Warp20 @ Magna - Sheffield/Rotherham 19/09/09

Written by Tristan Hanks

Magna is a now defunct steel works on the outskirts of Rotherham and only minutes away from Sheffield, the spiritual home of Warp records, so it was no surprise they chose this venue to celebrate 20 years of their trademark glitchy bleeps. This daunting building houses vast industrial structures and by day is modern museum for all things industrial. Walking through the amazing structure was akin to being on the set of a science fiction film with ominous metal monoliths lurking in every corner. Once through the minimally decorated corridors and walk ways, fractured beats could be heard in the distance along with deep grumbling bass; either a spaceship was being constructed somewhere or deep in the bowels of this monument to the past there was a rave going on.

The latter was obviously true and following on from Harmonic 313's dark introduction came Hudson Mohawke complete with his moniker in day-glo pink splashed on the huge screen behind him. His excellent set combined his skew whiff beats and wonky bass with cut up R&B samples resulting in a satisfying soundclash so delightfully off kilter it could have gone off the rails at any moment. It didn't though and was in fact one of the tightest and most cutting edge sets of the night. After a short silence an MC arrived to big up the Yorkshire crowd who duly cheered back with delight and welcomed on stage the slick sounds of Nightmares On Wax. Early Warp stalwarts, George Evelyn a.k.a DJ EASE released one of the first tunes ('Dextrous' in 1989!) on this beloved label and produced the seminal album 'Smoker's Delight' in 1995. They began with highlights from this album and their other classic 'Carboot Soul' which had the crowd bobbing their heads in unison until they gradually returned to their original acid based sound finishing with the still hardcore sounding 'Aftermath'.

After this mellowish beginning it was time for the master of throbbing bass and tricksy beats to grace us with his presence. Dressed in a lurid orange tracksuit top Squarepusher approached the mic, axe in hand, to announce he would be playing 'loads of rare unreleased stuff'. With many performers this declaration would strike fear into an audience intent on 'having it' but luckily Tom Jenkinson made good on his promise and launched into a scathing set unlike anything that had gone before it. There is always the fear he will go too far (as he did at his recent Bestival performance which bordered on the unlistenable) but his sonic prowess was scorching as he impressively riffed through a barrage of acid squeaks, scalpel sharp beats and endless cascading drum rolls. If I could name any of the tunes I would but ultimately it was a majestic performance by a true maverick.

Following this aural assault would be difficult for anyone but Clark more than stood up to the challenge. Like the bastard son of Aphex Twin and Autechre (on speed) he screeched through his set with the minimum of fuss producing an immense collage of fantastic sounds. Just when you thought you had pigeonholed him he flew away on another flight of fancy, dropping some older classics from his much lauded 'Empty The Bones Of You' album and then newer stuff from the latest long player 'Totem's Flare'. Everyone went crazy for Clark and the fluidity of his tunes whipped the crowd into a frenzy before it was time for some old skool acid, Warp style.

You can't get much more old skool than Andrew Weatherall, legendary 'Screamadelica' producer, Sabre Of Paradise and One Lone Swordsman. He seemed to be playing off the original vinyl too which wobbled and hissed in a nostalgic fashion and made the acid house twirls sound even more authentic. As he mixed classic tune after tune the spectacle of hundreds of people dancing in an old steel works gave younger fans a glimpse of what the original raves were really like. The crowd were a very friendly bunch and all seemed to be die hard Warp fans. One older raver said he remembered hearing Weatherall's selections '20 odd years ago' and they still sounded fresh today. These tracks by the likes of LFO and Forgemasters (who closed the night and were named after an actual Sheffield steelworks!) were the genesis of British dance music and along with the Hacienda, Warp records made the North a Mecca for the new sound of England in the early nineties. This was a fantastic event, held in an amazing location and effortlessly showcased Warps influence from the past to the present and forward into the Phuture!