Lyken Love - Graffiti Artist Interview
September 2009
In depth interview with Lyken Love, a graffiti artist from Dundee, Scotland who began painting in the '80s. Lyken Love is part of the Voigt Kampff Crew who, alongside graffiti, also count music production and performances among their many talents!
Lyken Love
Where are you based?
Dundee, Scotland… the Grave.
How did you get into graffiti and what made you start painting?
Weirdly, the first Graffiti I ever saw was in '83 and was in six foot high skinny letters spelling out the words "The Philadelphia Kids"… even stranger than that was the fact I was in Durban, South Africa at the time!
Then a mate showed me the back of the "Beat Street" Album Cover and pointed out that the drawing that said "Hip Hop" wasn't a drawing at all but artwork sprayed on the side of a subway train, I had an amazing shift in perspective at that moment. I don't think I have viewed anything in quite the same way since.
Where did you paint your first piece?
At an old water tower, Clatto Park Dundee in 1986; chalk rough outline, olympic blue fill, black outline. It was a bite of the Skeme (reclining on third rail) piece from Subway Art, I didn't do anything worthwhile really until mid '87. That spot was great although you couldn't step back without tripping over a glue sniffer.
How did you choose the name Lyken Love?
It's Lichen, as in moss, but I changed the spelling to Lyken so the letters flowed better. When I was younger I thought it was funny as moss grows on walls and so does… um… graffiti. I added the Love in homage to early Casanova Rappers and Hip-Hoppers like Larry Love, Run Love, Baby Love.
My name has nothing to do with werewolves, although I do have particularly luxurious chest hair.
Do you write under any other names?
Not really, just abbreviations or variants on my tag depending on time, space and my inability to accurately size things up.
I wrote "Lettuce" for a bit before Lyken.
Do you write with any crews and if so which ones?
I'm in a crew called Voigt Kampff (VK for short). We named ourselves after the "Empathy" test from the Philip K Dick novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"… the book that was made into the movie Blade Runner.
Members are:
- Synk
- Vera
- Roule
- Krime
- Elph
- Pure
- Myself (Lyken Love)
It's the same moniker we make music under.
How would you describe your style?
Kind of organic with elements of classic graff, it's constantly evolving. Recently I have been trying to inject some movement and funk back into it… make it fun again.
In a nutshell all my stuff is derived from what came to be known as "The London Style", it might not be immediately obvious but thats what I originally modelled my letters on.
Graffiti piece by Lyken Love, character by Mr. Vera - Dundee (2009)
Graffiti piece by Lyken Love - Liverpool (2009)
Can you tell us a little about the graffiti scene in Dundee when you began painting in the early 80's and how things there have moved on since?
I would like "Real Men Use Carplan" engraved on my headstone!
Lyken Love
The transparent paints you get now? Thats what the actual paint was like!
There was a handful of writers in my town, I never met a writer from elsewhere until '93!! It was the era of letter writing and trading joiners through the post, I miss that really! It's been replaced by the internet which is great and terrible for graff at the same time. Now kids can sit at home typing an anonymous diss with one hand while eating a burger with the other. I remember when Hycote (excellent UK car paint brand) came out it felt like the revolution had started. Then we brought the original formula Spanish Montana into this country and it went mental.
I used live for a glimpse of a few flicks in Hip-Hop Connection once a month.
I would like "Real Men Use Carplan" engraved on my headstone!
Do you still keep in touch with any of the people you used to paint with in the 80's and 90's?
Pretty much most of the guys I knew from that era are still around:
- Gaz Mac
- Vera
- Elph
- Mie 1
- Derm
- Rask
- Dris
- Synk
- Pure
- Eez
…we still drop some numbers together from time to time or are in regular touch.
I met up with Mr Zee from Newcastle again, funnily enough I had never painted with him until recently… the guy is a true UK King.
Have you done many collaborations with artists overseas or traveled abroad for your art and if so then where is the most exciting or interesting place you have painted?
Probably painting with Falko and hanging with Emile YX and the Black Noize Boys in Cape Town in the mid 90's… that was nuts. I would love to get back there at some point.
I have a bit of a love affair going with the Irish graff scene too, I tend to travel there at least 3 odd times a year to see Rask and Sums. You just can't beat the Bridge Jam in Drogheda! Best chicken burger in the civilised world plus there is a decapitated martyr's head behind glass in St. Peters Church that you have to see!
I believe you recently travelled to Belfast to take part in Meeting Of Styles, how did you find the experience of painting there?
We painted the Peace line on the Shankhill Road, it was a slightly more somber affair than a regular jam as you can imagine. It was mad painting on a surface and in a place with so much recent historical significance. It seemed like the graffiti had already become part of the story of the wall as the taxi drivers had begun to incorporate it into their dialogue as they brought tourists to and fro.
I like Meeting Of Styles a lot and need to try and take in a few next year around Europe. Dris and Rask do a great job of sorting out the Belfast one, the standard this year was amazing.
Graffiti piece by Lyken Love - Meeting Of Styles, Belfast (2009)
Have you done much commercial work and if so what would you say was your most well known piece?
Bits n' bobs, but anything like that I keep separate and don't consider it to be part of my body of work.
We once did a backdrop for a Christian rap band called "House Of God". I had to paint a life size Jesus on the cross, picked out in flouro paint, so at a particular point in the the UV lights would click on and Jesus would appear magically on the cross. I kind of messed up the folds on his loin cloth which made him look really well endowed. I did fix it but really he is the Son of God so…
Have you ever had any of your work published in any books or magazines?
Some graff mags and couple of books.
I'm in a Home & Gardening Magazine next month which is hilariously brilliant! That's actually my target demographic, the lonely housewife! Sorry… the lonely house person.
You mentioned earlier that as well as painting graffiti you also make music, could you tell a little bit about that?
Synk and I started Voigt Kampff (VK for short) in about 1989, we were inspired by Streetsounds Electro Records, John Carpenter's soundtracks and Sci Fi. Mr. Vera joined later and completed our merry little band. The line up has fluctuated over the years, now its pretty much back to the core of Synk and Vera with me ruining it with terrible vocals.
What equipment do you use to make your music? Do you have a home studio set-up?
Macbook running Cubase with Halion and Reaktor. A few Mics and a paper & comb!
In days gone by VK had a complete studio with a Prophet 5, Moog, Sh101 - loads of classic analogue synths, it made playing live a nightmare! Everything is software based now. Synk still has the 808 drum machine though, some things you shouldn't replace with plug ins.
Have any of your tracks ever been released?
Yes, with Voigt Kampff and occasionally as The Silver Locusts on various labels through the years: Penalty, King Size, Panic Trax, Mighty Robot Recordings and Soma.
Solo stuff as "Evil Robot" on Anima Recordings.
Voigt Kampff shared a bill with Marc Almond once and Synk stole the keyboard used to play "Tainted Love" from the dressing room…
Lyken Love
Is there any one point in your career you would class as 'your big break'?
Voigt Kampff shared a bill with Marc Almond once and Synk stole the keyboard used to play "Tainted Love" from the dressing room, does that count?
The Voigt Kampff "Used" album was pretty well received, I think it's still available on iTunes.
You have had your work displayed in galleries a number of times, is there any one show which stands out from all the rest?
I have only really dipped my toe in the water as far as galleries go, it took me a long time to work out how to translate what I do to a new format.
I'm working on new stuff for a show called "Haunted Graffiti" with Elph at the Recoat Gallery in Glasgow, that will be the largest show I have been part of and if I'm going to show with Elphoid then I really need to up my game as his stuff is just froody.
What are your thoughts on graffiti being just a likely to be found in a gallery as on the streets these days?
I enjoy both but I don't really consider gallery stuff as graffiti, it's art derived from graff but they are completely separate entities and one can never replace the other.
"Kelica" canvas by Lyken Love
"Varium" canvas by Lyken Love
There seems to have been a sudden surge of interest in graffiti and street art recently, why do you think this is?
It's the trickle down Banksy effect, now the man in the street has a reference point.
I think graff gets used every 5 years or so to sell stuff as it fulfills some odd idea of cool. It's hilarious, I mean have you ever seen a group shot of writers from a Jam? It's really not that cool, it's like a photograph from a special needs outing… unless that's just me & my mates?
There is a very fine line between those who view graffiti as art and those who see it as vandalism, what are your views on this?
There's no point in dressing it up, it's vandalism. It may have artistic merit but I doubt screaming "But I'm an artist!!!!" holds much sway when you are being dragged by your hair from a train yard.
I love graffiti… and how it's looked upon makes no difference to me at all.
Do you prefer doing legal or illegal pieces?
As long as it's still stylish I'm not adversed to either. I've never been a bomber though, purely a piecer… plus my days of outrunning anyone are probably over.
I have only ever been in trouble once and that was for stealing VW badges when "Licence To Ill" came out.
Lyken Love
Have you ever 'felt the long arm of the law' because of your art?
No but I think The Style Police should have had a word!
I have only ever been in trouble once and that was for stealing VW badges when "Licence To Ill" came out.
Do you try to keep your identity anonymous where possible?
I did at one point but now to be fair most of my pieces are in abandoned and chilled spots so it doesn't really matter.
I had some headshot flicks taken recently for a show, I thought I was looking sexy but in reality I came across like a C.H.U.D. sucking on a hot chip.
Do you see yourself as an artist or a graffiti writer?
A graffiti writer, all my canvas stuff is based on letterforms too. I have zero aptitude for art outside of lettering.
Graffiti piece by Lyken Love - Manchester (2009)
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken for your art?
Probably re-interpreting what I do for the gallery. That could easily have backfired completely.
Which other artist would you most like to work with if you were given the chance?
- 3D
- Delta
- Super Blast
- Usugrow
- Futura
- Jor
- Jon One
What is your preferred medium for making marks with?
Spraypaint, although my lungs aren't in complete agreement.
What is your colour of choice?
Peppermint Green, Hot and Strawberry Pink!
I'm of the generation before off the shelf pinks, so I still find it amazing that you can buy intense pinks that aren't shoe paint or that you have had to mix yourself.
What is your favourite surface to paint on?
Smooth concrete and industrial spots with weird surfaces and odd shapes that frame the pieces perfectly.
Do you have a favourite piece of all time?
- "The Earths Edge" by Non Stop.
- The Scam & The Cazbee pieces from the Pit in '87.
- The Kase 2, Elkay Train from "Subway Art".
- Anything that 3D from Bristol ever did.
What kind of music are you into?
A bit of everything:
- Kraftwerk
- Autechre
- Gunshot
- Arrovane
- Boards Of Canada
- Eno
- Bowie
- LFO
- The Flaming Lips
- Hijack
- Streetsounds Compilations
- Ivor Cutler
I get ridiculously affected by music, it really can lift me or reduce me to a blubbering mess.
What is the last album you bought?
"Velocifero" by Ladytron. I like my electro elegant, sung by glacial females with clipped middle class English accents
What are you working on currently and what plans do you have for the future?
Working on stuff for the show with Elph I mentioned earlier, then some solo tunes with some friends guesting and I want to visit and exhibit in Japan.
Anything else you would like to add?
C.H.U.D. stands for "Cannabalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller", it's the best mutant movie ever made… apart from "Spawn Of The Slithis".
- For further information about Lyken Love please visit:
- Lyken Love Profile
- Lyken Love Website
- Lyken Love Blog
- Lyken Love Flickr Photostream
- Lyken Love YouTube Channel
Comments
Hey Rolf,
If only I could blame the camera, unfortunately the extra timber Im sporting is entirely my own work!
However an intensive workout is underway and with any luck I will be back to looking like smack head before too long. heh, heh.
Posted by lovebug lyken on Friday, 11th September 2009 at 09:38:56
I'm a tagger from dundee Def associating with the word deaf but ichanged the spelling i have'nt done anything wortyh while yet ive been tagging for about 6-7 month now got a few good hand styles.
respect to Lyken VK.
P.S. What happened to MDMA
Check out the website
Posted by Ross Boyd on Wednesday, 16th September 2009 at 09:48:45
ACE FELLA AND WORKS..PEACE AND LOVE BETA MSC, NSA, RTM SCOTLAND/ENGLAND.
Posted by BETA on Thursday, 14th January 2010 at 03:08:27
the camera adds ten pounds fat boy!!
Posted by rooooolf on Sunday, 6th September 2009 at 01:45:58