Warp so far in '02

Or... is it just me or do these releases seem to deviate a bit from what we've come to expect from Warp, and towards established "groove"-oriented genres. Prefuse 73 perhaps serving as a lead-in.....

it's always had quite a range, i think it had just become more associated with Autechre and co, than with the more listenable stuff it had released in the past

if you look at the Warp discography the range is pretty impressive for a dance label

...what the fuck was that vincent gallo album about?

Well... within the range of Warp's backcatalogue, surely a certain degree of ebb/flow occurs. I was just wondering if a reactive element was going on here.

I think it's mainly a response to the fact that there are now a zillion quality boutique labels in Europe and North America releasing straightforward electronic music. It's not like Warp have ditched it entirely - they still have an incredibly potent roster of electro artists in BOC, Autechre, Squarepusher, Aphex, etc - they're just taking more risks now.

Works for me. The Anti Pop stuff has been disgustingly good, the Gallo was an unexpected treat, and the Prefuse 73 ranks among the best albums released in 2001...

Plus the Mercedes Bentley thing is as much like the early rave stuff Warp put out as it is 2-step, and I would call Req ambient hip-hop if that didn't sound like a really horrible genre. And even stuff like Antipop and Prefuse fits inasmuch as its very electronic hiphop.

I wouldn't call it self-conscious, they are just following the trends. All the new stuff still sounds like Warp to me. Good on 'em, I say.

I think the new Req album is excellent, though I don't know enough about Warp as a whole to know how it fits in. But that's a fresh record.

err.. As far as I know that Mercedes thing was no more than some kind of festive joke and not really even trying to be of merit... I've heard a few tracks from REQ and i thought they sounded awful but then a lot of people have said it's really good... sounded kindof cheap and amateur-y to me... but then I haven't heard it all.

Req, Anti-pop Consortium...warp '02 = everyone else 97-99? i got really tired of anti-pop real quick, although the first lp still has it's moments. the ep was blah and the japan-only album was more of the same. i think nitsuh said it best, they sound god-like in small doses, but exhausting over a whole album. ditto for req, deracinated/drained-of-life hiphop for soundtracking gray picture postcards from brighton.

What does "deracinated" mean?

de·rac·i·nate Pronunciation Key (d-rs-nt)
tr.v. de·rac·i·nat·ed, de·rac·i·nat·ing, de·rac·i·nates
To pull out by the roots; uproot.
To displace from one's native or accustomed environment.

i wasn't sure of the strict definition myself, so i looked it up. it actually works a lot better than i thought. of course the same could be applied to triphop or "blue monday" or what have you. so use pejoratively as you see fit.

Yeah... I know what it means heh heh

I just sensed the inverse snobbery that blankets indie/undie/whatever hip-hop lurking, and I'm really tired of that...

I think the new Req is great, evocative mood music, no more drained of life than a RZA dungeon beat (actually, it reminds me a little of the Ghost Dog soundtrack); my jury is still out on Anti-Pop--wasn't wild about the first album, interested to see where they go on the new one.

As far as I know that Mercedes thing was no more than some kind of festive joke and not really even trying to be of merit

Ok, I was wondering about that. When I first heard it (not knowing it was on warp) it sounded credible enough to be a 2-step dubplate like any other.

If you ask me, Warp has rapidly deteriorated in the past couple of years. Some of the new musicians they have signed are painfully mediocre and bring nothing new to the table (Chris Clark, The Other People Place, Brothomstates, Vincent Gallo). I don't blame Richard D. James and Tom Jenkinson for being disappointed with Warp's current state and looking to start their own label (Men). Warp is no longer a label full of innovators. Sure, it can be argued that Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Autechre's latest releases haven't been a huge step forward and to some extent that is true. But I still think they're the masters of their respective genres and countless modern electronic musicians are building off (or ripping off) their work. How many electronic music reviews on Pitchfork reference Aphex Twin? A LOT. And what the hell is the deal with the new Boards of Canada? Even the best songs (Alpha and Omega, Julie and Candy, Dawn Chorus) suffer from a painfully conspicuous lack of variation. Once the songs start up, they barely change at all. In addition, most of the vocal samples are lame and overly-repetitive (1969) and they used the same sound palette as Music Has the Right to Children. I was extremely disappointed and surprised at its predominantly positive reviews.

Rob Mitchell is dead.

"new artists?" the other people place is drexciya. not that new, i would have thought. also, the other thing about the other people place is that it is fucking ac

Oops. I didn't know the Other People Place was the same guy as Drexciya. Thanks.

it is fucking ac

Power point sex!