Warp Records started out as an underground electronic label in Sheffield, England in 1989 but has since become a dominating force for a larger scope of independent music. Today, the label is home to Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus, Brian Eno, Nightmares on Wax, !!!, Prefuse 73, Squarepusher, The Hundred in the Hands and many others.
Early Warp 12” releases could be recognized by their purple label and sleeve. The label’s initial releases helped draw greater attention to the emerging techno and house sounds from Sheffield, Leeds and greater England. Sweet Exorcist, Tricky Disco and LFO had UK chart success in the 1989/1990 which coincided with the rise of House culture in the UK. Warp played no small part in the rise of this scene by helping to import releases from the US and Italy.
Over the years, Warp has broadened its pallet, releasing music that crossed over into rock, jazz, indie, pop etc while keeping electronic music at its core. Check out this video list of some of the essentials that came out on the label from 1990 to now:
LFO “LFO” (1990)
Aphex Twin “On” (1993)
Squarepusher “Come on My Selector” (1997)
Broadcast “Papercuts” (2000)
Plaid “Eyen” (2001)
Maximo Park “Apply Some Pressure” (2005)
Gonjasufi “Duet” (2010)
Flying Lotus “Putty Boy Strut” (2012)
– Submitted by Justin Main, Music Design