Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
founded in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Robert Gordon.
[Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, April 2003, Swinstead Publishing] It is currently based in London.
In the early 1990s, the label initially became associated with the UK's northern
bleep techno
Bleep techno (or simply bleep) is a regional subgenre of techno which developed in the late 1980s in Northern England, specifically Yorkshire. Named after its minimalistic synthesizer sounds, bleep techno combined influence from American techno a ...
scene, including acts such as
LFO,
Sweet Exorcist,
Forgemasters and
Nightmares on Wax
George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were o ...
. The 1992 label compilation ''
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...
'' helped establish the electronic subgenre known as
intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music (commonly abbreviated as IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intel ...
(IDM). Subsequently, Warp became the home of influential acts such as
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...
,
Autechre
Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of A ...
,
Squarepusher, and
Boards of Canada. Current artists signed to the label include
Flying Lotus
Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder.
Flying Lotus h ...
,
Oneohtrix Point Never
Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer and songwriter. His music has experimented with tropes from various music genres and eras, s ...
,
Danny Brown
Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory".
In 2010, after amassing ...
,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
,
Hudson Mohawke
Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...
,
Kelela
Kelela Mizanekristos ( am, ከለላ ሚዛነክርስቶስ; born June 3, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape '' Cut 4 Me.'' In 2015, she released '' Hallucinogen'', an E ...
and
Yves Tumor
Sean Bowie, best known by the recording alias Yves Tumor, is an American musician and producer of experimental music, born in Miami, Florida and currently based in Turin, Italy.
To date, they have released four studio albums: ''When Man Fails Y ...
.
In 2004, Warp opened the online store
Bleep.com, which sells downloadable music free of
digital rights management
Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted work ...
(DRM) features.
History
1989–1991: Bleep techno
Warp was founded amidst the development of Northern England's "
bleep techno
Bleep techno (or simply bleep) is a regional subgenre of techno which developed in the late 1980s in Northern England, specifically Yorkshire. Named after its minimalistic synthesizer sounds, bleep techno combined influence from American techno a ...
" scene, often characterized as the first uniquely British rave style.
[ While drawing influence from American ]techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
and house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
, bleep artists also utilized electro-style synthesizer sounds and unusually heavy bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
. In addition to its simple synth tones (the eponymous "bleeps"), sub-bass
Sub-bass sounds are the deep, low-register pitches below approximately 70 Hz (C2 in scientific pitch notation) and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, approximately 20 Hz (E0).
In this range, human hea ...
inspired by reggae sound system
In Jamaican popular culture, a sound system is a group of disc jockeys, engineers and MCs playing ska, rocksteady or reggae music. The sound system is an important part of Jamaican culture and history.
History
The sound system concept first ...
s, and sparse instrumentation, bleep techno also utilised breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and ...
-inspired drum machine patterns.
Warp was opened in 1989 by Steve Beckett and the late Rob Mitchell, who had both gained experience working at Sheffield's FON record shop, alongside record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Robert Gordon. The name was chosen because the original name, 'Warped Records', was difficult to distinguish over the telephone.The first release (WAP1) was by Forgemasters (produced by Robert Gordon), whose 500 copy pressing of "Track with no Name" was financed by an Enterprise Allowance grant and distributed in a borrowed car. It set a trend for the early releases both in terms of sound, and the use of purple sleeves (designed by The Designers Republic). The follow-up was Nightmares on Wax
George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were o ...
's "Dextrous", which sold around 30,000 copies. This led to greater commercial success; by its fifth release the label had its first Top 20 chart entry with LFO and their eponymous single, "LFO", which sold 130,000 copies and peaked at No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in July 1990; by coincidence, that same month another Warp act, Tricky Disco, reached No. 14 in the UK chart with another eponymous single, "Tricky Disco".
Warp's third record, "Testone" (1990) by Sweet Exorcist (Richard H. Kirk
Richard Harold Kirk (21 March 1956 – 21 September 2021) was an English musician who specialised in electronic music. His career began as a co-founder of the influential industrial music band Cabaret Voltaire, formed in 1973. He subsequently ...
and Richard Barratt), defined Sheffield's bleep techno
Bleep techno (or simply bleep) is a regional subgenre of techno which developed in the late 1980s in Northern England, specifically Yorkshire. Named after its minimalistic synthesizer sounds, bleep techno combined influence from American techno a ...
sound, by making playful use of sampled sounds from Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...
's "Computer Game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...
" (1978) and the film ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
'' (1977). The first album released was Sweet Exorcist's ''C.C.E.P.'' in 1991. In the same year Robert Gordon left Warp acrimoniously.
1992–1999: ''Artificial Intelligence''
Warp went on to release a series of singles and albums from 1992 under the ''Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...
'' heading, a series of experimental electronic music releases by artists such as Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...
(as Diceman and later Polygon Window), Autechre
Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of A ...
, B12, The Black Dog, Richie Hawtin
Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...
and Alex Paterson (of The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 1 ...
). Initially all the album releases used gatefold sleeves and coloured vinyl, often designed by The Designers Republic or Phil Wolstenholme. A VHS compilation of digitally animated music videos called ''Motion'' was released in conjunction with the second ''Artificial Intelligence'' compilation, and featured an early work by director David Slade.
In 1996, Warp started the Blech club night in Sheffield, also in London between 1997 and 1999, and released an accompanying compilation CD under the same name. The artwork, created by the Designers Republic
The Designers Republic (also tDR, and styled as The Designers Republic™) is a British graphic design studio based in Sheffield, England, founded in 1986 by Ian Anderson and Nick Phillips (graphic designer), Nick Phillips. They are best kno ...
, had a distinctive Japanese manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
influence. Blech club nights include:
* Blech01 (31 Oct 1997): Seefeel with Boards of Canada
* Blech 02 (28 Nov 1997): Autechre with Cylob
* Blech 03 (30 Jan 1998): Plone
In 1998, Warp signed Boards Of Canada, a duo that would go on to release some of the most highly revered electronic music albums of their time: ''Music Has the Right to Children
''Music Has the Right to Children'' is the debut studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was released on 20 April 1998 in the UK by Warp and Skam Records and in the US by Matador. The album was produced at Hexagon S ...
'' (1998), ''Geogaddi
''Geogaddi'' is the second studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was released on 13 February 2002 in Japan, then five days later in Europe, by Warp. The album is aesthetically and stylistically darker than the approa ...
'' (2002), ''The Campfire Headphase
''The Campfire Headphase'' is the third studio album by Boards of Canada. Released by Warp Records in October 2005, the album featured the addition of more organic musical elements, including heavily treated acoustic guitars and more conventional ...
'' (2005) and '' Tomorrow's Harvest'' (2013).
In 1999, the label released '' Warp 10: Influences, Classics, Remixes'', a compilation spanning six discs, featuring early acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...
and techno music that influenced the label and its artists, as well as tracks from Warp's back catalogue, and new remixes of Warp material. The collection celebrated the label's tenth anniversary.
2000–2009
In 2000, the label moved its operations to London along with its physical music and merchandise store Warpmart.
Co-founder Rob Mitchell was diagnosed with cancer in early 2001. He died later that year, aged 38.
In January 2004, Warp launched an online digital music and entertainment store, Bleep.com, notable for being the first store in the world to completely avoid all digital rights management
Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted work ...
features in the downloadable tracks, unlike other music stores such as iTunes and Rhapsody. Warpmart has now been absorbed into Bleep.com. Today Bleep sells a carefully curated selection of music from a diverse range of labels. The site has also released its own limited edition LPs The Green Series, and an annual digital release comprising the Top 100 tracks of each year.
On 27 September 2004, Warp released its second music video compilation, named '' WarpVision'', featuring most of the videos produced from 1989 to 2004.
2005 saw the release of ''Warp'', the first book in the Labels Unlimited
''Labels Unlimited'' is a series of books designed to give an illustrated overview of influential record labels. Publications
*''Warp'' by Rob Young (Black Dog Publishing, 2005: )
*''Rough Trade'' by Rob Young (Black Dog Publishing, 2006: )
*' ...
series. Written by Rob Young, the book gave an illustrated history of the label, as well as offering a complete discography. The Warp website said the book was "A very beautiful thing and like our very own This Is Your Life",[West, Paul (Spring 2006)]
Eye Magazine , Review , Behind the bleeps
''eyemagazine.com''. Retrieved on 26 February 2013. referring to the ''This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to:
Television
* ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards
* ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...
'' UK TV series.
The label continued to expand its roster, signing acts including !!!
!!! ( ), also known as Chk Chk Chk, is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as the Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers. They are curre ...
, Battles, Born Ruffians
Born Ruffians are a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto. Officially founded in 2004 in the Georgian Bay town of Midland, Ontario, the band is composed of frontman Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, and drummer Steve Hamelin. During the ...
, Maxïmo Park, Gravenhurst and Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America.
In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos hor ...
.
For the label's 20th anniversary in 2009, several Warp20 concerts took place in Paris, New York City, Sheffield, Tokyo, Berlin and London. Warp also celebrated by releasing the Warp20 box set, composed of six parts:
* ''Warp20 (1989-2009) The Complete Catalogue'': a 192-page book of artwork from every Warp release since the label began.
* ''Warp20 (Chosen)'': a double CD album, with ten songs chosen by Warp fans and ten chosen by founder Steve Beckett
* ''Warp20 (Recreated)'': a double CD album that included twenty brand new cover versions of Warp songs by Warp artists past and present
* ''Warp20 (Unheard)'': a triple 10" vinyl set of unheard tracks from artists such as Boards Of Canada, Autechre and Broadcast.
* ''Warp20 (Elemental)'': a CD album featuring an hour-long piece by Osymyso
Osymyso (real name Mark Nicholson) is a musician and DJ from the United Kingdom who specialises in the genres of mashup / bastard pop and breakbeat. He has been making music since 1994 and released his first album, '' Welcome to the Pailindrome'' ...
, made from sections, samples and fragments of Warp music from the previous twenty years.
* ''Warp20 (Infinite)'': a double 10" vinyl of loops from Warp tracks.
2010–present
Warp continued to release albums, from artists such as Hudson Mohawke
Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...
, Flying Lotus
Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder.
Flying Lotus h ...
, Mark Pritchard, Bibio, Jamie Lidell, Lonelady, Leila
Leila may refer to:
*Leila (name), a female given name, including a list of people with the name and its variants
Film and television
* ''Leila'' (1997 film), an Iranian film
* ''Leïla'' (2001 film), a Danish film
* ''Leila'' (TV series), a ...
, and Gonjasufi
Sumach Ecks (born 1978), better known by his stage name Gonjasufi, is an American vocalist, producer, disc jockey, and yogi.
Life and career
Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. He spent his formative yea ...
. Signings included Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
, Oneohtrix Point Never
Daniel Lopatin (born July 25, 1982), best known as Oneohtrix Point Never or OPN, is an American experimental electronic music producer, composer, singer and songwriter. His music has experimented with tropes from various music genres and eras, s ...
, Mount Kimbie, Kwes.
Kwes (; sometimes stylised as ''kwes'', ''kwes.'', ''Kwes.'' or '' =o'' ) is a British music producer and artist from London, England. Kwes is also currently signed to Warp as a solo artist and released his debut album, '' ilp'' in October 2013 ...
, Darkstar, Kelela
Kelela Mizanekristos ( am, ከለላ ሚዛነክርስቶስ; born June 3, 1983) is an American singer. She made her debut in the music industry with the release of her 2013 mixtape '' Cut 4 Me.'' In 2015, she released '' Hallucinogen'', an E ...
, patten and Jeremiah Jae.
2013 saw the release of Broadcast's album '' Berberian Sound Studio,'' the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Warp released a split remix 12" for Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
, which was a collaboration between Brian Eno, Nicolas Jaar and Grizzly Bear. In March, Autechre broadcast two 10-hour radio shows to celebrate the release of their 11th album, ''Exai
''Exai'' is the eleventh album by electronic music duo Autechre, released on Warp Records. The double album was released in digital form on 7 February 2013, with double CD and quadruple vinyl versions released on 5 March 2013. At the time of its ...
''. Boards of Canada's fourth studio album ''Tomorrow's Harvest'' charted worldwide, reaching No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart, and No. 13 in the US Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...
– vinyl reissues of their albums and EPs followed in October and November. Nightmares On Wax (George Evelyn) released his first album in five years, entitled ''Feelin' Good'', and followed this with one of his biggest ever international tours, with a live band.
In 2013, Warp also won Independent Label Of The Year at the AIM Awards. In October of that year, to coincide with the ''Universal Everything & You - Drawing in Motion'' exhibition running at the National Media Museum
The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum ...
's Media Space at Science Museum, London
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019.
Like other publicly funde ...
, a 20-minute piece created by Simon Pyke (Freeform), built upon the foundations of the exhibition soundtrack, was released. In December 2013 Warp collaborated with Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in E ...
to present a free evening of performance and installations, ''Warp x Tate'', alongside artist Jeremy Deller
Jeremy Deller (born 30 March 1966) is an English conceptual, video and installation artist. Much of Deller's work is collaborative; it has a strong political aspect, in the subjects dealt with and also the devaluation of artistic ego through t ...
, inspired by Deller's work 'The History of the World', with contributions from Oneohtrix Point Never, Patten, Darkstar, Hudson Mohawke and Rustie.
In 2019, WARP celebrated their 30th anniversary (stylized as WXAXRXP, a combination of WARP and the roman numeral for 30 (XXX)) with 3 days straight of broadcasts on NTS Radio featuring old radio performances by various artists (as well as a few new ones). In addition WARP released a 10 ep set (vinyl-only) of 20 minute radio sessions, featuring (among other things) Aphex Twin's 1995 Peel Session
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
and a version Boards Of Canada's 2001 Peel Session that included the final track (XYZ, which was cut from almost all previous releases of the EP).
Music videos
Warp has released a number of ground-breaking and original videos that have launched their directors' careers. Much of these videos were compiled for the 2004 '' WarpVision: The Videos 1989-2004'' DVD.
Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following ...
directed some of Warp's earliest videos while at London's Central Saint Martins
Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...
art school, including LFO's eponymous " LFO" in 1990, Nightmares On Wax's " Aftermath" in 1991, and Aphex Twin's 1993 single " On".
Chris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is a British video artist and music video director, best known for his music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and most notably Aphex Twin on videos for "Windowlicker" and " ...
is a frequent collaborator with Warp artists. He has directed videos for Aphex Twin's 1997 single " Come to Daddy" and 1999's " Windowlicker", as well as "Come On My Selector
''Big Loada'' is an EP by English electronic musician Squarepusher. It was released on 21 July 1997 by Warp in the United Kingdom. It was later released, with an expanded track listing, on 13 October 1998 by Nothing Records in the United States ...
" by Squarepusher and "Second Bad Vilbel" by Autechre
Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of A ...
. "Come To Daddy" was chosen by Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
as the best video of the 1990s, and "Windowlicker" was nominated for Best British Video at the 2000 Brit Awards
Brit Awards 2000 was the 20th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 3 March 2000 at Earls Court in London.
Performances
Winn ...
. Cunningham's short film ''Rubber Johnny
''Rubber Johnny'' is a 2005 British experimental film, experimental short film/music video written, directed, and produced by Chris Cunningham.
Plot
The film, entirely presented in infrared vision, begins with an out-of-focus closeup of Johnn ...
'', soundtracked by Aphex Twin, was distributed by Warp Films in 2005.
In 2013, Kahlil Joseph's short film for Flying Lotus' "Until The Quiet Comes" won a Short Film Special Jury Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and Video of the Year at the 2013 UK Music Video Awards. On 12 April, Adam Buxton
Adam Offord Buxton (born 7 June 1969) is an English actor, comedian, podcaster and writer. With the filmmaker Joe Cornish, he is part of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. They presented the Channel 4 television series '' The Adam and Joe Show'' (1 ...
hosted BUG: Warp Records Special at the BFI Southbank, London
BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute.
Hist ...
, as part of Warp Films' 10th Anniversary.
Artists past and present
Warp subsidiaries and partnerships
Warp launched a film company, Warp Films (which also shares staff with Warp X) and digital download store Bleep
Bleep may refer to:
* Bleep sound, a noise, generally of a single tone, often generated by a machine
** Bleep censor, the replacement of offensive language (swear words) or personal details with a beep sound
** Bleep techno, a Yorkshire-born subge ...
in 2004. Bleep carries music from a number of smaller labels as well as Warp. In 2009, Warpmart was incorporated into Bleep, which now sells downloads, physical releases and merchandise from hundreds of record labels. Bleep also operates a record imprint of Warp.
A number of music sub labels have also been set up by Warp, namely Lex Records
Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England.
Style
Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...
(now operates independently from Warp), Gift Records
Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, ...
and Arcola Arcola may refer to:
Places
; Australia
* Arcola, Grafton, a heritage-listed house in New South Wales
;Canada
* Arcola, Saskatchewan, a town in the Province of Saskatchewan
* Arcola Airport, an airport in the Province of Saskatchewan
;England
* Ar ...
.
Warp assists in the distribution of certain records released by LuckyMe and Night Slugs
Night Slugs is an English electronic music record label, established in 2010 by Alex Sushon (also known as Bok Bok) and James Connolly (also known as L-Vis 1990).
History
Night Slugs was originally started as a London-based club night by DJs/ ...
/Fade To Mind; the aforementioned labels are partner labels (not imprints) of Warp.
Selected discography
Artificial Intelligence Series
* ''Artificial Intelligence'' (WARP 6, 1992)
* Polygon Window – ''Surfing On Sine Waves
''Surfing on Sine Waves'' is a studio album by Polygon Window, a pseudonym for the English electronic music producer Richard D. James, better known by the alias Aphex Twin. It was originally released on 11 January 1993 by Warp. It is the second ...
'' (WARP 7, 1992)
* Black Dog Productions – ''Bytes'' (WARP 8, 1993)
* B12 – '' Electro-Soma'' (WARP 9, 1993)
* FUSE
Fuse or FUSE may refer to:
Devices
* Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current
** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles
* Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to prote ...
– '' Dimension Intrusion'' (WARP 12, 1993)
* Speedy J – ''Ginger'' (WARP 14, 1993)
* Autechre
Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of A ...
– ''Incunabula'' (WARP 17, 1993)
* '' Artificial Intelligence II'' (WARP 23, 1994)
Compilation albums
See also
* List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
* List of electronic music record labels
* List of independent UK record labels
* Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music (commonly abbreviated as IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints.''"…the label 'IDM' (for avant-garde, 'intel ...
Notes
References
External links
* – official site
* – official site (a now independent abstract hip-hop label that branched off from Warp)
*
Warp
feature story in ''Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
Music Weekly''
A Warped Mind : Steve Beckett On Running A Label Legend
- IASs Blog, 27 January 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warp (record label)
Electronic music record labels
British independent record labels
Music in Sheffield
Record labels established in 1989