The last time our dear pal Artwork graced the DJ booth in Freddies – w-a-a-y back in 2019, before we were so very cruelly separated due to reasons beyond our control (eek, remember lockdowns? Wasn’t that a weird time?) – he closed his set with ‘When Will I See You Again?’ by The Three Degrees. “That turned out to be a bit spooky!” says Arthur on reflection, ahead of his long-awaited return to Pikes THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!
It’s sure been a long time between Pikes House Parties. Of course, like most DJs, Arthur prefers to stay tight-lipped about what his first track will be when it comes time to finally step back up to the Freddies plate again. “I have been putting records in the Pikes folder for two years,” he tells us from NYC, as he’s packing up his studio and preparing to return to the white isle for his four-week residency. “There’s about a thousand hours of music in there so… I will have to let the spirits guide me as they always do there.”
Speaking of packing, Arthur says he’ll be travelling light on this trip. “Luckily I don’t have to pack as I have an identical wardrobe of clothes in the US, UK and Ibiza so I’ll just be bringing a bag of USB sticks, some headphones, and the thing I can’t live without – my wife, Kaff” he says. We simply cannot wait. And neither can Arthur. “Just get me there NOW FFS!”
While we like to think he’s spent the better part of two years pining after us, Artwork has actually been a very busy chap since he moved to the Big Apple. “I built a studio, started a new musical project (More Amour) and record label (High Quality Records Inc.) with my musical genius friend of over 20 years, Jon (you’ll be hearing a lot of these tracks in Freddies), I rescued a dog, finally got my black belt in Karate and cleaned out the car.” Everyone up to speed?
The last time we sat down for a chat with Artwork, he told us that no matter how long it is between visits to Pikes, when he returns it always feels exactly as if he’d been there just a couple of days before. “Everything is EXACTLY the same, from the minute you walk in and Emil says ‘Heeey! How are you man?’ Years fly by, you could have a year off, and it still seems like you were there the whole time.” Well, you know what we say: You can check in, but you can never check out.
After two and a half years, a hero’s welcome is going to be in order this weekend when Artwork finally bowls through our gates again. “I’m just looking forward to that room, with that crowd… you can’t beat it,” he says. “All different people of all ages from all over the world that have all found the secret wonderland that is Freddies.”
And when we asked what he’s missed most about Pikes? Was it the team, the lovely comfy beds, the sound system, the pool, the cats? “The drugs I left stashed in room 18,” he states matter-of-factly. Err, please excuse us while we just go and interrupt the current guests to conduct some very thorough ‘housekeeping’!
