(04.20.06) STEPHEN CHRISTIAN, an executive for the groundbreaking indie UK label, Warp Records, was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his schedule to chat with me recently via e-mail.
Christian is a veteran of the industry. In addition to past work with other labels, he has also written for magazines and is a DJ himself. Currently out on tour with Warp artist, Jamie Lidell, Christian says his role with Warp is to “help manage the stateside happenings. Stuff like press, artist relations, promotions, marketing, A&R, distribution, tour managing…” and he says he’ll also sometimes “go get coffee and change the water in the cooler too.”
Founded in 1989 in Sheffield, many associate Warp with more than a decade’s worth of ground-breaking electronic music, often dubbed intelligent dance music; its artists have included such luminaries as Prefuse 73, Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, and many other well-established acts.
Samuel Stackhouse :: So, Stephen, do you consider Warp a genre label?
Stephen Christian :: No. I think if you listen to any combination of records on Warp it’s pretty clear [that it isn’t].
SS :: And from an industry standpoint, where do you see Warp’s position in today’s market?
SC :: I think that it is to Warp’s benefit that there’s not a lot of time spent looking at the label from an industry standpoint, and that very little energy is exhausted trying to position it.
SS :: How best does a smaller budget label go about finding talent – word of mouth, agents sending solicited demos, unsolicited materials, actively seeking it through stringers?
SC :: I’m not sure if there’s really a surefire way of finding acts. It’s probably more about just being open and listening to people. Chances are you’re going to hear ABOUT somebody before you actually hear them, so don’t ignore whatever bands your friends, enemies, lovers, family members, or parole officers are in or into.
SS :: What are your personal standards as a music industry executive, and as a fan of music? Do they often coincide or conflict?
SC :: I would say they coincide far more than they conflict. Just to give you an idea, I’ve really been coming back to Return of The Mack, by Mark Morrison a bunch lately. What a rad tune.”
SS :: So what do you think we’ll be hearing from Warp in the future?
SC :: Hopefully in 5 years the label will still be putting out records that make people say what the hell are they doing?
Check out Warp at warprecords.com. Make sure to also stop by their online music store, Bleep, at bleep.com for digital downloads from their stable of artists as well as from many other cutting edge labels.
