Visual Artist of the Month [05]

1.Yes Concrete Junglists! Congrats on being our Visual Artist of the Month, Your work is so sick - Tell us about how you got into it & how many years its been running?

Concrete Junglists is seven years old, but thats not the full, it took me a long time to start it, I had to learn every skill to get me here on the street; event photographer, graphic designer, club promoter, had two streetwear companies before this, open three streetwear shops. Been around the block haha.

2. What were your inspirations when you started your artistic journey -

Did you study or are you self taught?

To be honest it wasn’t for a long time that I even thought I was on a journey, designing was a necessity of putting on events. I couldn’t afford a graphic designer so I had to learn myself. Fully self taught, I wasn’t allowed to pursue art in school as the teacher said I wasn’t good enough. Growing up I loved the Beastie Boys and they had a small media empire ‘Grand Royale’ magazine, ‘X-Large’ clothing label and their office had a mini ramp, I always wanted that lifestyle. Street Art was also booming when I finally got my s%*t together so Shepherd Fairey (Obey), Kaws, Dave Kinsey, D*Face, London Police, Os Gemeos, Mike Giant, Grotesk, Twist, Evan Hecox, Pete Fowler, Mode2, Futura, Doze Green, Mr Jago, She One etc etc etc were all there to inspire, but you had to dig the crates to find them.

3. How do you find the inspiration to create?

I think the job of the artist is to find the order in the chaos, to filter the unspoken and give it a voice. To live in these times inspiration is easy to find. The voiceless are plentiful and the messages are simple. Peace, love & Unity.

4. What's your favourite art piece to date?

That’s so hard, mainly because I never look back, once my art is released I feel that I no longer own it, it is in the world for better or worse. But two spring to mind, the cover I did for DRS ‘Light Language’ as that was a detailed piece that took weeks to finish, felt like a proper marathon and I still actually liked it on completion, he is also my favourite dnb mc ever. The latest Concrete Junglists tee would also make the cut, Atlas carrying the CJ smiley face logo. That piece is super personal, as I’ve had my own deep battles with depression and mental health, so that came deep from within me.

5. Who would you love to collab with & why?

I’ve been really lucky in my career so far, my collabs with Stüssy, Goldie, Rodigan, Ram Records, Hospital Records, Viper have all been bucket list ticks for sure. If I was writing the future; a mural with Shepherd Fairey (he’s always been my hero), A vinyl figure with Pete Fowler (local welsh legend), A clothing piece with Jerry Lorenzo (Fear of God cuts are the best and I feel I could bring something to the table), a Stage at Boomtown festival and a takeover at Fabric (we could smash that).

6. What have you been up to during lock-down?

Business was a bit buckeroo for a while, so had to ride that wave. I was designing a lot for artists so they could still make money, all pro bono. Upped the charity work game, raised money for the NHS, BLM and helped with food parcel charities. I guess, just tried to utilise my skill set to help. Also have a young child, so the work/home life balance was a juggle.

7. What tunes can we find on your playlist?

My playlist is all over the shop, I love everything. People think I’m straight DnB, but DnB is the ultimate melting pot, its better if you come to it from other influences or backgrounds. My recent go too records are Turnstile ‘Glow On’, The Bug ‘Fire’ Calibre ‘Shelflife7’ singles by Sherelle, Sully, Alix Perez, Coco Bryce, DRS etc there is just too much good music.

8. Favourite Welsh Music Artist?

Impossible to answer; Traxx, Benji Wild, Mace the Great, Boyo, Zefur Wolves, High Contrast, Stuss, Incurzion Audio, Cauzer, Lung, Konessi, Local, XL Life, I’ve obviously forgotten a bunch too.

8. What can we expect for the future of CJ?

We live in a time of wild winds and I don’t know which way we’ll blow. I’m just grateful I have built a skillset that allows me to be adaptable. I just hope it involves progressing my art, the clothes I produce, the events we put on, the calibre of collaborations and just that the good community we have built grows.

@concretejunglists