Fireside Chat

Steve Beckett

Warp Records, London

Want to know about classic bleep, or how to build one of the most bulletproof 'indie' labels in today's hostile musical environment? Come talk to Steve. He's the co-founder of Warp Records, the influential label that has been synonymous with leftfield electronic music for nearly a decade, before recently reclaiming experimental pop and all types of song formats that teenage girls could break their hearts to. As one who watched his imprint metamorphose from a modest record store in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, into a powerhouse that exploded at the dawn of acid house and helped spark the careers of Aphex Twin, Autechre, !!!, Prefuse 73 and Richie Hawtin, Beckett has a bottomless understanding of the business of innovative independent music. He says the common bond between Warp artists is a maverick spirit, and the key to his label's longevity is reinvention. Like he told The Japan Times: "I just want to be involved in what excites me now, not what excited me 15 years ago."