Warp celebrated
their tenth anniversary in style back in 1999 with the
release of a three part essential compilation presenting
the roots of the label, its beginning and its future.
Formed in 1989 in the industrious Sheffield, Warp has
made an indelible mark on electronic music ever since
the way 4AD shaped the music scene in the eighties.
With acts such as LFO,
Nightmares On Wax,
Autechre,
Plaid, Aphex
Twin and many others, Warp has proved to be both
a visionary force and an enduring presence as an independent
label. In 2000, the Warp posse relocated to London and
despite diversifying to present sound mavericks in fields
as diverse as post rock (Tortoise), Hip-Hop (Anti-Pop
Consortium, Prefuse 73) or sultry atmospheric pop (Broadcast),
the label remains more than ever at the forefront of
music.
For no other reason than to have a good time, the entire
Warp team took over a bus earlier this year and went
to tour Europe, playing in twenty thee cities in less
than a month, from Hamburg in Germany at the beginning
of May to Dublin in Ireland on 7 June. During this time,
various members of the roaster performed or deejayed.
On Thursday 6 June, the Electrowerkz II, situated in
the East End, just behind Angel tube station, hosted
the London date. A disused warehouse now converted into
paint-ball heaven, the place offered a chill out room
with video DJs and two others for live acts. With live
performances from Cassette Boy, Richard Devine, Jamie
Lidell and Plaid
and DJ sets from Luke Vibert, Drexciyen DJ Stingray
and LFO, the evening
promised a deluge of decibels. It is rather surprising
that with such an interesting and diverse line-up, the
event didn’t manage to shake-up the usual apathy of
Londoners, only attracting a crowd of hard-core fans.
The night kicked-off just after 8pm, starting on a
rather subdued mood, before really getting going a couple
of hours later with Jamie Lidell setting the upstairs
room alight with his comedy show and blazing twisted
electro, while Richard Devine was taking over the downstairs
room. But it is not until Plaid,
in the upstairs room and LFO,
in the downstairs room, got on stage that the evening
really reached its climax. While Plaid
attracted the majority of people with a well rehearsed
and clean cut show, spending most of the time hiding
behind a wall a machines, LFO’s
Mark Bell was putting a mind-blowing performance, sending
the dancers into trance-mode for just under an hour,
leaving people shouting “Mark, give us some more noise”
after he played his last record for the night. The man
then got off the DJ booth and chatted with a few people
for a while before returning backstage. The night concluded
on a high with Luke Vibert spinning records in the upstairs
room.
Soon, the Magic Bus tour will only be a souvenir, and
all the fans will be left with is the commemorative
album published for the occasion and only available
on the tour, so if you’ve missed any of the dates, it
is rather tough. London was as good as it gets for any
electronic music fan, and this tour proves that there
are more exiting stuff coming from the good people from
Warp. |
