Stories about London, Culture & Creativity

So this week I had the pleasure of meeting Roger Gastman, the man behind the Beyond the Streets exhibition which toured the US and is now over here at Saatchi gallery from the 17th Feb, quite a ground breaking show to be seen in our city.
The show he’s put together is the amalgamation of his time and experiences and education within the graffiti culture and the broad depths its shown him, and that’s perfect for an inquisitive person like me, right up my street.
I’ve known of and probably you’ve known of Roger from the books he’s made, shows he’s put on, films he’s made, magazines, interviews and various curations his name has been beside for the last 20+years, a real inspiring body of work on a part of the culture that is really what I have tried to be about for the last 20yrs also, and he’s done it big, representing at a very high professional level, this was going to be an education. I got the hook up on email through another culture stalwart, the author and artist Caleb Neilson whom, I helped a little last year on a project he was putting together with Roger. I knew Roger was in town for the show, I hollered, and he kindly accepted. I met him at the set up at Saatchi’s in a room full of people I’ve seen in photos and film and read about, quite a privilege, and we then took a walk to his Airbnb to sit down and have this conversation, this is some of Roger Gastmans, Bethesda Maryland Washington, culture and creativity story, enjoy, this is F24.

Photos of the Beyond the Streets show London by Martha Cooper 2023.

This week I had Krek, TJ Dolan, who kindly came down from Manchester to visit the studio and have a chat. We’d never got to meet before and I have loved his work from the start, loads of style, courage, playfulness and colour in his work from his letters on steel and cement to his paintings on a variety of mediums.

It was great having him round, I learnt so much about him and loved the vibe he brought.

This is some of TJ Dolans culture and creativity story, enjoy..

What a mad time though hey, worlds changed, places have changed, we’ve changed!

But what stays is culture, a constant, a forever, and I learnt a lot about that and its strengths, even though I preach it, from this conversation, so it was a great one to kick off what we’ll call season 2 of F24.

Mode2 was in town.

We’d be talking a little via message for a while and also had my friend Kash co-signed me which got me a big step closer to this conversation.

A dream come true, after the first, where he put me up at Carnival this year after I set him some paint.

I’d never properly met Mode, never had the chance to have a conversation.. He’s been a name in my life for nearly 30yrs and undoubtably yours too.. I haven’t heard many interviews with him so I didn’t know how this was going to go.. Some of you maybe used to a format I’ve developed in these interviews, this was nothing like I expected, its an amazing in-depth conversation full of analogies and historical fact about culture and cultures.

He lives a life full of intrigue and interest, a natural flow, an understanding of his surroundings as well as his foundations. An absolute pleasure and dream come true having this time with Mode, our mutual friend Kash was in the studio with us while we had this very interesting conversation, this is some of Mode2’s culture and creativity story… enjoy..

This week, well last week I had this conversation with New Zealand graffiti stalwart Vents from RTR crew Auckland. We had a dope chat, me kinda chatting into the future as he’s 13hrs ahead. We cover loads, what it was like where he grew up, what the kind of graffiti he saw growing up and his first feelings of notoriety when he placed his first words on a wall and drawings on an arcade game. We talk about his route into painting, when the right time arose and the commitment he put to it. He tells us about some NZ history, the crews and paintings that were about, the name he started with, travelling and a story about London’s very own @meanpfb. It was a dope chat, a privilege. This is some of Vents RTR’s Auckland, culture and creativity story, check him @sub_automic whilst you listen, enjoy this is F24.

Hello and welcome back to the. F24 podcast.. my name is David and in what were normal times, I invited creatives over to my studio in north Acton to have a conversation about their lives and interactions with London, culture and creativity.

Currently though, we are on a world-wide lockdown, worldwide, an expectation for every human on the planet.. nuts!

So, I’m home, on my narrow boat luckily with a garden, just outside London. Painting in my makeshift studio that I’ve made under a tree where we keep our wood pile, wondering what the fuck happened and when will it be over whilst listening to podcasts and music, painting, walking the dogs and chilling with my partner. I can’t deny I miss my studio loads and am worried about my business, but these things are out of my hands for now so for now it’s the mantra, this too shall pass…

Given this time along with the rest of the world I’ve decided to push this podcast worldwide, everyone’s home so catch em now and have that conversation.. this week, not too far away, Elph from Edinburgh. I’ve been wanting to get Elph on for a while now and I was even up there last summer but I was with the family, a beautiful little town on the east coast of fife, it was hard to get away.. so, no better time than now.

Elph’s been at it since the mid-nineties and right from the start of seeing his pieces it was obvious he was a style master, constantly pushing his letter form and character style, his colour palette and shapes, he’s always stood out. It was dope getting some time with him on skype the other day, getting some of the back story, the how too and hearing about some hidden gems of advice he had been given on route.. got check him out @elphone on Instagram whist you listen..  This is some of Elph’s, story. Enjoy, this is F24.

Last week I had Hana Sunny Whaler, a sign writer residing in South London. I met Hanah through a shared client in maybe 2016/17, we spent a couple days together working on a large wall painting directed by her then painted. It was a nice way to meet and we chatted freely, with Hana telling me about some of her plans and what she’d been up to so far. She was about to move to London and take on the Sign Writing world here, connections had been made and plans set.

Since then Hana has taken London by storm and has a great team by her side, really great to watch and also met other shared friends.

We have a lovey chat around her choices and route to get to be the dope paint slinger she is today. He life in her home town, through college and Uni, sofa surfing and hand to hand hustling her business. Real dope having her round, this is some of Hana’s London, via various places, culture and creativity story… check her @hanasunnywhaler on Instagram whilst you listen, Enjoy this is F24..

In October last year Pavan and I were working out how to meet up but things kept coming up and we had to keep re booking until one day in early December I’m scrolling Instagram and I see a sleepy faced Pavan, head resting on some boxes in a car basically saying goodbye to the UK. I didn’t want to get to him right away I thought I’d let whatever happen lie for a week or two and then we spoke, Foreign Beggars had dropped their last album, and this meant his visa was done… He was heading back to Dubai..

We chatted, it was a bit of a mind fuck for me, I’ve known Pavan for maybe 15yrs not properly but in stores, shared friends, jams etc, loving the music from the iconic Asylum Speakers album but you’d think I’dda known that he was on a visa, I’m nosey.. I needed to know and wanted the story for the archive, Pavan has done so much!. We booked a date, opened up skype and got chatting, its dope, honest, inspiring and I now have a complete new found respect for Foreign Beggars after having this chat.. they worked…. This is part of Pavan’s story and some of his interactions with London, culture and creativity, enjoy this is F24.

So, this week.. actually, lets jump back a touch, I remember the first time I met Fuel, it was at my gallery in Brighton, one of those jaw dropping moments when you realise who’s in front of you.. As he was walking off, I nudged Vibes who was hanging out as usual and said a bit too loud, You V, that’s King Fuel.. I felt a little embarrassed as I think he heard, but I didn’t care, he’d graced my shop.
A couple months ago I had the pleasure of going South of the River to have a coffee with King Fuel, who for as long as I’ve been in the scene has had his name come along with folklore, rumour and legend.
We chatted over a few coffees for hours without noticing the time go by. We spoke about loads of stuff, the culture, London, parenthood, mind and soul, therapy music, smoking, adventures.. a whole bag of goodness, it was amazing, mind blowing and an absolute treat.. I had to ask him, come over to North Acton and jump on the podcast, he agreed. We left it a bit of time so that conversation wasn’t fresh in our minds and he came around on a Monday after lunch, I bunked work silenced my computers and phone, its King Fuel for fucksake.. and we chatted for another 3hours, it’s an amazing story, a deep journey hearing about Fuels life so far and his choices, experiences, memories and thoughts, and feelings about our culture, its meanings, reasons, everything, it was amazing.. and yes, I say amazing and wow about 50 times, sorry, but I mean it..
A massive privilege having King Fuel over, this isn’t his whole story, the timelines not perfect but it’s over 30yrs of being Fuel. What an honour.
This is King Fuel’s London, Culture and Creativity story.. enjoy, this is f24.

This week, the Traphouse Tattooer.. You’ve seen his name around the city.. the first Traphouse painting I saw was on Berwick St over the old Paperchase.. dope letters floating down a Soho street.  

Then I started to see it everywhere, then all over Instagram.. then friends talking, meeting, getting tattooed.. the wave had gained momentum.. 3yrs on I thought, that’d be an interesting chat.. I got to him; he’s about getting shit done so two days later he was at the studio. He came along with a good friend and we got into it. He’s lived an interesting life so far with stories to back it up. Graffiti and crime were a major thing for him, and creativity came through it all, I love that ish.. 

dudes lived a life… it’s a great insight into a trapper and creatives mind.

Go check him @traphousetattooer on Instagram whilst you listen..

Im in Scotland, Elie in Fife to be precise and wow we’ve been lucky, beautiful sandy beach, amazing walks, great food and the weather.. goddam! Ive got a tan, although that’s pretty easy as I’m half Egyptian.

Anyway, a much needed break and rest from work, I’m back in the city Monday to crack on with the rest of the year.

Before I left for my holidays Australian Tom Gerrard came and visited me. Another artist Ive known for years and years.. We’ve painted, drunk, smoked, looked after each others friends

with space to stay and also now both do a podcast about these creative lives we are living.

Tom travels, like serious adventure travelling. Its been him and his wife’s thing since meeting 20+ years ago. He’s from and based in Melbourne Australia and Tom gets us into that and tells us what it was like growing up there the 80’s and 90’s, a bit unconventional and quite dangerous for a 16yr old. He tells us what school was like, skating and his first graffiti experiences, friends and how those teen years went. We chat about the chance encounter with his to be wife, travelling the world and painting and the different paths he took until he gave in to the pressure and stepped up and went full time artist.

It’s a dope story, Toms lived a full life so far and it was great catching him whilst he was in town preparing for the show hes curated at Stolen Space featuring his work alongside two other Australian artists.

As Ive said, I’ve known Tom for years and it was great to fill in the gaps within the time I’ve known him over a couple beers and a smoke.

Enjoy, this is F24.