My first introduction to Warp was via Squarepusher's "Feed Me Weird Things", released back in 1996 when I was living in Japan. See, the Japanese don't mind a beer, and for that matter they don't mind a bath (aka onsen) either. And being the forward-thinking legends they are, at some point in time they combined the two, which for a time became my favourite pastime: drinking beer in the bathtub. But, as is my want, I added the twist of vibing out to Squarepusher while ... you get my drift right? So from there I did a little more digging around and was introduced to the likes of Aphex Twin, Luke Vibert (more so via Ninja Tunes but we'll leave it at that), Plaid, LFO and Autechre. It is electronic. It is electronica. But there are solid ears behind these picks meaning a good cross section of music that you'll not necessarily be taken by, but nonetheless know that it's best of breed. And that's what makes Warp so good. (Don't even get me started on their digital offerings ... I've been buying music from Bleep from when it first opened its doors, plus I regularly hit Warp when in need of some design/functional inspiration).

So what do you do when you turn 20? You go nuts, that's what you do. And that's what Warp have done, releasing a (now completely sold out although probably going for a bucketful of pineapples on eBay) box set, which they've split up and are now serving as individual Warp20 compilations: "Chosen", "Recreated", and "Unheard". "Chosen" is split into two discs: the first generated from public vote, again showing Warp's forward thinking and inclusive attitude, the second disc selected by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. For us "old-timers" it's a way to fall back into some amazing memories while being introduced to the new guard in the likes of Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus and Battles. And for all the virgins, it's quite the introduction to an extraordinary label.

Warp20 (Chosen) is out now on Inertia.