Mama Jerk and The Ladyfingers

In the golden age of gigging, bands used to fill their Merch tables with gorgeous CDs, Tapes and Vinyls, with incredible artwork which music fans would proudly take home, and collect. The band realised that people wanted to take away something to remember the gig, and to show their support for the music, but CDs are all but obsolete these days! So they decided to try and release their music in a digital format, but wanted to expand on the concept of band art, to give the audience something fun, and substantial to take away with them. 

This is where the idea of illustrated short stories to accompany their releases came from. Stetrovenia is the first of 3 collaborations planned for 2020-2021, engaging visual artists to help bring to life one of the songs from the EP. Mama Jerk's songwriting is rich in vivid and colourful imagery and storytelling, so these collaborations are the perfect way to enhance the band's music.

Originally conceived in a pub in Bruges by frontman Jake Chapman and multitalented artist and writer Sinéad Miller, Stetrovenia is a fictional Principality, nestled between Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, strategically positioned along the banks of the Danube river. The mighty King Csaba who obtained independence for the small ambitious state, leaves his two sons - Istvan and Zoltan - to rule upon his death. The comic book gives us the story of how the two Princes squander their inheritance and sell the country out to the worst kinds of war mongers and profiteers in a vain attempt to self aggrandise.

The story was then handed over to Jordan Fleming who sculpted the story narratively, and beautifully Illustrated the comic book. The third act of the story is represented both in comic book form, but is also the story of the song Morocco which you will be able to hear when the EP is released mid March.