Warp (record label)

Warp Records
Founded	1989; 35 years ago (1989)
Founder	Steve Beckett Rob Mitchell Robert Gordon
Distributor(s)	FUGA
Genre	Electronic IDM techno experimental downtempo
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Location	Sheffield (1989–2000) London (2000–present)
Official website	warp.net

Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.^[1] It is currently based in London.

In the early 1990s, the label initially became associated with the UK's northern bleep techno scene, including acts such as LFO, Sweet Exorcist, Forgemasters and Nightmares on Wax.^[2][3] The 1992 label compilation Artificial Intelligence helped establish the electronic subgenre known as intelligent dance music (IDM). Subsequently, Warp became the home of influential acts such as Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, and Boards of Canada. Current artists signed to the label include Flying Lotus, Oneohtrix Point Never, Danny Brown, Brian Eno, Hudson Mohawke, Kelela and Yves Tumor.

In 2004, Warp opened the online store bleep.com, which sells downloadable music free of digital rights management (DRM) features.