THE MAKING OF DIMINISHING's "THE OUTCOME" EP COVER

Diminishing is a project formed by Lane Oliver (ex-Yatsu, Feel Happiness) and David Brenner (Gridfailure), who experiment with drone, noise, dark ambient and post-Industrial to create haunting aural experiences. The duo's new conceptual EP is titled "The Outcome" and perfectly exemplifies the duo's creative ethos. Constructed around a bleak and grating improv dual-guitar drone recorded while they were putting together their first album (2023's “The Unnamable”), this new record delves into the dark corners of the human psyche.

Conceptualized by Oliver (who is based in Texas) and designed by Brenner (based in New York), the cover graphic for "The Outcome" captures the eerie vibe of the record. In the following interview, they talk about the origins and creation of this vision.

This cover artwork is truly haunting and representative of the EP's content.

Lane Oliver: "The Outcome" deals with the impending passing of a loved one and our reactions to that anticipatory grief. With that in mind, I knew we had to utilize a sepia-toned, old-timey family portrait in some form.

The original photo of the forest used to design the cover.

David, this image combines photos of an eerie forest and an old family portrait. Can you give us some details about the origin of these images and the design process?

David Brenner: I took the underlying photo of the deserted path while jogging in the Winter. It was well-below freezing and there was nobody around; the silence was deathlike. We had an initial concept for the cover that we couldn’t quite figure out–using the family photo layered over the forest shot. So, I began working in this direction, and I think the bleakness adequately depicts the concept Lane wrote.

Most of my cover designs are much more complicated or technical, with many more elements coalescing into something otherworldly and expansive. But this EP is basically a single track cut down into four chapters, and I felt it called for a simpler approach: an altered early-1900s family portrait ghosted over the underlying deserted Winter forest path photo and some spot highlights, shadows, fades create the main image.

Instead of our crusty band logo, I went with clean fonts to give the impression of an old funeral parlor or death notification. I applied the same look to our promo photos, which are composite merges, as Lane and I live across the country from each other.

This old photo of a family was manipulated and combined with the image of the forest shown on the cover.

Oliver, what's "The Outcome" cover portraying or representing?

Oliver Lane: There are lines in “The Outcome” that reference visiting childhood places and reminiscing about times with your loved one who is going to pass away. The darkened road on the cover could be interpreted as the path back to those aforementioned places and the ghostly figures could represent the memories you have of this person. Or they could be actual ghosts. You decide.

"The Outcome" will be released on May 29, 2026. Pre-order at https://diminishing.bandcamp.com/album/the-outcome

Follow Diminishing at https://linktr.ee/diminishingnoise