''It's a Beat Wave'' is the debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American electro group

Warp 9 Warp 9, an American sci-fi themed electro-funk, hip hop group is best known for its ground breaking, influential singles including " Nunk," " Light Years Away," and " Beat Wave," which ranked among the most iconic groups of the electro hip hop ...

. Released in 1983, the album's producers,

Lotti Golden Lotti Golden (born November 27, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, poet and artist. Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album ''Motor-Cycle (album), Motor-Cycle'', on Atlantic Records. Winner of the American Society of ...

and Richard Scher, "worked real emotion and intelligence into the world of experimental hip-hop and electro." Warp 9 was the moniker under which Golden and Scher created their brand of electro-futurism. The group's first single, " Nunk,"(1982), secured Warp 9's album deal with New York independent label

Prism Records Prism Records was an American record label formed in 1978 by Len Fichtelberg (d. November 4, 2010). It was originally an independent label, focusing on the New York City R&B and disco scene of the day with groups like Erotic Drum Band and dis ...

. The LP was released in 1983 in conjunction with the group's 3rd single, "Beat Wave." Warp 9's large following in the New York metropolitan area came to the attention of

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

chief

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

who signed Warp 9 to a world wide deal on

(Prism Records/Island Records in the U.S.).Cashbox Magazine, East Coastings. August 1984. p12. Richard Scher is credited with the arrangements, drum programming and keyboards, The group's members Chuck Wansley and Boe Brown, provide additional drums and percussion, joined by Steve Thornton from the Miles Davis Septet. Lead and backing vocals are by Warp 9's Ada Dyer, Chuck Wansley, and Boe Brown. Additional vocals were provided by Catherine Russell,

and Tina Fabrik. The album's mix was produced in collaboration with John "Jellybean" Benitez (who also co-produced "Nunk" and "Light Years Away") except for "No Man Is an Island" and "Master of the Mix" which were mixed and produced by Golden & Scher. The album's topics range from music production ( the mixing itself) and alien visition to creation of ad-hoc music styles (one of them becoming the music genre, electro) and is unified in its electronic experimentation, hip hop language and afro-futurist message.

CD version

In 1992, the album was remastered and re-released on CD by Canadian company Unidisc, featuring remixes that were previously omitted from the original LP release.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 1983 debut albums Warp 9 albums East Coast hip-hop albums 1980s concept albums