Classic Record Labels

Warp Records

	It's the soundtrack to the 'Ginsters people taking you away' meets Marilyn Mansun's 'Beautiful People' - Battles 'Atlas'

WHO ARE WARP?

Founded: 1989

Likely to Find: Eccentrics, scary mugshots, musical mathmeticians, ace electronic noises, 20th anniversary parties and cool Brit flicks (except the one with Ray Winstone's daughter)

To any inventive oddball with a keyboard and PC, WARP is like some magical place conjured up in the heart of Sheffield. For 20 years, the eclectic indie LEGENDS has been picking out the most daring minds in electronic music, and releasing some very original records.

Scary-faced MEGA-genius Richard David James (aka APHEX TWIN, AFX, Polygon Window) recorded his spookiest works under WARP, while Squarepusher combined ace bass skills with inspired beeps n' grooves. And it's recently moved into Brit FILM, too, setting up Warp Films to release This Is England, Dead Man's Shoes (both edgy Shane Meadows flicks) and Donkey Punch (which wasn't so brilliant).

While WARP's name may be synonomous with leftfield electronica, it has also achieved commercial success with some arty guitar indie; Tyne and Wear's quirksome oddballs Maximo Park rocking out three not-so-bad albums of student union anthemry. Basically, if you smoke a lot of pot, you should probably own a lot of WARP records.

http://warp.net/

ESSENTIAL FIVE WARP ARTISTS (selected by Warp co-founder STEVE BECKETT)

1) BATTLES - 'Atlas' (from the album 'Mirrored', released 2007)

The artsy American quartet write complex, head-scratchy pieces of beautiful music. 'Atlas' is the soundtrack to the 'Ginsters people taking you away' meets Marilyn Mansun's 'Beautiful People', orchestrated by 25th century maths boffins from the planet DANCE. Genius!

2) MAXIMO PARK - 'Questing, Not Coasting' (from 'Quicken The Heart', March 2009)

Newcastle has produced lots of weird and wonderful things: Gazza's tears, the Goal movies and now Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith, who resembles a bendy Walt Disney creation trying to limber his way into A Clockwork Orange. He has a large voice, too, which is great for fronting ceiling-staring anthems like this one.

3) BOARDS OF CANADA - 'Dayvan Cowboy' (from 'The Campfire Headphase', 2005)

The Proclaimers aren't the only Scottish brothers baring their souls for music. Scot sibling duo Boards Of Canada are little-known gods of DREAMY electronic soundscapes, which occasionally sound like Mogwai with their SHREDDER pedals turned off.

4) GRIZZLY BEAR - 'Two Weeks' (from 'Veckatamist', 2009)

Admittedly Grizzly Bear were a new one on us, and when we typed them into Google, all we found were aggressive-looking bears with their jaws at full stretch. Which does these New Yorkers a discredit, because 'Two Weeks' is delectable art-indie, reminscent of an in-tune Morrissey being backed by The Beach Boys.

5) APHEX TWIN - 'Windowlicker' (from 'Windowlicker' EP, 1999)

The best music video ever recorded. Period. Even better than Jacko jigging his thang with zombies, or Christopher Walken flying through his office. And the track's a complete belter, too. Unsettling and dancey, haunting yet pilled-up and joyous. An electronica classic.

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ESSENTIAL WARP RECORDS DISCOGRAPHY

Fine albums for you to build your collection!

· Autechre – Quarastice
· Boards of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children
· Nightmares on Wax - Smokers Delight
· Vincent Gallo - When (*MAXIM RECOMMENDS*)
· Broadcast - Tender Buttons
· Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
· Grizzly Bear - Veckatamist
· Black dog - Bytes

We test all our albums on a NaimUniti stereo. If we were testing for sound quality, every album would get five stars. But we're good little journalists, so we can't. Check out more at www.naimaudio.com. They make good stuff, believe us.