He has lived under an impressive number of aliases and been nominated for three Grammy awards, as well as joining Benga and Skream to make up dubstep supergroup, Magnetic Man. He's also successfully taken his Art's House fiesta from London to Ibiza and ordered a pizza to a moving train. Smooth. Artwork, real name Arthur Smith, is somewhat of a legend when it comes to producing, DJing and being an all round funny guy, and this summer, Art's House landed at Pikes and in the process created one of the most exuberant parties on the island.
Since my first Art's House experience, when I have memories of dancing to Queen while drinking a bottle of spirit that Smith had kindly passed around the crowd, I've been keen to get an interview with the man himself - to delve into his depths and find out what brought him to the island. Turns out it was 23 years ago when the disco fanatic first landed on the island of dreams: "My friends had gone out a week before and rang me up to say how good it was, so I jumped on a plane. I went directly from the airport to Space. Mind blown."
Since then he's made his mark at Pikes in the room that used to home Freddie Mercury, where he's been welcomed into the crazy Pikes family with open arms. Saturday 3 September is the last edition of Art's House this summer, and it's been a hectic season to say the least. There have been piano seranades and dressing up madness, bathtub karaoke and crowd group hugs, but there's one special memory that stays with oh-so-humble Arthur: "I think seeing my dad being led around by Sunny and ending up in the karaoke bathtub singing Sinatra was a highlight for me".
This is fairly run of the mill stuff for Pikes, a place where the extraordinary is considered ordinary; a place where everyone's welcome. "There is nowhere like it," Smith explains, "all ages and all walks of life just go there to have a great time and dance," which pretty much sums it up. Smith seems at home behind the sparkly booth at Pikes, but this party's roots aren't limited to the White Isle, but that doesn't mean he won't be back: "I'm going to do a tour of the UK this year with Art's House - as for Ibiza, I will always come back. You can't stop me." And unstoppable he is. We asked Artwork to send us five tracks that jog him down Ibiza memory lane at full force and yes, the playlist is, expectantly, as funky as it gets.
De'lacy / 'Hideaway'
"'Hideaway' is an absolute belter. I was in Ibiza when I first heard this record, and then I didn't hear it for many years. Then it cemented itself into my life last year at Amnesia. We danced for four or five hours to Ricardo Villalobos & Zip and the rhythms kept becoming more confusing and complex. Add in a 55-year old, 4ft 11, Filippino guy in a silk striped shirt and pressed trousers up to his armpits, with shining alligator shoes and slicked back hair, who appeared from nowhere to just stand motionless staring at the DJ for two hours...confusion was high. Then this came through the confusion like a razor. A great Ibiza moment."
Tee Mango / 'Into The Wild (Crumbs)'
"This has been in nearly all of my sets for a year. It's a work of art, and perfectly suited to Pikes at 4 AM. But you have to play the whole thing. No getting out early!"
Red Axes / 'Sun My Sweet Sun'
"I saw Red Axes play (well, I didn't see them, I was facing the other way to be honest) at Panorama Bar earlier this year. They played this and I thought 'this is a pikes tune'. I set it aside and it has become a little beauty."
Neil Howard / 'Indulge (Club House Mix)'
"This record was played, I think, by Nightmares on Wax that first day I landed here. I had heard it before but it took on a whole different meaning hearing it just after a plane flew my over my head and the crowd cheering. I was feeling very happy with the world. Must play this on Saturday."
Queen / 'Another One Bites The Dust'
"Well, we have been dancing in Freddy Mercury's bedroom, so there's no way I'm not playing one of his records. I've made a disco edit of this and it seems to make people dance. It's great to say a little thanks to him when you play there."
WORDS | Ruby Munslow
