Most matcha brands talk about mindfulness and wellness.
We’d rather talk about street culture, late nights, photography, music, travel, and the people deeply immersed in what they do.
Suro Sessions is a series exploring the worlds, routines, and creative processes behind those people, from artists and musicians to photographers, chefs, and creatives shaping culture in their own way.
For the first Suro Session, we spent time with Newcastle artist, DJ, and creative Trav Kegan to talk about travel, studio life, street culture, photography, the story behind his book Sonder, and where matcha fits into it all.
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As soon as we walk into Trav’s studio, it all makes sense.
Half-finished canvases are stacked against the walls, cameras and laptops are scattered across the space, and there’s traces of paint on pretty much everything. OutKast’s Crumblin’ Erb plays through the speakers in the background, and the whole place feels less like a studio and more like a reflection of everything he’s into creatively.
Looking around the space, you can kind of see all the different influences colliding.
Who or what has inspired you the most creatively over the years?
“When I travel is when I feel the most inspired creatively. I’m able to just sit and take in everything around me without the usual noise of work or worrying about things I need to do.
As for artists, it varies heaps. Musicians like Coltrane, Ahmad Jamal, Thelonious Monk, Fela Kuti, André 3000, Sun Ra and Sade.
Then artists like Sebas Velasco, Ed Bats, Robert Proch, Sainer, Augustine Kofie and Dondi.
And honestly, anyone who just does whatever they want without caring what people think.”
“Anyone who just does whatever they want without caring what people think.”
You’ve travelled a lot over the last few years. Was there one place that stayed with you creatively?
“New York, hands down.
Probably just the energy of the place to be honest. Everything felt alive all the time. Even walking around during the day or catching trains at night, it felt like you were in a movie or something.
There was always something happening - music coming out of shops, random people, graffiti, lights everywhere. It never felt repetitive.
I think being around that kind of environment naturally inspires you creatively without even realising it.”
Last year you released your book Sonder. Where did the idea originally come from?
“Sonder kind of came out of a year where I was travelling on and off and wasn’t really tied to anything, so I had a lot of space to slow down.
I’d been holding onto photos from different trips over the years and started playing with the idea of publishing a book.
Online, everything feels a bit disposable and easy. A book felt more intentional.
The feeling I get when I’m reading or going through a book — I wanted someone else to feel that when going through mine.
Sometimes I look through it now and it feels more like documentation of my life than a photography book. It’s probably a side of me I don’t usually show many people, and I think that was the hardest part while making it.
It definitely wouldn’t have happened without Brontë Naylor though. She helped shape the whole thing and bring it to life.”
You’ve got a lot of different creative outlets — DJing, painting, photography. Where do you see things going from here?
“Honestly, it just feels nice to switch my brain off from work or life sometimes and move into a space where I can just do what feels right creatively, whatever medium that is.
As for progression, who knows. I think I’m pretty content at the moment just focusing on my canvas work in the studio.”
Your canvas work has a really distinct style to it. Where do you think that comes from?
“Honestly... probably graffiti.”
Where does matcha fit into your routine?
“Usually before I train or go for a run, but also a lot when I’m in the studio creating.
The feeling is way smoother than coffee for me. I still get that lift and focus, but without the jitters or crash coffee gives me sometimes.
It helps me lock in creatively.”
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Big thanks to Trav for letting us into his space and taking the time to talk through everything from travel, photography, music and studio work to the process behind Sonder.
If you want to grab a copy of Sonder, you can pick one up through Brontë Naylor Shop.
