Interview - Krime

Krime, NWSK, ESTM Madrid 2007

• Give me your name, crew(s), and how long have you been painting?
KRIME, MDMA, VK and the MAS, been writing for 5 years this winter.

• What was it that made you get into graffiti, what was it that made you go, fuck I want to do that?
in a nutshell it was my boy ANTE who introduced me to graff in 2002 but i have always noticed it. i remember the old factory in dundee on the perth road (now the DCA) which was filled wee graff and i loved the atmosphere that the pieces created. what was wierd was i never thought of doing it myself. as i got older i hung around the old hawkhill factory which was loaded with pieces and it still never dawned on me to take it up but the respect was there for the people behind the artwork. i have always been keen on drawing and design and studied it at the skale. once i left i had nowhere really to channel my artistic abillities untill ANTE (a school chum) chapped my door a few yers later and said hed been doin graff and thought i may be intrested in it. still to this day he has never been more right hahaha. the MDMA was formed......... with just the 2 of us.

• Who were your early influences and who/what influences you now?
Hailing from dundee and the time we started we were quite deprived of any up to date resorces so our early suff was just what we interpreted graff to be. other than the memories from the old school graff haunts in dundee we were noticing tags and dubz from the likes of EYED and ARSE (DBS) which had a real nice style. i think most of the inspiration came from ROULE (ER) who at the time was producing some of the best pieces dundee has seen. BIG SHOUTS BY THE WAY. painting with ROULE opened up a lot of doors for me and educated me into the origins of graff. it was a mad time i like to call it creative overload. other influences include subay art and spray can art. what can i say. i love the old school flavour. my main influences at the moment are the people who i paint with, you ken wha ya are.


• Whilst people out there are chasing after the realistic 3D type of style, your style has a real old school New York style feel to it. Is this just a coincidence or was it a deliberate move?
its a deliberate move defo. i have an idea in my head of what graff should look like based on the way a piece looks and the atmoshere it creates. i try to stick to this rule whilst pushing myself further with every sketch i do. i do like the 3D stuff tho but i dont think its for me. i would like to give it a go but my heart is set on the old school and probably always will be. i think that the old school new york era certainly gives me influence i need to produce stuff i like to see.

• Bombing or a production? What's your preferred choice and why?
i like both of them for very simple reasons. boming provides a rush that you cant get anywhere else especially when you smack some steel. i love the zone you get in when out bombing. as soon as the paint hits the surface its pure instant euphoria. i have tried to pursue this plearure in many forms and none come close. productions are probably my favourite as it uses more of an artistic skill and im always challenging myself to do better. when doing productions its more relaxed than bombing and you can work to a pace that gives you the chance to have a blether with other writers face to face. prods also give you a chance to meet new people and be inspired in different ways.



• There is an attitude within graffiti that if someone is not taking the risks going out bombin etc then they are not really doing graffiti. What's your thoughts on this?
i think graff is a gift to a select minority who stick to it and these internal squabbles should be put to the side and forgot about. i like doin both but put most of my energy into piecing. some people have responsibilities that dont faciliitate the life of a bomber but allow them to go and do a piece. in my opinion they are still doing graff even if it doesnt involve all the aspects. i love gettin pished and goin bombing tho. dutch courage. ha

• What's your opinion on the current Scottish Graff scene?
fuckin brilliant. shouts to everyone who i have met. there is no hate between cities. everyone who i have painted with from glasgow and edinburgh have provided a great days painting and happy vibes as well as some real tasty work.

• Whats your favourite piece and why?
this one at the vapour trail jam dundee 07. i used a different technique with this one which i enjoy doing. cutting back your outlines and 3D with the fill, it creates a good effect.. i like this one because i love using greens, the overall shape of the piece and the sence of depth between layers. it is not as flat as some of my other stuff. plus i wasnt wasted so my lines are not as wonky.

KRIME - Vapour Trails jam Dundee 2007

• Every writer has a story that they like to tell whether it's the time they met and painted with someone, some beef or a chase story. What's yours?
i dont know, i have had a lot of chases and close encounters but i think the best one which was quite comical was during a bombing mission. i was in a tunnel with a few folk and it was quite risky, near a main road. we heard noises from above and decided to chill back for a while till the noises stoped. it sounded like footsteps on the bridge. we sat in some bushes for about an hour telling jokes. fuckin freezin tae. anyways the paiting continued and i was on lookout a car come past and i shouted get down and it was a false alarm. then suddenly a motor on the bridge above was fucking booting it and we smelt the rubber from the tyres in the tunnel. this car come ripping past us so we hit the deck to hide. what followed the car was a whole squad of different police vehicles sirens and lights too. we fuckin shit ourselves coz there was a high chance that one of they cunts saw us. however all was well and we can laugh about how shady it was. i dont think i have shat myself since.

• Getting wasted or Graff
graff for sure but i always end up cunted at jams.