Arctic Monkeys Discography Art Print - Nine Stations, Every Credited Musician, One Map
The Arctic Monkeys Discography Map Art Print charts all seven studio albums in order, from the Sheffield debut in 2006 through to The Car in 2022, with every credited musician mapped as a line running through the albums they played on. The map carries nine stations in total, because Alex Turner's two Last Shadow Puppets records sit on it alongside the seven Arctic Monkeys albums. I research and draw every map at mikebellmaps.com, and this is one of the more interesting in the range, because the band's sound shifted so far across those records, and the cast of contributors around the core shifted with it.
Arctic Monkeys Discography Map
All seven Arctic Monkeys studio albums from 2006 to 2022, mapped in order with every credited musician running as a tube line. A2 and A1 Giclée prints from £42.00.
Explore This Art PrintArctic Monkeys Albums in Order, the Full Studio Discography
What struck me while researching this map is how the tube map format makes the evolution of the sound visible without a word of explanation. The early albums, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare, are tight four-piece records with very few additional credits.
Then the cast around that core expands and contracts as the records change character. The string arrangements and orchestral contributors on Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino and The Car create a visibly different cluster at the later end. The shift from Sheffield indie to cinematic art rock is legible in the structure before you read a single credit label.
| Album | Year | Producer |
|---|---|---|
| Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | 2006 | Jim Abbiss |
| Favourite Worst Nightmare | 2007 | Mike Crossey, James Ford |
| Humbug | 2009 | Josh Homme, James Ford |
| Suck It and See | 2011 | James Ford |
| AM | 2013 | James Ford, Ross Orton |
| Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino | 2018 | Alex Turner, James Ford |
| The Car | 2022 | James Ford |
What the Arctic Monkeys Discography Map Shows
Alex Turner, Jamie Cook and Matt Helders run as continuous lines through all seven studio albums. Nick O'Malley's line starts one station later, at Favourite Worst Nightmare in 2007, because the bass on the debut was played by Andy Nicholson, who left the band in 2006. Nicholson is the single short line at the opening of the map, and he is the whole reason the map is more useful than a band photograph: a list of Arctic Monkeys members will tell you there are four of them, and the map tells you that one of those four was not on the record that made them famous.
What changes around that core is the cast of additional contributors, and those changes tell the story of how the band's ambitions expanded. James Ford, who has produced or co-produced most of the discography, is also credited playing on several of the records, which is what earns him one of the most consistent additional lines on the sheet. The orchestral arrangements and string players on the later records produce the most crowded stations on the map.
The busiest station of all is not an Arctic Monkeys album. Everything You've Come to Expect, the second Last Shadow Puppets record from 2016, carries 28 names on my sheet, most of them the string section. Across all nine stations the map runs to 77 credited people.
Josh Homme, and the Rule About Producers
Humbug is the album everyone remembers Josh Homme for, and it is also the clearest illustration of the one rule that decides who gets a line on my maps. A producer only earns a musician line if they are also credited playing or singing something on the record.
On Humbug my sheet has Homme down for production on seven of the tracks and nothing else. No playing credit, so no line at that station, however much of that album's character came from him.
His line starts two years later instead. He sings backing vocals on "All My Own Stunts" on Suck It and See, and on two tracks of AM, and those are playing credits, so those are the stations where he appears. It is a good example of the map disagreeing with the received story in a way I can point at in the credits.
Arctic Monkeys Albums, Album by Album
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
The fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history at the time of release. Produced by Jim Abbiss, and one of the tightest stations on the map: Turner, Cook, Helders and Andy Nicholson on bass, with no additional musicians at all. The density of the later albums makes this early station look sparse by comparison, which is part of the story the map tells.
Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
Produced by Mike Crossey and James Ford, and released around fifteen months after the debut. Nick O'Malley's line begins here, having joined mid-tour in 2006 after Nicholson's departure, and it runs unbroken to the end of the map. The speed of the turnaround is visible in the spacing: these two stations sit closer together than any other pair on the print.
Humbug (2009)
The most significant sonic shift in the early discography, co-produced by Josh Homme in the California desert. On the map it stays a lean station, because the changes came from the production rather than from a crowd of new players. John Ashton on keyboards and Alison Mosshart on additional vocals are the guest credits my sheet carries here.
Suck It and See (2011)
A warmer, more melodic record produced by James Ford, with the contributor cast still contained. This is where Josh Homme's line actually begins, on backing vocals. A transitional station: the experimentation of Humbug absorbed and redirected into something more approachable.
AM (2013)
The commercial peak, co-produced by James Ford and Ross Orton. Bill Ryder-Jones contributes additional guitar on track eight, Pete Thomas adds percussion, and Homme returns on backing vocals for two tracks. The hip-hop influenced rhythms and R&B production textures make this one of the more populated mid-career stations.
Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (2018)
Five years after AM, a record that divided opinion and rewarded close attention. Alex Turner co-produced alongside James Ford, and new names arrive in numbers: Tom Rowley, Tyler Parkford, Evan Weiss, Loren Humphrey, James Righton, Josephine Stephenson and Zach Dawes all appear. One of the most populated stations in the latter half, with 19 names on my sheet.
The Car (2022)
The most recent studio album continues the orchestral direction, produced again by James Ford, with Orchestrate on strings and Bridget Samuels arranging them. The two late-career records form a visually cohesive cluster at the far end of the map.
Arctic Monkeys Discography Map: Frequently Asked Questions
How many studio albums do the Arctic Monkeys have?
Seven studio albums, from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in 2006 to The Car in 2022.
Why does the map have nine stations, then?
Because the two Last Shadow Puppets albums, The Age of the Understatement from 2008 and Everything You've Come to Expect from 2016, sit on the same sheet. They are Alex Turner records with Miles Kane, and putting them on shows where his writing went between Arctic Monkeys albums.
Who are the members shown on the map?
Alex Turner on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Jamie Cook on guitar and Matt Helders on drums run through all seven albums. Nick O'Malley plays bass from Favourite Worst Nightmare in 2007 onwards. Andy Nicholson played bass on the 2006 debut and left the band that year, so his line covers one station only.
What is not on the map?
Live albums, EPs and compilations. The map plots studio records only, which is an editorial rule I apply right across the range, so At the Apollo and the early EPs have no station on it. Engineers, mixers and mastering engineers are not musicians, so they do not get lines either.
Does the map show producers and session musicians?
It shows credited musicians on each album. Producers appear only where they are also credited playing or singing on the record. James Ford clears that bar, because alongside producing he is credited on keyboards, drums, percussion and more. Josh Homme does not clear it on Humbug, where he is credited for production alone.
What size is the Arctic Monkeys Discography Map Art Print?
A2 (420x594mm / 18x24in) and A1 (594x841mm / 24x36in), unframed or in a black wood frame. It is a Giclée print on 230gsm premium fine art paper, textured matte, archival and acid-free, from £42.00.
Is this a good gift for Arctic Monkeys fans?
It suits the fan who already owns the records, because it shows things a poster cannot: the contributors behind each album, the evolution of the sound across the discography, and the connections between eras, in a single image that rewards standing in front of it.
Browse the Full Range
The Arctic Monkeys Discography Map Art Print sits in the Northern Bands collection at mikebellmaps.com. For fans of related artists, the Oasis Discography Map Art Print, the Smiths Discography Map Art Print and the New Order Discography Map Art Print are the natural companion pieces. The full range is in the Music Wall Art Prints collection.