Arthur Baker, a pioneer of Dance, Electro, and Hip-Hop, sits down in studio with Questlove for an episode years in the making. The conversation traces key milestones from Arthur’s new memoir, Looking for the Perfect Beat: Remixing and Reshaping Hip-Hop, Rock and Rhythms , as he details his role in “Planet Rock,” the early days of New Edition, and his evolution from a music-obsessed DJ in Boston to one of the most groundbreaking producers and remixers in 1980s New York City. It’s the perfect Questlove Show conversation to close out 2025—and yes, there will be a Part 2 coming soon.
We said we’d come back for Part 2—and we did. Arthur Baker, the architect behind “Planet Rock,” “Confusion,” and so much of the ’80s dance-floor sound, returns to The Questlove Show to finish what we started nearly a year ago.
Arthur takes us from carrying crates of vinyl onto airplanes to the Synclavier sessions for Hall & Oates’ Big Bam Boom, the clubs and DJs who shaped his sound, and the Brooklyn studio sessions that led to what he jokingly calls “New Arthur” records with New Order.
He also opens up about Streetwise Records, the making of Beat Street, the story behind “Sun City” and Artists United Against Apartheid, his connections to Miles Davis, Diana Ross, and Little Steven, and why he wrote his memoir, Looking For The Perfect Beat, for his daughter. Arthur Baker is back.
• Old school graffiti from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden 1984-1999
• Cover image: Tom1 and Zack from city painters and crazy 3. Oslo, Norway. 1985.
• Cover design by Chokone
• Language: English
Northern Styles - Nordic old school graffiti book does not set out to write the official history of Nordic graffiti, nor does it claim to be an exhaustive archive of every writer, crew, spot, or city that shaped the scene. It is a time capsule: a curated visual record focused on the 1980s and 1990s across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. It is a raw glimpse into an era, preserved through the lenses of those who were there. Every photograph featured in this book is thanks to the contributions of writers, photographers, and collectors who kept these moments alive and agreed to share them. Like graffiti itself, this collection is shaped by what survived: lost film rolls, undisclosed archives, or the personal choice of those who preferred to remain outside these pages. Key names, iconic walls, and legendary pieces are undeniably missing. Their absence takes nothing away from their legacy or their impact on Nordic graffiti history. The book Northern Styles is a tribute to a golden era and to the old-school graffiti culture of the Nordic countries.
- OCTOBER: PRE-ORDER
- NOVEMBER: PRINTING
- DECEMBER: WORLDWIDE SHIPPING
After more than two decades documenting the culture online, bringing part of that journey into physical form felt like a natural step. This led to the creation of three limited-edition books featuring graffiti writers and street artists from all five continents. The first volumes focused mainly on contemporary work, creating a snapshot of what was happening across different scenes around the world.
With time, however, the idea of looking backwards became increasingly important.
Historical photographs have something special. They preserve moments that can no longer be experienced in the same way, bringing back writers, walls, styles and scenes that might otherwise slowly disappear. Finding those images and the people connected to them became the starting point for a different kind of book.
Northern Styles — Nordic Old School Graffiti is the result of that journey.
Working on this volume has been an enriching experience: going back to the period between 1984 and 1999, discovering the origins and early development of graffiti across the Nordic countries, finding writers and reconnecting photographs with names, places and stories. Piece by piece, a fragment of that history began to take shape.
This book is another chapter in the journey that started with a website in 2005 — from the present to the past, from the screen to the printed page, and from documenting what is happening to preserving what came before.
None of this would have been possible without the people who have shared the journey. To every writer who painted, every photographer who documented, every person who opened an archive, searched through old photographs, shared a name, a story, a contact or a memory: thank you.
Thank you to everyone who welcomed me into their cities and scenes, made introductions, opened doors and trusted the project from the very beginning. Thank you to everyone who has supported El Rincón de las Boquillas throughout these years, and to everyone who has contributed to making these books possible.
And thank you to everyone who opens this book today. If these pages bring back a memory, reveal something new or simply make you want to discover more, then all the work behind them has been worthwhile.
This book is part of a collective memory, built by many people over many years.
