Pitchfork: Warp Records Celebrated in New Book

Obsessive-compulsive electronic music nerds and people with empty coffee tables take note: On December 14, London's Black Dog Publishing will release the first in its series of Labels Unlimited books devoted to individual record labels that have shook the industry on. The subject of the inaugural tome? The pioneering Warp Records.

Following the label since its inception in the industrial town of Sheffield, England in 1989, English music journalist Rob Young (who helped developed The Wire magazine) tells the story of Warp's rise to power. It couldn't come at a better time for the label, as it caps off a year of successful releases from Max�mo Park, Broadcast, Boards of Canada, Prefuse 73, Jamie Lidell, and others.

Everything from Sheffield college newspaper clips, handwritten interview notes LFO faxed to a Japanese magazine, to interviews with Warp co-founder Steve Beckett and an account of the unfortunate death of his co-conspirator Rob Mitchell are included in the book, on top of detailed analyses and portrayals not only of the label's artists (from Aphex Twin to Plaid, from Autechre to Squarepusher) but the visual art and film associated with the label as well. A complete Warp discography is also included.

Next up in Black Dog's Labels Unlimited series will be a book about Rough Trade, due out in August 2006.