Review: Artwork - RED E.P. (Big Apple Records)

What was the first dubstep track? Benga & Coki's 'Night'? An early Skream track? Or could it have been Artwork's 'RED' on BAM001?  Either way, get on this re-issue quick and it's not going to around for long.

If you ever got involved with the early dubstep mania that grew out of Croydon's UKG/techno scene, you may have missed Artwork's debut EP on Big Apple Records as as it came out in 2002!  Clearly a big influence on the in-crowd of the label's other artists, Benga, Coki, Skream, Digital Mystkz as well as the Broken/BRUK daddies, Bugz In The Attic who championed the sound on the Fabriclive CD in 2003.

And who is Artwork?  Arthur Smith! No, not the comedian who lives in Balham, the other one who went onto the be the third wheel in the short lived live 'dubstep supergroup' Magnetic Man with Benga and Skream (I think I saw them at Big Chill one time, lots of flashing lights and some heavy basslines).

So the original release was in important record and has sold for silly prices in the past so here's a repress with a 'new' bonus track, appropriately titled 'Relic' that was retrieved from an old dusty DAT tape.

And, amazingly, it still sounds fresh so don't miss out this time, this only happens every 20 years or so!

BUY LINK:  ARTWORK - Red EP (reissue) Vinyl at Juno Records.

Artist: Artwork

Title: Red EP

Release date: 15th August, 2025

Label: Big Apple Records

Cat. No: BAM001RE

Format: Limited Edition Re Vinyl  / Digital / Bandcamp