spray the tag

3:12 min

Who of us did not scribble on his or her
exercise book when being a pupil?

Imagine pupils who did not stop scribbling, drafting and sketching. Imagine yourself discovering the empty grey walls of your city as a canvas for your ideas, colours and tags! We believe that in such a process the art of graffiti evolved and developed - and finally became a genre of its own.

This song "Spray the Tag" is about the thrill and the fun of designing graffitis. After a spraying party at night many sights and surfaces have changed their look into colourful agile decorations and present themselves to all citizens in the morning.

From a more distant perspective we can say: Graffiti art is a remarkable cultural outbreak. Graffiti does not only mean colouring and spraying - and it is not only nightly walkarounds and illegal aerosol parties. It is also a certain feeling of life and a spirit of effecting the look of our urban environment and our architecture.

Graffiti embodies the freedom of individual expression in a mass- and consumer polished society. The song "Spray the Tag" celebrates graffiti as a human emotional impuls and outbreak - and as an impetus for playing an active and vivid role.

Lyrics: Here (pdf).

about the start of graffiti

In the 40ties you could read "Kilroy was here" in the most oddest and most far corners of the world. Maybe that was the start of the graffiti movement.

In the 60ties Darryl McCray spread his writing "Cornerbread" all over Philadelphia. In the beginning he wanted to get the attention of a girl, but after a time his "Cornerbread"-Project stood for its own. And he tried to spray his tag at the craziest places and locations.

In the end of the 60ties the tagging-art occupied New York. But it took more than ten years when Bando CTK started graffiti writing in Europe in 1983. Finally in the 90ties graffitis were part of the sights in all metropolitan cities of America and Europe.

graffiti scenery in Hamburg

The street artist says: "Yes, this is art - and it can be erased!" The colourfully sprayed scrawls do exist only for a short moment - they can be perceived in the current presence only! Just now you can see them and even tomorrow somebody will have overwritten or erased them.

graffiti in Hamburg - rhederstreet 2017 No real street artist asks for permission! The feeling of surpassing taboos and of crossing borders is part of their art. Still it is a subcultural movement, which doesn't strive for social appreciation. Hamburg in Germany has one of the liveliest graffiti sceneries. Everywhere on the walls of the city you find the tags of "usp" (ultra st. pauli), "sirup", "zonke", "tese" and many others.

graffiti in Hamburg - palm fiction place 2017 One famous sprayer is "Marshal Arts". He loves to spray subtle ironic statements - and recently he became part of a gallery in New York.

in memory of OZ

typical tag of OZ "OZ" was one of the most famous sprayers in Hamburg. His real name was "Walter Josef Fischer." He was born in Heidelberg and started spraying 1977 in Stuttgart. Since 1992 he tagged his "OZ" on nearly all walls and concrete plains in Hamburg. He created his typical style of panorama images with many white-shining points. On nearly every wall and in every part of the city you could read his famous tag "OZ".

graffiti of OZ - Hamburg Caro quarter 2017 The police often caught OZ and he was even imprisoned. Years of jail didn't stop his motivation for an improvement of walls and sights of the city. He polarized the people: Many citizens and institutions valued him as a vandalizer and ravager. And others saw him as a fantastic and most consequent street artist.

He felt himself as a fighter against squared cleaning norms and against voracity and consumer craziness. OZ didn't allow any compromises - he was a maniac when it came to improve grey walls, spray tags and colourize the city.

OZ died in September 2014. He sprayed conductor rails high on a railway bridge and collided with a fast S-Bahn. Today many sprayers regard him as the "real grandfather of graffiti".

3:12 min 4.5 mb

composed and produced by: andy enroe; guitars: tanja soler zang; vc, bs, dr, kb: andy enroe; executive musical advisor: tanja soler zang.

graffitis: sprayer scenery of Hamburg St.Pauli, Sternschanze, Caro, Altona and Steilshoop - see the given tags; thanks to all these giant artists.

fotos & video-construction: andy enroe; executive art advisor: tanja soler zang.

first impressions

"I know the songs of enroe and I watch the development of the band for a long time. And yes - I'm quite curious about every new song. I listened to "Spray the Tag": A rocky groovy song with strong guitar parts and a very direct arrangement. This songs is instantly moving and it lets my feet hit the rhythm." Frank

"Woaa , what a marvellous groovy and pulsating Chorus! "Spray the Tag" stays in my ear for a long time - it is my spring song 2017!" Stephanie

In the start time of a new song we send "pre"-versions to some friends. Our listeners Frank and Stephanie gave their feedback.

questions

Question: What was the motivation for this song?

a.e.: The first impuls was just this moving and simple guitar riff. It is magic!

Question: But how did you come to the topic "sprayer"?

a.e.: Haha, yeah! One night walk we got into a busy sprayer community. It was great fun - we were very welcomed and we could smell the aerosols and colours. We could also feel the unconditional thrill of fun and individual expression in images and tags.

Question: What's so special about those sprayers?

t.s.z.: Spraying is a type of expression. It is an extreme vivid and authentic kind of art - and it is thrilling! Because the next day everyone can see the new pictures and figures. The graffiti artists coin the every-day sights of the city.

Question: But some of these sprayings are damaging objects - and thus these sprayings are illegal?

t.s.z.: That's a dispute in the scenery: Some of the sprayers are defensive and reluctant - and others think that spraying must be at the borders of legality. It is not easy to draw this border line and to state what is allowed and what is not. What is private property and what is public?

Question: For most citizens this is not a question.

t.s.z.: Yes, of course. But in the opinion of many artists graffiti is a political statement also. And besides we must remember that many arts evolved from subcultures which are located in peculiar and suspect milieus. I think this is valid for the graffiti scenery too.

Question: Will you play "Spray the Tag" live?

a.e.: I think we'll do it ...

t.s.z.: I'm looking forward to it. It's a short song, but it has these fantastic guitar parts.