A few months ago we sat down with our friend Soten from Copenhagen to do an interview for the german magazine Juice, read the whole thing here

ILG : Do you want to introduce yourself or should I do it for you?

SOTEN: You do it!

ILG: Okay, well, first time I met Soten in Hamburg, at that time, he was with Bates and until then I just heard of him but had not seen a lot. A guy, not saying that much, not keen to attract attention and what we call ´typical Danish´. Smooth and being always anxious to do the right thing. Pensive and full of beans and enthusiasm at the same time. He is one of the fourth graffiti generation from Copenhagen. His style can be called original, his trains are always excellent quality.

ILG: Ok, let’s start with some general facts. When did you start painting your name and why? Is there a special reason for choosing Soten and is there any meaning?

SOTEN: In the mid ninetees, I started painting. Actually, I started writing the name without the E but after some pieces I started doing it with the E to balance the piece better. There’s is no real reason for the name and it doesn’t mean anything. It‘s just a combo of letters I like, still today.

ILG : That means, for you it doesn’t matter which name you paint as it has no meaning for you? So we could say you would change your name if you had to
and it wouldn’t affect your live as a writer, then?

SOTEN : This combo of letters is me, and I don’t think I will ever change the name. It has stuck with me on a long way, now.

ILG: The name and lettering, is this the most important thing for you as a writer?

SOTEN : Style is the number one. It’s an important thing because that’s what makes the writer. If you have your own style you can do any name and people will always be able to see it’s you.

ILG : What is the amazing thing on writing the same letter combination for ten years or even more? Is it all about looking for the perfect one?

SOTEN : Doing the same name for ten years or more is a challenge, for sure. On the one hand, I always try to do the perfect piece but on the other hand I don’t really believe that the perfect piece exists and if it did, it would only make the whole thing more boring.

ILG : Is graffiti boring? I mean graffiti that we call classic graffiti?

SOTEN : On the long run?? Maybe!!! I don’t know, maybe that is why some people just stop or they just become wiser. Anyways, for me and right now??? No, graffiti is definitely not boring. As I said, I don’t think that the perfect piece exists but I still have enough energy to see if I can do the impossible.

ILG : Is graffiti for you more on a personal level in a big network or do you not care that much about happenings around you? I mean, many people count on the so-called graffiti scene. I think anonymity is very important for many people as well as communication on a personal level. On the other hand, there exist also lone fighters who only care about themselves. How important is it for you being a part of the scene?

SOTEN : Wow, this is a difficult question….Hmmm, I guess I’m already a part of the graffiti scene in some way or the other. Just for example by giving this interview and by taking part in events, sponsoring or thanks to my weblog. And of course, I’m quite happy about getting the opportunity to do all this. All the same, this is not why I started doing graffiti and so it’s nothing I would do hell for.

ILG: Does graffiti make your life better?

SOTEN : Hell yeaahhh, graffiti is my purpose!!! What else should make life better? Women and drugs??? hahahahaha

ILG : Sometimes people combine this! So not you?

SOTEN : Sure. I try to combine it all; just having a normal life with girls, parties etc. in order to get a distance from graffiti. This is also very important for me, but I have to admit that the feeling of doing a nice piece on a train or a wall makes me happy in a very special way. Only very few things can beat this feeling. I’ve experienced many things but graffiti is my drug and it would be very hard for me to live without it.

ILG : Is graffiti anything you would call “art” or a “creative thing” like the appearing Streetart is or let’s say, tries to be, these days?

SOTEN : I don’t know if graffiti is art or not. To be honest, I don’t think so. It should be and also stay a creative thing!!! What else should you call it; the passion for flipping the alphabet in so many ways?

ILG: Yeah, we can call it Style writing, or a variety of calligraphy and creative typography. The definition “art” might be the wrong definition, at least when talking about classic graffiti which you do. What do you think about putting your stuff in a gallery? One day?

SOTEN: Hmmmmm, right now, I paint a canvas from time to time and for sure, it is something I would like to do more often one day. However, at the moment, graffiti, for me means mainly painting a train or a wall.

ILG: What would you call the main years of graffiti in Copenhagen? Right now or many years ago?

SOTEN : For Copenhagen itself I guess, the nineties were the primetime. There were so many talented writers at that time and compared to today it seemed to be a lot more about style, back then.

ILG: Ok, so let’s get back to style. You surely mean the current trend regarding style? Are you one of them who don’t really get along with today’s trends and the style evolution or is it for a good step into the right direction? I don’t like the word but let’s call it anti- style. What do you mean? Why does anything like that come up today? Especially, when looking back to the nineties?

SOTEN : You are talking about the new style that has appeared for 3 or 4 years?

ILG: Exactly!

SOTEN: I think that one of the main “problems” is that a big part of the generation that came up in the nineties got their influence from stuff like wildstyle, stylewars etc. This is a thing a lot of the new kids in the graffiti scene really miss. They are different and get into the graffiti scene from a completely different angle and think it’s cool to spread vandalism in the whole world. This it is not about, vandalism is a kind of side-effect which we need to justify from time to time, but nothing more.
This is also why lots of these people don’t even know about the rules like for example not biting styles or not going over people who are more than ten years older than you.

ILG : You mean something that people from back in the days called respect?

SOTEN : Yo, exactly!

ILG : If I was a tourist and you had to recommend me a tour through Copenhagen to discover graffiti where would you send me to?

SOTEN : I don’t think I could send you to just ONE place. But like in another city you go to the main station where you saw all the painted trains running through, in Copenhagen you can take a walk to Nørrebro. Without any doubt this is the most bombed place in whole Copenhagen. To finish your tour I recommend you a trip to the hall of fame in the harbor in order to check out all the latest burners.

ILG: Would you call Copenhagen one of the 10 major cities in Europe according its importance in the graffiti scene?

SOTEN: Regarding the amount of skilled writers who come from here as well as our history compared to the size of the country, I would have also said yes, if u asked for the top 5!

ILG : Did the first, second or the third Copenhagen generation inspire
you?

SOTEN : Of course, the older generation? No matter, from style to the way you act and approach graffiti.

ILG : What do you think is the reason why „each one teach one“ and transferring things from one to another generation doesn’t work anymore, today?

SOTEN: Again I think, now we switch back to the fact, that there are different ways to enter graffiti and the question of “how” plays an important role. Me personally, I have always tried to teach the younger generation in how to do stuff; just like my friends Bates and Tiws had done it with me, years ago.

ILG : Tell me about your experiences you made when travelling? Do you feel a different vibe in Paris or Melbourne or also Berlin?

SOTEN : No matter where I go, the vibe is always different. In some cities the scenes are more “ruff” than others but the good thing about being a traveler is that you rarely are a part of all the bullshit and you just get all the love.

ILG: Does the internet help to promote graffiti or is it sometimes cause problems? What do you think?

SOTEN : It depends. With regard to Graffiti, I can say that I love the internet. On the one hand, it is really nice for artists to promote their work and it’s really a good way to network with different people. Me too, I also have my own blog http://www.ilovegraffiti.de/soten with a bunch of other
people. There, we upload pictures and other stuff we find interesting. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages like the internet forums where toys can sit in front of all day and talk about spots and other writers, obvious for all cops.

ILG : If you had to decide where to represent yourself, would you prefer a magazine or a website?

SOTEN : Nothing beats to sit down, reading a magazine, checking out the photos and read the interviews.

ILG: Let’s talk about your crew?

SOTEN: My crew is a bunch of old friends from all over the country who hang out together. No politics about you having to do this or that, just friendship.

ILG: It’s called SSH? What does it mean?

SOTEN : Originally, it meant “super street heroes” but today its stuff like “sneaky steel heroes”.

ILG : What do you think about crews that simply recruit a huge number of active people in order to be the most popular. In such crews, the members often don’t even know each other. How does it work in your crew?
Are you all real friends on a personal level? I think the meaning of
a crew back in the days, was exactly this, wasn’t it? Representing you as a gang of friends coming from the same part of the city right?

SOTEN: The people should do how they feel. For me there is no reason to join a crew where I don’t know everybody who is in it. It seems to be a new trend today that people just recruit superstars into these crews that remember of big Barcelona football teams. There half of the people are just in it
because they are great writers and not because they are friends. In my crew, we are all friends and have known each other for years, some do one thing and some do another.

ILG : As we talked a lot about friends, what is this new project about you do with Molotow called “Molotow and friends”?

SOTEN : The project “Molotow and friends” is a group of 24 artist from all over the world. Those artists have used the brand belton Molotow for years and
Now, they show some of their not released photos as a support and a way to show some love. For me, there is also a kind of competition in it since there is a good bunch in it you would call “heavy weights” of the scene.

ILG :I think you are about to become a heavyweight as well. Anyways, I just think about asking something else, but I think that’s it. We still need to pass the gas station. Could you put any last words with credits on it?

SOTEN: Love and thanks to my crew, Elsam, Tiws, Bates, Ken, Omsk167, Stoe, Egg, Zombie and Desm as well as to Molotow for the support, to Lars for always being there and to Mami for the great food !!!

ILG: Cool, thank you