Warp Records

Warp (also known as Warp Records) is an English independent record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store workers Steve Beckett, Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.

In the 1990s, the label became associated with experimental electronic styles such as intelligent dance music, and served as the home of a variety of acclaimed and influential electronic musicians, including Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, LFO, Black Dog, and Autechre. Current artists on the label roster include Flying Lotus, Rustie, Oneohtrix Point Never, Danny Brown, Grizzly Bear, Brian Eno, TNGHT, and Kelela.

(Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links To Peel
In June 1998, the opening night of the Meltdown festival curated by Peel was a Warp label live special featuring Autechre, Broadcast, Plaid and Plone.* The DJ closely followed the evolution of the Sheffield label from early “bleep techno” 12-inch singles to a wider range of experimental electronic music aimed more at home listening, including releases by session artists Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada.

Warp initially tapped into two areas of music that interested Peel: the Sheffield tradition of electronic music and the northern club music explosion of the late 1980s. The first album released by the label was by Sweet Exorcist, who featured Richard H. Kirk of local Peel session veterans Cabaret Voltaire. It subsequently worked with other electronic music artists long championed by the DJ, including Alex Paterson (of the Orb) and Brian Eno.

After Peel's death, the label publicly thanked the DJ for his backing:


 * ”John was a great supporter of our music and, as with so many other labels and artists around the world, he was the first person to contact us when we started the label. He phoned the shop in Sheffield himself in 1989 before anyone had a clue what we were doing and was raving about the Forgemasters track** - it made our day.”

Sessions
Warp artists who recorded Peel sessions. List includes sessions when the artists were not on Warp.


 * Aphex Twin: (2 sessions, 1992-95)
 * Autechre: (3 sessions, 1995-2003)
 * Black Dog: (2 sessions, 1995-97)
 * Boards Of Canada: (1 session, 1998)
 * Broadcast: (3 sessions, 1996-2003)
 * LFO: (1 session, 1990)
 * Plaid: (3 sessions, 1996-2003)
 * Plone: (2 sessions, 1996-99)
 * Sabres Of Paradise: (1 session, 1995)
 * Seefeel: (1 session, 1994)

Festive 50
According to The Festive Fifty by Mark Whitby (1st edition, 2005, pg195), Warp had the joint 19th most Festive Fifty entries of any label in Peel's lifetime (with 13, level with Big Cat and Reception), and the 18th highest number of separate tracks (13, one behind Cog-Sinister, Duophonic and Probe Plus).

The list below covers Festive Fifty entries on Warp; it does not include entries by Warp artists on other labels. Please add further information if known.


 * Aphex Twin: 1996 Festive Fifty: Girl/Boy Song #29 // 1999 Festive Fifty: Windowlicker #42
 * Autechre: 1998 Festive Fifty: fold four wrap five #48
 * Boards Of Canada: 1998 Festive Fifty: Aquarius #18 / Roygbiv #41 // 2000 Festive Fifty: In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country #20
 * Broadcast: 1999 Festive Fifty: ‎ Echoes Answer #36 // 2000 Festive Fifty: ‎ Come On Let's Go #5 // 2003 Festive Fifty: ‎Pendulum #40
 * Plone: 1998 Festive Fifty: Plock #16 ‎// 1999 Festive Fifty: Be Rude To Your School #34
 * Sabres Of Paradise: 1994 Festive Fifty: Wilmot #29
 * Squarepusher: 2001 Festive Fifty: My Red Hot Car #20

Links

 * Wikipedia
 * The History Of Warp Records
 * A History Of Warp Recordings