The Railside Street Files: Basko Tsb Wol — Graffiti Artist Interview
What name do you write, and can you give us a bit of background on yourself?
I write basko, chch born, htown raised. I was just bored and wanted to go paint with the bros slope and bzrk so i asked them to give me a name and that was the start of it.
What first got you into graffiti, and what made you want to start putting your name up?
I always did tag here n there through primary. my oldman and uncles were USK down in christchurch so iykyk , REKR was the name back then but it was only school books and playgrounds/skateparks that got hit. Wasnt until i meet my longtime bro BZRK in intermediate where i first sort of started remembering names, learnt what throwies were etc, and then fast forward to high school i was just a bored kid tagging along being eyes n ears while the boys painted before i actually had a jam on the cans. I did 1 redskin 1 rooftop 1 truck and 1 roadside spot before i fell off in 2017. 5 years later the basko went on a lime scooter through the city and here we are today.
Being from Hamilton, what was the scene like when you first started noticing graffiti around you who were the active writers?
It was active as. Fences were top to bottomed, roll calls , shit would actually stay up back then. The likes of CHEEKY n SENZR VIPZ, PRISMO n AEWOL DON IDK, HORID n JARS LWB, BORD OPC,LINK AKSTA PORS AK, SAKT MELO TEASR FGA, DREMR n ESKO GA,OKAZ HYFOR AKUR DNS, RUEWK DOH, FAIDS GKUS, ELKO XTB CIA, FLEWK, KUESM, GSUS, STRIKT, GETSO,TRISK,SKROM, ENOLK, FEEN, DREN1, TROTZ. Thats all that i can think of off the top of my head, id need to dig deep to get a better idea.
What is your main focus with graffiti — tags, throw-ups, pieces, walls, freights, bombing, style, or all of the above?
Walls and freights definitely. Still fuck with throwies n bombing but prefer some forever spots or a nice fresh redskin. And the young panel here n there of course.
What keeps you wanting to paint graffiti? Is it the style, the buzz, the mates, the spots, the culture, or just seeing your name around?
All of the above, you end up in some dope spots, you definitely met some wicked people from all walks of life, i can say ive made friendships thatll probably last this lifetime, the culture is like no other, so many different avenues it can take you but the main 3 are, tattooist, mural/artist or just a straight up criminal lol, nothing wrong with that though.
When you’re painting, what matters most — clean letters, flow, colour, size, impact, spot choice, or just making it hit?
Spot choice for me, i never sketch letters or plan colorways. Just show up to spots spontaneously and freestyle letters n colors everytime, but in a way thatll pop for each spot.
What makes a good spot stand out to you — visibility, atmosphere, surface, history, or how the piece sits in the area?
Visibility and atmosphere, cant beat a massive chromie on a motorway or main road spot so in your face that it cant be ignored but then the feeling of being in or around a yard at night, shunters shunting couple hundred metres away, mist in the air, sirens in the distance. Or out in nature with no sounds but the rattling of the can, spraying on a wall or the sound of that river flowing on by. Cant beat it.
Have you got a good chase story, close call, or sketchy moment from over the years that still sticks with you?
When we painted tehuia for the first time, one of the workers tried to kick the bro and then ended up with a chromed out face lmao, another time i painted it alone, got chased out after just finishing, pulled out of the street there to the main road and got spotlighted by a cop turning in, musnt have looked suspicious though coz he carried on asap down to the yard. Another time id pulled over just to tag a barrier around national park and a coppa went past and tried to spin around, gotta love those mk5 gti’s though hahahahaha ;) luckily i havent had to hide in no creeks or backyards, yet.
What’s one piece, throw-up, tag, wall, train flick, sketch, or photo that still stands out to you? What makes it memorable?
The motorway spot i did with the stewie holding the gun. The spot, the placement, the colors the character everything about it was solid for me and im sure alot of other people thought the same for that particular mission
Or the e2e AT panel with SUFER n BRATS because it was only meant to be me and surfer but the brother BRATS ended up messaging at the right time so we told him to meet us down there and we pumped it, but also because i boosted back to tga that night for the brother ASPENS bday with MELO KONSR LINK NORM which was just a wicked day and night for me overall.
What’s your go-to setup — cans, caps, markers, solid markers, colours, or tools you prefer?
Preferably? cans and stock caps or fat caps. Lately? Buff fills and those free duluxs from bunnings lol
What do you think Hamilton needs more of — more walls, more events, more younger writers, more respect, more documentation, or just more people active?
All of the above, theres bits here n there but not like every other major city
Any writers, crews, photographers, or people from the Hamilton scene you want to shout out and whats next for Basko?
Shoutout all the Gz ive chopped it up with and gotten to paint next to over the years the list is too long but the respect is there, shoutout the the Gz ill meet in the future aswell. Shoutout the crews TSB WOL FGA, mad love for all ma bros
Whats next? Need to get me another hundred pack n start pumping again, ive been pretty slack this year ( got a missus now so all i wanna do is root and cuddle ahahahahaha) but nah, just try stay active, keep the quality and quantity up, meet more talented writers from our country, learn more about the NZ graff history. And definitely TRAVEL ABROAD