The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion - World in Touch", coincided with Vancouver's centennial and was held on the north shore of False Creek. It was the second time that Canada held a World's Fair, the first being Expo 67 in Montreal (during the Canadian Centennial). It was also the third World's Fair to be held in the Pacific Northwest in the last 25 years as of 1986 and as of 2012 it still stands as the latest World's Fair to be held in North America.

The logo of three interlocking rings to make the 86 in the logo stood for the three main modes of transportation; land, air, and water.

Up until the late 1970s, the 173 acre (0.7 km²) site on False Creek, where Expo was staged, was a former CPR rail yard and an industrial wasteland. In 1978, Sam Bawlf (then BC Minister of Recreation and Conservation) proposed an exposition to celebrate Vancouver's Centennial year (1986). The proposal was submitted in June 1979, for a fair that was to be called "Transpo 86." In 1980, the British Columbia Legislature passed the Transpo 86 Corporation Act, paving the way for the fair. The transportation theme reflected the city's role in connecting Canada by rail, its status as a major port and transportation hub, and the role of transportation in communications.

Nick Warren is an English house DJ and producer. He is well known for his eight albums released in the Global Underground series and as a member of the duo Way Out West. He is head of A&R for the progressive house and breaks record label Hope Recordings.

In 1988, Nick Warren began DJ-ing in Bristol, playing mainly reggae and indie music until house music became more popular in the UK. By the early 1990s, Warren had become one of the more popular DJs in Bristol, performing regularly at the superclub Vision and DJ-ing for Massive Attack.

While working at a record store in 1994, Nick Warren met producer Jody Wisternoff and the two decided to work together. Their first collaboration was on the track "Paradise is the Sound" which they released under the artist name Sub-Version 3. Warren describes Wisternoff as being the more technical of the two, while Warren states that he "bring[s] most of the sounds into our projects" and an understanding of what music needs to be successful at dance clubs. Their next two releases were issued under the name Echo, with Way Out West being the name of their remix project. The duo soon adopted the name for their act and signed a deal with Deconstruction Records.