eople were tired of the road that electronic music was heading in, in 1990. Instead of the great pioneering tracks made by 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald, the airwaves were flooded with cheap knockoffs and rave anthems. So it was decided that the only thing was to do, was to start a record label. If quality music wasn’t been heard or released by the artists that they liked, then they had better release it themselves, they reasoned. Thus, Warp Records was founded.

At the beginning of 1991, then, Sweet Exorcist’s Clonk’s Coming was released to small acclaim in the underground community. It wasn’t until 1993’s Artificial Intelligence compilation, though, that Warp hit their stride and began to form an influential roster that consisted of Black Dog, Aphex Twin, and Autechre. Over the past twelve years and almost 100 full length albums, the label can safely sit back and reflect on the influence that it has cast over the IDM community. Countless small labels would not be formed today, without the Warp label. Its first generation of releases can almost be credited with creating the entire genre of music, for better or worse. Warp hasn’t looked back, however. Later acts to join the label include: Boards of Canada, Plaid (formed out of the remnants of Black Dog), Squarepusher, and Two Lone Swordsmen further strengthening Warp’s stronghold on the IDM market.

With the label entering into its twelfth year of existence, recent additions Broadcast, Brothomstates, Vincent Gallo, Richard Devine, and Prefuse73 seek to broaden Warp’s range of musical influence and lead Warp out of its insular IDM outlook and into something more broad reaching.

Label Roster: Anti-Pop Consortium, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards Of Canada, Broadcast, Brothomstates, Chris Clark, Richard Devine, Vincent Gallo, LFO, Jamie Lidell, Mira Calix, Nightmares On Wax, Plaid, Plone, Prefuse73, Squarepusher, and Two Lone Swordsmen.

Ten Essential Releases:
Various Artists- Artificial Intelligence Volume I
Black Dog Productions- Bytes
Autechre- Amber
Aphex Twin- Selected Ambient Works Volume II
Aphex Twin- I Care Because You Do
Boards of Canada- Music Has The Right To Children
Squarepuhser- Hard Normal Daddy
Plaid- Not For Threes
Prefuse73- Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives
Autechre- LP5