Celebrating their 20th birthday, Warp records is one of British music's quiet success stories. Not only is the label the last survivor from the Great Acid House Explosion of the late 80s, it has since steadily expanded its remit far beyond that initial obsession with electronica, becoming a safe haven for experimental sounds of every persuasion. The Sheffield-born, now London-based operation's first release might have been Forgemasters' bleepy rave anthem Track With No Name but the current roster sees Grizzly Bear's complicated folk rock sit alongside more obvious names such as Aphex Twin (although what Maxïmo Park's bog standard indie rock is doing there remains anyone's guess).
This plush box set, available via the label's website, is a Warp geek's dream, coming with, among other trinkets, a 192-page book featuring the sleeve of every single release and a double CD of "best tracks" chosen by fans and co-founder Steve Beckett. However, it's on a further double CD, on which the label's old and new artists cover each other, that the real action lies.
It's more adventure than history lesson, suggesting a rich but unpredictable future governed by Hudson Mohawke's zig-zagging rhythms and Bibio's bucolic soundscapes.
