Warp 9

Warp 9
12" single "Light Year's Away"
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York U.S.
Genres	Electro, hip hop, Boogie, Soul
Labels	Prism (US) Motown (US) Arista (US) Fourth and Broadway/Island (UK)
Associated acts	The Strikers Strafe
Past members	Ada Dyer, Carolyn Harding, Chuck Wansley, Kathrine Joyce, Milton Brown
Notable instruments
Roland TR-808 Keyboard Sequencer Synthesizer

Warp 9 is an electro music group that is best known for its 1980s electro hip hop songs "Nunk, "Light Years Away," and "Beat Wave." Warp 9 ranks among the most iconic groups of the electro hip hop era. ^[1][2] Described as the "perfect instance of hip hop's contemporary ramifications,"^[3] Warp 9 was the brainchild of writer-producers Lotti Golden and Richard Scher. The duo wrote and recorded under the moniker Warp 9, a production project at the forefront of the electro movement.^[4] Golden & Scher were among the first producers to use the Roland TR-808 drum machine, ^[5]creating tracks with "gorgeous textures and multiple layers."^[6] Warp 9 evolved from a studio concept into a band when Prism Records expressed interest in releasing Nunk. Golden & Scher invited drummer Chuck Wansley and percussionist Boe Brown to perform the male vocals and rhymes. Later, a female vocalist was added to the group; Ada Dyre performed vocals and rhymes for Warp 9's second single, "Light Years Away," ^[7]

The success of Warp 9's first single, Nunk, created a large following for the band in the New York metropolitan area resulting in a worldwide deal with Island Records, on its 4th & B'way Records label in the UK, and on Prism Records/Island Records in the U.S. ^[7] In 1983 the group released its debut LP, It's a Beat Wave.

1982, the year Warp 9's first single, Nunk was released on Prism Records, was a watershed for electro music: Planet Rock was a game changer, heralding the arrival of electro hip hop music. Some of the "space-breaking releases that year included Planet Patrol's, "Play At Your Own Risk," Nunk by Warp 9...The Smurf..."Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop)," and 'The Message.'"^[3] The song's title "Nunk," announced the group's musical direction—a fusion of funk, hip hop, and new wave, i.e., NUNK= N-ew wave + f-UNK.^[3] Fusing elements from electro-pop, rock, Latin, Afro-Cuban, and hip hop is integral to Warp 9 and to the identity of electro hip hop.^[8]

Warp 9's second single, "Light Years Away" (1983), is an afrofuturist, "sci-fi tale of alien visitation, when gods were space people, partially inspired by The Message."^[3] The song's experimental use of vocoders and sci-fi street imagery with the lyrical refrain space is the place for the human race, informed by Sun Ra's 1974 film, were highlighted in Newsweek's "Language Arts & Disciplines:Sci-Fi Street Sounds."^[9] The rhyme in "Light Years Away" invokes a stark, cyberpunk Philip K Dickian vision of the future: "From the street there's no escape/the bag ladies that holler rape/there must have been some big mistake/light years away/sometimes I think, I missed my stop/and wound up on this planet not to ever find no peace of mind/light years away/^[10]

Background

Lotti Golden and Richard Scher were among the early electro production teams in New York City, utilizing the Roland TR-808 drum machine, the casio keyboard,^[11] and sampling gear, ^[5] building their brand of electro by layering multiple keyboard textures over drum machine tracks, which became Warp 9's signature sound.^[3] Although the sound of the Roland 808 was the basis for Warp 9's rhythm tracks, Golden and Scher began to introduce live percussion in Warp 9 recordings. For example, on Warp 9's second single, Light Years Away, the Roland TR-808 beats were offset by conga drums. Golden and Scher used both male and female hip hop rhymes in combination with solo and group vocals, an nnovative approach in early electro hip hop. Scher played all of the instruments on the Warp 9 recordings, with the exception of occasional overdubs. Both Golden & Scher worked out the arrangements together, and Golden supplied the background vocals on Warp 9 recordings along with the group's vocals. Golden's (guide) lead vocals were replaced by Warp 9 members on the final recordings. One exception is "Master of the Mix" (It's a Beat Wave) where the female vocals are performed by Golden (with the rap by Boe Brown). In addition to the vocal versions of Warp 9's records, Golden and Scher were committed to providing instrumental and dub mixes of every 12", with stripped down beats and breakdowns. The lyrics to the aforementioned 12", "Master of the Mix" can be considered autobiographical, in that they provide (humorous) insight into the duo's philosophy of production and mixing techniques.

Past members

• Ada Dyer - vocals
• Carolyn Harding - vocals
• Chuck Wansley - vocals
• Kathrine Joyce - vocals (also collaborated with the Shades of Love.)
• Milton Brown - drums

Chart positions

Single charts

Discography

Albums

• It's A Beat Wave (1983) - Prism
• Fade In, Fade Out (1986) - Motown

Singles

• "Nunk (New Wave Funk)" (1982) - Prism
• "Beat Wave" (1983) - Prism
• "Light Years Away" (1983) Prism
• "Master Of The Mix" (1983) - 4th & Broadway
• "No Man Is an Island" (1984) - Prism
• "Skips a Beat" (1985) - Motown

References