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Warp Records

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Warp Records
Founded1989; 36 years ago (1989)
FounderSteve Beckett
Rob Mitchell
Robert Gordon
Distributor(s)FUGA
Genre
Country of originUnited Kingdom
LocationSheffield (1989–2000)
London (2000–present)
Official websitewarp.net

Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. Acts signed to Warp include Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Brian Eno, Broadcast, Flying Lotus, Maxïmo Park, !!!, Battles and Grizzly Bear.

In the early 1990s, Warp became associated with the UK's bleep scene, releasing music by acts such as LFO, Sweet Exorcist and Nightmares on Wax. The 1992 compilation Artificial Intelligence, a compilation of tracks by various Warp artists, helped establish the intelligent dance music genre. Warp focused on building artists and longevity rather than releasing singles.

Gordon left in 1991 and Mitchell died in 2001, leaving Beckett as the head of Warp. In the 2000s, Warp expanded its roster to include rock, film soundtracks, neoclassical music and ambient music. In 2001, Warp established a film production company, Warp Films, initially to release films by Chris Cunningham and Chris Morris. In 2004, Warp launched Bleep, one of the first download stores. In 2017, Beckett received the Pioneer Award at the AIM Independent Music Awards.

History

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Record shop origins

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Division Street, Sheffield, where the Warp Records shop was located in the 1980s

In the mid-1980s, Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell, then in their early twenties, were active in the music scene of Sheffield, England.[1] Beckett described 1980s Sheffield, once a major industrial town, as "run-down and industrial".[2] Sheffield's steel manufacturing was in decline, and abandoned warehouses were being used for illegal raves as part of the growing subculture of club music and acid house.[1][3] Sheffield had produced electronic bands including the Human League, Heaven 17 and Cabaret Voltaire.[3]

Beckett and Mitchell worked at FON, a record store on Division Street that was a focal point of Sheffield's music scene.[4][1][2] FON also operated a recording studio used by artists such as David Bowie, Yazz and Chakk.[1] According to Beckett, the shop mainly sold indie and alternative records before expanding to imports from electronic Chicago house records.[5] Beckett had a background in indie rock, and discovered electronic music while working in FON.[6]

In 1987,[5] Beckett and Mitchell partnered with the Sheffield producer and musician Robert Gordon to refit the FON shop as Warp Records, funded by selling tickets for events at the University of Sheffield.[1] They originally named the store Warped Records, but this was difficult to hear over a telephone.[7] The shop specialised in imports released by American labels such as Transmat, Metroplex, Trax Records and Underground Resistance, which sold out quickly.[1]

First singles and bleep

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LFO performing in 2013

Mitchell and Beckett felt there was a market for dance music created by Sheffield musicians, which they felt "sounded fresher" than music being created in the US at the time.[8] In 1989, Warp released its first single, "Track With No Name" by Gordon's band Forgemasters.[1] Financed through a grant from the government's Enterprise Allowance Scheme, they pressed 500 white label copies and distributed them to shops around the UK by car, selling out in a week.[4][1][8]

Beckett said they did not necessarily think they were creating a record label and instead wanted to see if they could "have an effect".[1] However, they discovered the market was larger than they expected.[1] Beckett conceived Warp as a northern independent label similar to Factory Records, sharing 50% of their profits with artists.[6] The Sheffield company Designers Republic created Warp's logo and distinctive purple record packaging.[6][9] According to Resident Advisor, its packaging became "instantly recognisable in an age when dance music was becoming increasingly disposable",[9] and DMY described it as "at one moment garish and brutal, the next pristine and beautiful".[10]

In 1990, Warp released a number of successful dance singles by acts including Nightmares on Wax, LFO, Sweet Exorcist and Tricky Disco.[1][6][9][11] The singles received attention from the influential BBC DJ John Peel.[1] Warp became associated with bleep, a "minimal, funky" subgenre of techno emerging in Sheffield.[6] Resident Advisor described it as a "distinctly British mutation of techno that married the weighty sub-bass of 'steppers' reggae with the rush of rave culture and futuristic vision of Detroit techno".[9] Beckett connected bleep to the advent of music technology such as samplers and software such as Logic,[5] and said its sound evoked the Sheffield steelworks: "You'd almost see sparks and hear anvils clanging."[6] The journalist Richard King described bleep as "an evocation of the nocturnal energy of an industrial city in decline, whose empty, industrial spaces were being turned into illegal and autonomous party zones".[1]

Jarvis Cocker, a member of the Sheffield band Pulp, created music videos for Warp acts between 1990 and 1993.[12] Warp created an imprint, Gift Records, to release acts by pop and rock records including Pulp.[5][13][14] After releasing some early Pulp singles, Gift closed after Pulp signed to Island Records.[5]

Album focus

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Warp signed a deal with the London label Rhythm King to distribute records. Beckett and Mitchell regretted the deal, as it did not grant them royalties.[1] Coming close to bankruptcy, Warp signed a new distribution deal with Pinnacle Entertainment.[8][8]

Warp resolved to remain independent and focus on building artists and longevity rather than releasing singles by short-lived acts.[1] They elected not to release rave music, which was popular at the time, a decision Beckett said bolstered Warp's reputation for ignoring convention.[8] Mitchell said many dance acts struggled with the album format: "There's a big difference between a compilation album and an album you put on and don't take off until the final track's played, which is what we're after doing."[8]

In 1991, Warp released its first album, CCCD by Sweet Exorcist.[15] It was followed by Frequencies by LFO, cited by Beckett as a turning point for Warp.[1] As of 1993, Frequencies had sold 80,000 copies, half in the US.[8] The success saved Warp from bankruptcy.[3] Warp used marketing techniques from rock, arranging mentions in the indie music magazine NME and encouraging their acts to tour.[6] In 1991, following disagreements with Beckett and Mitchell, Gordon left Warp.[1][10]

Artificial Intelligence and intelligent dance music

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Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) has been described as the most important Warp artist.

In 1992, Warp released Artificial Intelligence, a compilation of tracks by artists such as Aphex Twin (under the name Dice Man), Autechre, B12 (Musicology), Plaid, the Black Dog (AO) and Richie Hawtin (Fuse).[4] Unlike other electronic music of the time, the music was intended to be listened to at home rather than in clubs.[4][8] The Guardian wrote that it "announced techno as music for the mind as well as the feet".[16]

Though Warp proposed the term "electronic listening music", Artificial Intelligence popularised a genre that instead became known as electronica or intelligent dance music (IDM).[9][16][17][9] Though it was criticised as denigrating other forms of dance music, the term endured, particularly in the US.[18][16] Artificial Intelligence is credited for introducing electronic music to rock listeners, particularly in the US,[6] and helped launch the careers of Aphex Twin, Autechre and Hawtin.[16]

Warp continued to prioritise albums, with releases by acts including Aphex Twin, Kirk, Seefeel, the Black Dog, Autechre, Sabres of Paradise and B12.[9] Warp released a second compilation, Artificial Intelligence II, in 1994. It was accompanied by an hour-long music video, Warp Motion, created by the Sheffield artist Phil Wolstenholme and released on VHS and LaserDisc. Resident Advisor described the video as "a pioneering attempt to mix music and cutting-edge 3D computer animation".[9]

The Warp press officer, Chantal Passamonte (pictured in 2016), also released music as Mira Calix.

The Independent described Aphex Twin as Warp's most important artist, creating its "creative commercial core", as the the Smiths had done for Rough Trade and Arctic Monkeys did for Domino.[3] Though Aphex Twin also released work through Rephlex Records, Warp released his most successful releases, Richard D. James Album (1996) and the singles "Come to Daddy" (1997) and "Windowlicker" (1999).[3]

In 1996, Chantal Passamonte, who also worked as Warp's press officer, became the first female Warp artist with her debut EP, Ilanga, released under the name Mira Calix.[9] Passamonte was critical of the gender imbalance, but said it came from "a lack of women putting themselves forward and a lack of opportunity" rather than hostility at Warp.[18] In 1998, Warp signed the electronic duo Boards of Canada, whose debut album, Music Has the Right to Children, released that year, became a defining album in British music.[4]

Online sales

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Warp was an early adopter of internet for commerce.[9] In 1996, Warp launched the online store Warpmart to sell physical products.[19][9] The Warp Records shop closed in 1997 and was sold to the retailer Fopp.[4][10] In 1999, Warp's tenth anniversary, it released the compilation album Influences, Classics & Remixes.[10] In January 2000, Warp relocated to London to facilitate better access to distributors, press, events and people visiting the UK.[9] That year, Warp signed an album deal with the filmmaker Vincent Gallo.[20]

In 2003, Billboard reported that Warp had annual revenues at 10 million USD, with Warpmart contributing 10%.[19] In 2004,[19] Warp launched Bleep, one of the first download stores,[9] and made its entire catalogue available to purchase.[21] Its prices were slightly higher than competing online stores such as iTunes, and its MP3s were available at a variable bitrate of 205 kbps, higher than the more common 160 kbps of the period.[21] Unlike other labels at the time, Bleep sold MP3 and WAV free of digital rights management restrictions.[21] The Register wrote that this was a "positive statement" demonstrating faith in its catalogue and customers.[21]

Beckett estimated that Warpmart and Bleep generated 25% of Warp's turnover as of 2007.[22] In January 2009, Warp merged Warpmart into Bleep, selling records from more than 300 independent labels, including Beggars Banquet, Domino and !K7. That year, Warp reported that it had sold more than 1.8 million downloads on Bleep.[23]

Death of Mitchell and Warp Films

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Mitchell died from cancer on October 8, 2001, at the age of 38, leaving Beckett as the head of Warp.[6][9] Beckett described him as "like a brother", and said his death made him realise how important it was to "put love and creativity out into the world".[22] Passamonte said: "Between them Rob and Steve were responsible for signing and managing the label's artists. Without being emotional about it, when Rob died that changed. Ultimately, the sound of Warp up until Rob's death was the sound of two people's music taste."[9]

In 2001, Warp established a film production company, Warp Films. It initially produced and released short films by Chris Cunningham, who had created music videos for Warp artists such as Aphex Twin, and the satirist Chris Morris.[9] According to Beckett, Warp found that some video directors they were working with, such as Cunningham, had similar personalities to their musicians, "pushing the boundaries" of their medium. Additionally, new technology was making it cheaper to create films.[22] The first Warp Films release, Morris's My Wrongs 8245–8249 & 117, won the 2002 Bafta for best short film.[24][3]

In 2004, Warp released its first feature film, Dead Man's Shoes, directed by Shane Meadows, which was nominated for a Bafta. Meadows's next film, This Is England (2007), won the Bafta for Best British Film.[6] In 2022, The Independent described This Is England as Warp Films' "crowning glory to date: as visceral as any early Warp record, but with the bleeding humanity its best artists have found in their maturity".[3] In 2009, The Independent wrote that Warp Films had "quickly become the UK's most consistent and challenging indie production company".[3] In 2006, Warp launched Warp X to seek new talent in film, with funding by the UK Film Council and FilmFour.[10]

Genre expansion

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Maxïmo Park in 2006

In the 2000s, interest in electronic music declined following the resurgence of guitar bands.[6] In response, Warp signed acts creating different kinds of electronic music, such the Sabres of Paradise and Broadcast,[6] experimental hip-hop acts such as Prefuse 73, Antipop Consortium and Flying Lotus,[9] and rock bands such as Maxïmo Park, !!!, Battles and Grizzly Bear.[4][2][6]

The diversification drew criticism from some electronic music fans.[6] Beckett said the acts' experimental nature and influences fit the ethos of Warp and their roster,[22] and noted that the Warp Records shop had stocked indie music.[2] The !!! member Nic Offer said guitar bands were providing "new and cutting edge" music at the time and were true to Warp's "experimental ethos".[9] In 2009, Pitchfork said Warp had "wisely invited pop-structured acts that carried the spirit and sensibility of electronic music into its fold".[25] The Independent wrote that the Maxïmo Park singer Paul Smith "fitted the label snugly, even if the guitars did not", while the American band Grizzly Bear, "with their careful sculpting of sound and veiled emotions [...] could be a warmer, softer Autechre".[3]

In 2001, Warp funded an imprint created by the Warp employee Tom Brown, Lex Records, which focused on hip-hop and released records by Sage Francis, Boom Bip and Danger Mouse.[9][10] Warp specified that Lex could not release albums or sign long-term deals, and could not release music by acts Warp was considering signing.[9] Through Lex, Warp funded the unsuccessful campaign to release The Grey Album (2004) by Danger Mouse, a mashup of the Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's The Black Album that was blocked due to copyright problems.[26] When Warp wanted to close Lex Records, Brown bought it in 2004.[9][26]

In April 2003, its 10th anniversary, Warp held a retrospective show hosted by the comedian Adam Buxton at the BFI Southbank cinema in London.[12] From the mid-2000s, Warp expanded its roster to include more experimental work, including avant-garde film soundtracks, neoclassical music and more "academic" ambient music.[9] Brian Eno, a pioneer of ambient music, signed to Warp in 2010.[27]

In 2009, its 20th anniversary, Warp held a party in an old steelworks in Sheffield, along with events in Paris, New York City and Tokyo.[2] It also released the Warp20 box set, comprising tracks chosen by listeners and Beckett, cover versions, remixes, unreleased tracks and locked grooves.[25] According to Beckett, as of 2017, Warp employed 60 people in six offices around the world.[28] That year, Beckett received the Pioneer Award at the AIM Independent Music Awards.[28] In 2019, its 30th anniversary, Warp released WXAXRXP Sessions, a 41-track box set compiling radio sessions by Warp artists recorded from 1990 to 2019.[29]

Legacy

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Pitchfork said music released by Warp typically emphasised "shifts and melodies and complex rhythm structures over the more subtle builds and crescendos of repetitive dance", using "syncopated rhythms, wit and whimsy, and the blending [of] the abstract and the melodic".[25] The "cerebral" electronic music of acts such as Aphex Twin, Autechre and Boards of Canada remains associated with Warp.[2] However, Resident Advisor wrote that Warp had shifted to encompass not just electronic music but "all manner of experimental, progressive and left-of-centre sounds from across the musical spectrum".[9] In 2009, Pitchfork wrote that Warp was a "fully trusted brand name" that had succeeded by breaking with conventions of electronic music, "breaking from electronic music's dancefloor utilitarianism and embracing artists with wit and charisma over the sometimes monochromatic communalism favoured by techno's more faceless producers".[25]

Warp Records found audiences beyond listeners of dance music and influenced pop and rock music.[25] Warp artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre influenced the rock band Radiohead's move into electronic music with their 2000 album Kid A.[30][31] The singer, Thom Yorke, purchased copies of the entire Warp back catalogue.[32] Mitchell felt Kid A represented "an honest interpretation of [Warp] influences" and was not "gratuitously" electronic.[33][dead link]

DMY wrote that the fact that Warp had thrived while remaining independent, even when many major labels had disappeared, made them them a role model for independent labels.[10] Beckett said that, unlike other labels, Warp saw itself "at the service of the artist".[22] In 2007, The Independent described Warp as one of the most pioneering independent labels in music history.[4] In 2009, The Guardian described it as one of the UK's greatest independent labels.[6] Resident Advisor wrote in 2019 that Warp was "one of the most influential and respected institutions in electronic music" and had "championed some of the most groundbreaking artists of its generation".[9] It wrote that its "outsider ethos" was rooted in Beckett and Mitchell's roots in punk, the English north-south divide, and the radical politics of 1980s Sheffield.[9] The journalist Richard King described Warp as "the most creatively successful independent label" of the 1990s, ahead of the "perky ordinariness" of Britpop.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r King, Richard (5 April 2012). How Soon Is Now? The Madmen and Mavericks Who Made Independent Music 1975-2005. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0571243907.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hadfield, James (13 November 2009). "Warp Records hits the big 2-0". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hasted, Nick (28 August 2009). "20 years of the Warp factor". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Birke, Sarah (2 November 2007). "Label profile: Warp Records". The Independent. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Morse, Erik (1 July 2010). "Warp Records and the birth of popular electronic music". The Believer. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Simpson, Dave (16 April 2009). "Bleep of faith". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  7. ^ "BBC - 6 Music - events - independents day". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Trask, Simon (December 1993). "Warped vision". Music Technology. Music Maker Publications.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Anniss, Matt (12 November 2019). "Label of the month: Warp Records". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Jones, Charlie (31 December 2009). "The Dummy guide to Warp Records". DMY. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  11. ^ Groves, Nancy (14 October 2014). "Music producer Mark Bell of LFO has died, label confirms". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  12. ^ a b Crossan, Jamie (14 April 2013). "Rare Jarvis Cocker-directed music videos revisited as part 'BUG: Warp Records' special". NME. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  13. ^ Banks, Nick (2023). "Chapter 23: More Problems (Goodnight)". So It Started There: From Punk to Pulp. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-78759-259-9.
  14. ^ Paine, Andre (6 September 2017). "AIM Awards: Jarvis Cocker on how Warp rescued Pulp". Music Week. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  15. ^ Stubbs, David (5 November 2011). "Warp Records: Richard H Kirk looks back on a futuristic life". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d Cardew, Ben (3 July 2017). "Machines of loving grace: how Artificial Intelligence helped techno grow up". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  17. ^ Richardson, Mark (25 August 2005). "Various Artists: Artificial Intelligence / Artificial Intelligence II". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  18. ^ a b Davies, Sam (1 August 2018). "The IDM List gave intelligent dance music its name and geeky legacy". Vice. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Billboard bits: Puddle Of Mudd, the Roots, Warp". Billboard. 21 November 2003. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Warp go to the Gallo!". NME. 13 December 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  21. ^ a b c d Orlowski, Andrew (15 January 2004). "DRM: who needs it? UK label stands up for its customers". The Register. Archived from the original on 9 November 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  22. ^ a b c d e "Steve Beckett". Red Bull Music Academy. 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  23. ^ Wilson, Jen (30 November 2024). "Bleep.com merges with Warpmart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  24. ^ "BAFTA: Film Nominations 2002". Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  25. ^ a b c d e Plagenhoef, Scott (6 November 2009). "Various artists: Warp20 (box set) / Warp20 (Chosen) / Warp20 (Recreated) / Warp20 (Unheard)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  26. ^ a b Montesinos-Donaghy, Daniel (25 July 2014). "We spoke to Tom Brown, the man behind Lex Records". Vice. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  27. ^ Michaels, Sean (3 August 2010). "Brian Eno gets the Warp factor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  28. ^ a b Nicolaides, Will (5 July 2017). "Warp Records' Steve Beckett to receive AIM 2017 Pioneer Award". Music Week. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  29. ^ Hogan, Marc. "Various Artists: WXAXRXP Sessions". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  30. ^ Cavanagh, David (October 2000). "I can see the monsters". Q: 96–104.
  31. ^ Zoric, Lauren (22 September 2000). "I think I'm meant to be dead ..." The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  32. ^ "Radioheading for rock bottom". NME. 31 August 2000. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  33. ^ Oldham, James (2020). "I was basically becoming unhinged... completely unhinged". Uncut Ultimate Music Guide: Radiohead: 55. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
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