The Spark: Rob Draper on Old-School Electro, Portrait-a-Day and Nike Dreams

The Creative Boom Podcast

In this nostalgic bonus episode, Katy Cowan and Rob Draper engage in a lighthearted ramble through childhood memories and creative philosoph

Key takeaways

• Rob Draper argues that 'talking about it isn't doing it,' warning against the safety of merely discussing ideas.
• Rob utilizes a daily portrait challenge to expand his creative toolkit through analog experimentation.

Main topics

• 90s Nostalgia
• Creative Process

Notable quotes

Talking about it isn't doing it.

Conclusion

A charmingly eccentric episode that highlights how nostalgia and a com

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:03) We are back with the wonderful Rob Draper, who joined us on Monday to talk about creating something from nothing. And it's wonderful to have you back, Rob. Thank you very much. We didn't have a four-day break at all, did we? We just... We Speaker 2 (0:18) sipped some water and took a selfie. Speaker 1 (0:22) It feels so disingenuous. I'm wondering whether to carry on doing The Spark next season, but we'll see. We'll see. What do you think, listeners? Let me know on a postcard. God, I'm showing my age. Can you remember that? Let us know on a postcard. I can, I can. Or Speaker 2 (0:37) was it self-addressed envelope? Wasn't that a thing as well? Maybe self Speaker 1 (0:41) -addressed envelope, yes. What was it, like going live? Was that your kind of... Yeah, Speaker 2 (0:46) or was it Speaker 1 (0:47) going live before live and kicking? I can't remember. Number 73 I remember though. I Speaker 2 (0:53) remember number 73 really well, yeah. Really, really well. Saturday Superstore? Speaker 1 (0:58) Yes. Yeah, just about, just about, yeah. And all the kind of amazing little cartoons on a Saturday morning, which I would watch with my little brother. Speaker 2 (1:08) Mallets, Mallets. Do you remember Mallets, Mallets? Mallets, Speaker 1 (1:10) Mallets, yes. Speaker 2 (1:13) Oh, Speaker 1 (1:14) I loved that. Like, can you imagine explaining that program to anybody who was born? without 19 at the start of their birth year. No, no, Speaker 2 (1:23) no, no, no. I don't think you'd be allowed to hit people over the head anymore either, would you, on TV? It Speaker 1 (1:27) was, he was great. He was, he made a whole, when that sort of got cancelled, I think he carried on and did like kids parties and did pretty well from it. I think so, yeah. I hope so. Oh gosh. Now this is where I'm like panicking and thinking, did he, did he get, was, was he okay? Was he? Speaker 1 (1:48) I Speaker 2 (1:49) would love to do a Google. Let's just quickly Speaker 1 (1:52) have a look. Speaker 2 (1:52) Just have a quick Google on this one, please. I'm Speaker 1 (1:55) going Speaker 2 (1:55) to Speaker 1 (1:55) get done for defamation. Timmy, we love you. Is he still alive? He's 70. Oh, he was born in Marple. And he went to the University of Warwick, did he? Oh, gosh. Doing what? Hang on. Or is he a sort of honorary member? Just bear with us a second, listeners. We're looking up a very important cultural figure from our youth. Yeah. Oh, he was lovely. He was so good. And I always tried to ring in. Do Speaker 2 (2:25) you Speaker 1 (2:25) remember on the phone where you had to like do the actual turn dial? Do Speaker 2 (2:28) the actual dial? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do. I remember that very well. Very, very well. Speaker 1 (2:32) Do you remember getting smash hits? No, but my Speaker 2 (2:37) sister, my sister used to, she was older than me. She was kind of ours. Speaker 2 (2:43) I was more kind of into, I was into that real first wave of like rap and hip hop and all that. So I wasn't. What, Speaker 1 (2:49) the Speaker 2 (2:49) golden age Speaker 1 (2:50) of hip hop? Speaker 2 (2:52) Depends what Speaker 1 (2:52) you're calling the golden age. Uh, Tribe Called Quest? Speaker 2 (2:56) No, that's kind of, that's mid school, isn't it? So I'm way before that. Come on. Okay, Speaker 1 (3:03) so like EPMD? Speaker 2 (3:05) Yeah, okay. Yeah, fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 1 (3:07) Okay. Yeah. Speaker 2 (3:08) Yeah. Speaker 1 (3:09) Yeah. Speaker 2 (3:09) So kind of that era, that real kind of like the electro albums. Yes. Do Speaker 1 (3:14) you Speaker 2 (3:14) remember the electro albums? Yeah. No. Speaker 1 (3:17) Do Speaker 2 (3:17) you not? Okay. Speaker 1 (3:19) So you're talking electro, electro? I don't know. I don't know what you mean. Speaker 2 (3:25) No, if you look at those kind of early things, do you remember Dougie Fresh? Speaker 1 (3:30) Yes. There Speaker 2 (3:31) you go. Speaker 1 (3:32) Yes, I do. There you go. Speaker 2 (3:33) Mantronics. Yes. All that kind of era. That real kind of... When it was kind of like that real electro sound. Yeah. Much like kind of early breakdance, I suppose. Speaker 1 (3:47) Electro disco. Speaker 2 (3:48) Do you remember Beach Street, the film? Speaker 1 (3:50) I've never seen it. Speaker 2 (3:52) Oh. Speaker 1 (3:53) So was this... For a little boy in Worcester, was this like the most amazing? Oh, Speaker 2 (3:58) 100 % yeah, 100%. For a couple of reasons. I think firstly, we were obsessed with American culture anyway. So anything from the films, if you imagine like Star Wars, Tron, E.T., these kind of, you know, these really, really, there was nothing else like it at all. And then for Worcester, not only was... break dancing was like amazing and and blah and but the graffiti art as well was for me I was completely completely taken because art at school then wasn't particularly motivating or inspiring or anything and so you had this kind of outlet for doing art that was kind of that was great it gave you adventures it gave you confidence it gave you a social life so I was completely completely taken in those days and the clothes my god the clothes Well, I was, yeah, again, it's something I talk about. I was desperate. So age. age 11, I was like, one of my dreams was I desperate to work for Nike. I really wanted to work for Nike. I was like, all I wanted to do was work for Nike. Because getting Nike clothes was so difficult because there weren't, there wasn't that much of it in Worcester for a start, but there certainly wasn't any in like children's sizes, you know? And so it was like a massive deal. And explaining that to people now, because you can obviously get it everywhere. It's like, it was just, it was bizarre. It was like, absolutely like obsessed by Nike. I Speaker 1 (5:19) love that. Yeah. And do you still love them now? I Speaker 2 (5:24) do. Yeah. But I love kind of how it was then more so, you know, and in the 90s, I loved all the kind of, as a graphic designer, all their creative they did in the 90s when I was kind of growing up and a student and everything and the stuff they did with like Wieden and Kennedy. And, you know, I just was obsessed with all that kind of era. Yeah. Speaker 1 (5:44) Amazing. Amazing. Right, now we're going to ask you some questions. Cool. And we're going to start strong. Okay. And then we'll go from there. This is going to be interesting. What's Speaker 2 (5:55) your most controversial creative opinion, Rob? My most controversial is that talking about it isn't doing it. And I think, you know, sometimes it's really, really safe, I think, to think and talk about this thing you're going to actually do, but not actually getting around to doing it. And I think there's a kind of... That safety of thinking something could really, really work rather than the reality of trying it and it maybe not working. And it's that comfort of having a dream and yeah, spending your Speaker 1 (6:27) life talking about something rather than actually Speaker 2 (6:29) getting on and Speaker 1 (6:29) trying it. Yeah. Speaker 2 (6:30) Yeah. Cracking on and seeing where that takes you. And I think, yeah, I think that's quite uncomfortable for a lot of us at times, you know, myself included, you know, just that thing of trying to kind of get on with it. Yeah. talking about it isn't doing it. Speaker 1 (6:45) The flip side of that though is that when you've got people, characters like me, if I make my mind up about something, I've got to do it right there and then. It's got to be put into place. If it's a bigger sort of decision, it's, you know, I won't sleep very well. I'll be like, right, I need a plan. I need to do it. I need to crack on. One of my best friends go, flipping heck, Cowan, you do not hang about. I'm like, well, when I make my mind up about something, I crack on with it. Sometimes that's not necessarily good. Might just want to reel myself in sometimes. Not that I'm disagreeing with you, by the way, and