Sutras are one of the best new bands in Ireland, although they have been going for a few years now! Last year they were finalists in the National Student Music Awards while this year they have progressed and recently had their song 'Machine' voted the Bacardi/HotPress Song Of The Year 2002 by the musically astute listeners of Tom Dunne's Today FM Pet Sounds show - and that was the 'B' side (if you can say that CD singles have B sides!). The other song on the CD - Princess - charted in Ireland last year and received plenty of airplay and critical acclaim... all done by themselves, distribution included. Now, IrishUnsigned (www.IrishUnsigned.com) are hosting a competition to have someone out there design the cover sleeve for the next Sutras CD, which will probably see the shelves some time over late Summer. The prize is no big deal. We haven't worked it out yet but the first bit is obviously that the winning design, picked by the band themselves, will end up on the shelves in record stores and the designer will be given full credit. Might lead to more work in this field. Obviously, signed copies of the CD, tickets to gigs etc are all in the power of Sutras to give the winner and we will no doubt find some other goodies to give away. We will also do a feature on the Designer on IrishUnsigned.com and will do our best to get it into industry magazines through our contacts. Ultimately, like IrishUnsigned, the whole point of the competition is exposure, exposure, exposure. Of course, if you are a Student of design somewhere, then this could be considered as part of your course-work, or a project piece. You could even use it as a portfolio piece when you get out into the big bad world... Sutras are currently in the studio to work on a few new songs, one of which might become the next single. They might, instead, record one of their current songlist and release that instead. So, the design remit is simple: There is none! Not often in design work do you get the opportunity to start with a blank canvas and no rules, outlines or requirements. Sutras will judge the winning design on flair, creativity, and - most of all - impact. It has to be something that will be noticed. Look at their website (www.sutrasmusic.com) if you want but don't be constrained by anything you see there. The band are working on a new musical style, so a new image wouldn't hurt. IrishUnsigned would suggest that you look at all the album covers you and your mates find eye-catching and interesting to get ideas. You might want to consider some of the older stuff out there. Pink Floyd, Meatloaf, Queen, whatever. Hundreds of good designes exist. There are even websites devoted to CD covers to give you a kickstart. Simply do an Altavista search for "CD covers"... Pictures, if you need them, of Sutras in action, can be found at their website. When finished, Email your design in any reasonable format, to us at I.U. - competition@IrishUnsigned.com - - Visit www.IrishUnsigned.com for real music, with an Irish accent