Big Apple Records

Big Apple Records was a record shop and label in Croydon, South London that opened in 1992 and closed in 2004, although the label continued to release music until 2007. It is known for pioneering the sound of dubstep in the early 2000s, with dubstep DJs and producers working in and frequently visiting the shop. The record label was the first to sign Skream and Benga.



Influence and Heritage
Big Apple Records is considered by The Verge and GetDarker to be an extremely important location in the development of dubstep, being considered a key part of Croydon's, and South London's, heritage. The shop acted as a point for artists in the development of dubstep to meet and share music, allowing dubstep to emerge from 2-step garage.

History
The shop was opened in November 1992 on Surrey Street in Croydon, a large fruit & veg market. This led to the shop being named 'Apple Records', shortly changed to 'Big Apple Records' after the Beatle's record label of the same name threatened to sue.

It was founded by Gary Hughes, Steve Robertson, and John-Paul Kennedy. Hughes and Robertson were friends who brought on Kennedy only a few weeks before the shop opened as they required further investment. In 1996 Hughes and Robertson were bought out of the business to leave only Kennedy, as pressure from nearby record shops meant they could no longer sustain three partners.

The shop initially stocked Progressive House and Techno on the ground floor and Jungle on the first floor. After Hughes and Robertson had left. Artwork was invited by Kennedy to turn the second floor into his studio, and the first floor (which now stocked Drum & Bass) was replaced with listening booths.

The ground floor would transition into garage leading to a boost in sales when garage became mainstream in the late 90s because of the popularity of garage crews such as So Solid. This led to Kennedy hiring DJ Hatcha to help run the shop. Hatcha, combined with many of Artwork's releases being available only from the shop, led to Big Apple's popularity with Jungle and Garage producers and DJs. Skream's older brother Hijak worked in the shop, and so brought Skream into the shop at a young age.

The shop closed in November 2004, 12 years to the day after it opened. This was caused in part to a decline in vinyl sales due to the rise of the internet.

As well as the artists like Skream and Hatcha that worked in the shop, others including Digital Mystikz were frequent visitors. El-B, Zed Bias, Horsepower Productions, Plastician, N Type, Walsh and Loefah also regularly visited the shop.

Record Label
The Big Apple Records label was most active from 2002 to 2007, releasing under the catalogue number BAM.

Releases

 * BAM001: Artwork - Red E.P. (EP)
 * BAM002: Benga - Skank / Dose
 * BAM003: Benga & Skream - The Judgement (EP)
 * BAM004: Digital Mystikz - Pathways (12")
 * BAM005: Benga / Skream - Hydro / Elektro (12")
 * BAM006: Loefah - Jungle Infiltrator
 * BAM007: Skream - Acid People
 * BAM008: Benga - Invasion
 * BAM009: Coki - Red Eye

Artists

 * Skream
 * Benga
 * Mala
 * Coki
 * Digital Mystikz
 * Loefah
 * Artwork