Warp Records

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Warp
Logo of the label
Logo of the label
Active years since 1989
founder Steve Beckett , Rob Mitchell, Robert Gordon
Seat Sheffield (1989–2000), London (since 2000)
Website www.warp.net
Label code WAP
distribution Chrysalis Music
Genre (s) Electronic music , IDM , dubstep , alternative rock

Warp Records is an independent music label for electronic music in the UK .

history

Warp Records was founded in 1989 by Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell in Sheffield , but has since moved its headquarters to London . The term WARP originally stood for Weird And Radical Projects , but was later also used as an acronym for We Are Reasonable People .

The first release was Forgemasters Track With No Name and was released in 500 copies with the help of a loan. The first releases were stylistically trend-setting for the minimalist sound known as Bleep & Clonk . The fifth release LFO by LFO reached the top 20 of the English single charts with 120,000 units sold. In 1991 Warp Records released the first album CCCD (on vinyl: CCEP ) by Sweet Exorcist .

The second phase began for Warp Records with the series known as (Artificial Intelligence) , in which artists such as Autechre , Aphex Twin and Black Dog Productions published, among others . Artificial Intelligence stood for a more varied, complex sound that was only suitable for clubs to a limited extent.

Since 1998, Warp has been publishing music apart from electronic music. There are also publications by artists who can be attributed to the hip-hop or indie scene. The catalog contains publications by the downbeat musicians Nightmares on Wax or the indie band Gravenhurst .

In January 2004 Warp Records started the online retailer Bleep.com. Warp does without any digital rights management (DRM) and relies on MP3 and FLAC files encoded with LAME .

meaning

From today's point of view, Warp Records is considered a pioneer of electronica music and is still one of the most important labels of this genre. Many of the formerly unknown artists are now among the stars of the scene. In addition, numerous warp publications, especially the Artificial Intelligence series, have now achieved the status of classics.

The look of Warp publications, the website and Warp merchandise has been shaped by The Designers Republic , a designer group from Sheffield , since the early days of the label .

Artist

Sub-label

Warp Records operates a number of sub-labels:

  • Gift Records
  • Lex Records
  • Arcola

The film label Warp Films also exists .

literature

  • Rob Young: Warp . Black Dog Publishing Ltd., London 2005, ISBN 1-904772-32-3 (Series: Labels Unlimited )

Web links