PopMatters celebrates the 20th anniversary of Warp Records
Pitch Deadline: 14 August 2009
Final Deadline: 9 September 2009
Contact: David Abravanel
Email: abravanel AT popmatters.com
Editors: Timh Gabriele and David Abravanel
It’s hard to believe it’s been a full two decades since Warp Records first released WAP 1, The Forgemasters’ “Track With No Name”, from the back of a car in Sheffield. Since then, Warp has consistently maintained its cutting-edge status in the music world, whether through its introduction of a more cerebral crop of techno artists from the mid-‘90s, its championing of hyperrhythms from Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, or its recent forays into the indie world with !!! and Grizzly Bear.
In honor of this landmark anniversary, PopMatters is issuing a call for pieces to run in a special section. Some ideas you might consider:
1. Your top five Warp albums, for a feature on staff Warp favorites. Give us your ranked top five ASAP, and specify which one you’d like to write about, as well as if you’d be willing to cover multiple albums. Note that this can also be an opportunity to explore a particular Warp album which signifies what the label is about to you, or one that you’ve had a challenging relationship with. Final pieces should be between 500-700 words in length.
2. The Designer’s Republic long played a key roll in the corporate futuristic aesthetic of Warp, from its first record sleeves to the minimalist track-by-track artwork on Autechre’s most recent releases. We’re looking for someone design-minded to delve into this relationship.
3. Best Of Warp playlist. Warp recently allowed fans to vote for their favorite Warp tracks to be included in a best-of disc, released with the upcoming Warp20 box set. Think they got it wrong? Tell us what you’re list might be, and why!
4. Warp’s artists have historically taken an interesting route when is comes to their videos—think of Aphex Twin’s controversial “Come To Daddy” clip, for example, or Plaid’s darkly satirical “Itsu.” What’s your take on Warp’s videos? Is there a defining one that you’d like to focus on? A wide spectrum of ideas is welcome here.
5. Recent years have also seen the advent of Warp Film, with releases including This Is England and Donkey Punch. This is a good chance for someone from the film section to get in on this.
We’re also open to any unique proposals that you might have in mind—make it personal, make it abstract—anything that chronicles your relationship with this most interesting of labels.
Editors for this section will be Timh Gabriele and David Abravanel. Pitches will be due by August 14th, with pieces in no later than September 9th.
Note: if you’d like to interview a Warp artist for a piece, please include that in your pitch so that we can forward these requests to Warp or the necessary PR contact ASAP. Be advised that many of Warp’s most famous acts, including Aphex Twin, Plaid, Boards of Canada, and Autechre, can be very difficult to get interviews with. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try, but rather that if this is a part of your pitch, then it’d be a good idea to have a backup plan in case the artist declines to talk.
