance photographer getting his first commission for Management Today in November 1972.

First exhibited in the “Young British Photographers” in 1975 and his current exhibition is titled “Sensoria Intrigue”.

BRIAN GRIFFIN - ICONIC CAREER

In the 1980’s, Brian started to work with a broad set of music industry clients including Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, REM, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Siouxie Soux, Psychedelic Furs, and Queen’s Brian May; and his work can be seen on many iconic album covers from the era including the first five albums for Depeche Mode and Echo and the Bunnymen.

In addition he worked with film, tv and video projects ranging from music videos, TV Commercials and movie related photography including photoshoots for “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”.

In 1989 the Guardian newspaper proclaimed him to be “The Photographer Of The Decade”. Also “Life” magazine used the photograph “A Broken Frame” on its front cover of a special supplement “The Greatest Photographs Of The 80’s”. In 2023 he published the book MODE compiling a series of his photos from his projects with Depeche Mode.

In September 2013 Brian received the “Centenary Medal” from the Royal Photographic Society in recognition of a lifetime achievement in photography. On March 3rd 2014, Brian received a Honorary Doctorate by Birmingham City University for my lifetime contribution to the City of Birmingham. In November 2016 Brian was inducted into the Album Cover Hall Of Fame.

BRIAN's WORK WITH Neotempo

Music in the eighties was so stylistically rich and varied that artists created an extraordinary landscape for one of the very best decades of music. Album covers were very important for the bands for they established their visual identity. Merchandising and other licensing was limited to a lucky few—it was all about music sales. This meant that a lot of emphasis went into album art, especially from music labels, the artists and their management.

During my university years I worked at a CD only shop where I saw the power of great album cover art in enhancing what listeners thought of the music.

I came across Brian’s iconic works in the eighties and photos for some of my favourite bands like Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Siouxie and the Banshees. Regarding Depeche Mode and Echo and the Bunnymen his photos created enormous gravity which complemented and often elevated the music. Many of these records sleeves hold pride of place in my collection.

In 2023, we met Brian through mutual friends for dinner. During the meal we shared a bottle of our NEOTEMPO Kiatra Cabernet Sauvignon.

Brian was intrigued by the design of the bottle and loved with the wine. He mentioned how the bottle reflected light in an unusual way. He was interested in what the label design was going to be and whether we had considered having no label at all. At the end of the meal and after great conversation we discussed having Brian take photos of our bottle.

Brian spent a full day in his studio, photographing our bottle with the help of his talented assistant Mr. Ravi Chandarana who is a great photographer in his own right. Brian and Ravi employed Brian Griffin’s classic techniques to master shadows and light to capture the bottles in a way it had never been seen.

The photoshoot was a fun, and creative collaboration. Great music in the background and serendipity in the air which resulted in these stunning photos.

This effort led to discussing a wine label project, which we now proudly introduce to the world: SENSORIA INTRIGUE.

Our talented design team (Level | Calistoga) and I worked closely with Brian to design twelve unique wine labels using rare photographs from his MODE book.

We also commisioned a limited edition set of his prints to be shown at our SENSORIA INTRIGUE experiences.

This is how SENSORIA INTRIGUE Brian Griffin has come to fruition.