Mo' Wax
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mo' Wax was a British
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...
founded by
James Lavelle James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the Mo'Wax record label in 1992, and has been the only constant member of UNKLE. He directed the 2014 edition of the Meltdow ...
in 1992. The label was not co-founded by
Tim Goldsworthy Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. Career Originally a musician/producer for Unkle with James Lavelle, he later worked with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and was formerly joint owner of DFA Records. G ...
, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of
trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...
,
turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA sys ...
and
alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confo ...
during the mid-1990s. The label is also responsible for bringing attention to the graffiti artist Futura 2000 by using his artwork on many of its releases in the early to mid-1990s. Lavelle signed partial ownership of Mo' Wax over to
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
(now part of the
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
) in 1996. When their deal expired he signed with
Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Young. History The companies’ roots stem from the Beggars Banquet record shops, whi ...
, who still own some of the catalogue. The name derives from "Mo' Wax Please", the title of a column James Lavelle wrote in the magazine '' Straight No Chaser'' and the Oxford club night he ran. This in turn was influenced by the Freddie Roach LP, '' Mo' Greens Please'' on
Blue Note records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...
. The original Mo' Wax logo as used on the early releases was designed by UK graphic designer Ian Swift "Swifty", but the label grew their reputation by featuring artwork contributions from Futura,
Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective the Wild Bunch, and later as a founding member and sole con ...
(from
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...
), She One and Req 1. Ben Drury was the main designer responsible for the art direction and design of the label. The label also released toys and art prints under their Mo' Wax Arts (MWA) imprint, and collaborated with artists such as
Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Ti ...
,
Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...
, and
Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...
. The label shut in 2002 and was celebrated in 2014 with an exhibition titled "Urban Archaeology: 21 years of Mo' Wax". In 2015, Lavelle licensed back the Mo'Wax label to release
Elliott Power Elliott Omar Power-Taiwo, simply known as Elliott Power (often stylised as ELLIOTT POWER), is an English recording artist and commercial director born and raised in West London. Power released his debut single ''Sink/Swim'' in 2013 on Marathon Ar ...
's "Murmur" single as a limited edition hand stamped 12" vinyl. On 26 February 2016, Elliott Power's debut album, ''Once Smitten'', was released on Mo'Wax in collaboration with Marathon Artists. This is the labels most recent release.


Discography

* MW 001 V.A. – ''Jazz Hip Jap Project'' * MW 002 The Federation – ''Flower To The Sun'' * MW 003 V.A. – ''Royaltie$ Overdue'' * MW 004 Marden Hill – ''Come On'' (12") * MW 005 RPM – ''Food Of My De-Rhythm'' (12") * MW 006 The Federation – ''Life So Free'' (12") * MW 007 Mistura – ''Coast to Coast'' (12") * MW 008 Bubbatunes – ''This Is Just A Dance'' (12") * MW 009 Palm Skin Productions – ''Time & Space EP'' (12") * MW 010 V.A. – ''Jazz Hip Jap Project'' * MW 015 The Federation – ''Remix E.P.'' (12") * MW 018 RPM – ''2000 / Sortie Des Ombres'' * MW 025
DJ Krush , better known by his stage name DJ Krush, is a record producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature and extensive use of jazz and soul samples. Early life Ishi was born in ...
– ''
Strictly Turntablized ''Strictly Turntablized'' is the second studio album by Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush, released on November 21, 1994 by Mo' Wax. In Japan, the album was released by the Avex Trax subsidiary label Jazz Not Jazz Records on April 21, 1995, and ...
'' * MW 026 V.A. -''
Headz ''Headz'' is a series of compilation albums released by the Mo' Wax record label. The first installment, titled ''Headz'', was released on 31 October 1994, and reissued on 20 May 1996. It was followed on 28 October 1996 by ''Headz 2A'' and ''Headz ...
'' * MW 034
Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...
– ''
Mark's Keyboard Repair ''Mark's Keyboard Repair'' is the debut studio album by American musician Money Mark, originally released on the Mo' Wax label in 1995. It peaked at number 35 on the UK Albums Chart. ''NME'' listed it as the 24th best album of 1995. "Insects Are ...
'' * MW 037
Rob Dougan Robert Don Hunter Dougan () is an Australian composer, known for his genre-blending music. Mixing elements of orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals, his work is tangentially relatable to electronic music. He is known primarily for his ...
– '' Clubbed to Death'' * MW 039 DJ Krush – ''
Meiso is the third studio album by Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush. It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment. ''Meiso'' was issued in the United Kingdom on October 30, 1995 by the label Mo' Wax, peaking at number 64 on ...
'' * MW 046
Dr Octagon Dr. Octagon is a persona created and used by United States, American rapping, rapper Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith. First appearing on Thornton's 1996 debut solo album, ''Dr. Octagonecologyst''. The album examines the impers ...
– ''
Dr. Octagonecologyst ''Dr. Octagonecologyst'' is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and Ultramagnetic MCs member Kool Keith, released under the alias Dr. Octagon. Originally titled ''Dr. Octagon'', it was released on May 7, 1996, on Bulk Recordings in t ...
'' * MW 059
DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sh ...
– '' Endtroducing.....'' * MW 061 V.A. – '' Headz 2A'' * MW 062 V.A. – '' Headz 2B'' * MW 064 Dr Octagon – ''
Instrumentalyst (Octagon Beats) ''Instrumentalyst (Octagon Beats)'' is a remix album by American emcee Keith Thornton, credited under the title ''Dr. Octagon''. Released in 1996, it is the instrumental version of ''Dr. Octagonecologyst''. It is Thornton's second album under th ...
'' * MW 072
Luke Vibert Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...
– ''
Big Soup ''Big Soup'' is a studio album by English electronic musician Luke Vibert. His first non-collaborative studio album under his own name, it was released on 7 July 1997 by Mo' Wax. Musical style ''Fact'' characterised Luke Vibert's production sty ...
'' * MW 073 Sukia – ''Contacto Espacial Con El Tercer Sexo'' * MW 077 DJ Krush – ''
MiLight is the fourth solo studio album by Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush. It was released in 1996. It peaked at number 100 on the UK Albums Chart. Critical reception Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, calling it "a fairly good ...
'' * MW 078
Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records house band as ...
– ''Liquid Liquid'' * MW 080 Attica Blues – ''Attica Blues'' * MW 082 V.A. – ''The Original Artform'' * MW 085 UNKLE – '' Psyence Fiction'' * MW 088 DJ Krush – ''
Holonic-The Self Megamix ''Holonic-The Self Megamix'' is a 1997 mixtape by Japanese hip hop producer DJ Krush. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Critical reception Stewart Mason of AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and A ...
'' * MW 090 Money Mark – '' Push The Button'' * MW 099
Andrea Parker Andrea N. Parker is an American film and television actress. She is known for her roles on '' ER'', '' The Pretender'', ''Less than Perfect'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and ''Pretty Little Liars''. Career Her first documented film role was at ...
– ''Kiss My Arp'' * MW 101 V.A. – ''Time Machine'' (mixed by
Psychonauts ''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platform video game developed by Double Fine Productions. The game was initially published by Majesco Entertainment and THQ for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. In 2011, Double Fine acquired the rights for t ...
) * MW 102 Urban Tribe – ''The Collapse Of Modern Culture'' * MW 104
Tommy Guerrero Tommy Guerrero (born September 9, 1966) is an Indigenous American musician, composer, and professional skateboarder. Early life Guerrero was born in San Francisco, California. He is of Ohlone-native, Chilean, and Filipino descent from his fa ...
– ''A Little Bit Of Somethin * MW 105 Major Force West – ''93–97'' * MW 110 V.A. – '' Quannum Spectrum'' * MW 112 Blackalicious – '' Nia'' * MW 115 DJ Assault – ''Belle Isle Tech'' * MW 121 DJ Magic Mike – ''The Journey (Era Of Bass Part 1)'' * MW 122
Divine Styler Mikal Safiyullah (born Mark Richardson; 1968), better known by his stage name Divine Styler, is an alternative hip hop artist from Brooklyn, New York. History He first emerged as part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate. His first LP, '' Word Power' ...
– '' Wordpower, Vol. 2: Directrix'' * MW 129 Nigo – ''Ape Sounds'' * MW 132 South – '' From Here On In'' * MW 141 David Axelrod – ''David Axelrod'' * MW 143 Malcom Catto – ''Popcorn Bubble Fish'' * MW 145 V.A. – ''Now Thing '' * MW 152 Malcom Catto – ''Bubblefish Breaks '' * MW 155 Jordan Fields- ''Moments In Dub '' * MW 158 Tommy Guerrero – '' Soul Food Taqueria'' * MW 159 Parsley Sound – ''Parsley Sounds '' * MWU 001 UNKLE – ''
Never, Never, Land ''Never, Never, Land'' is the second album by the British electronic music act UNKLE, released on 22 September 2003. On 24 October 2004 an expanded edition entitled ''Never, Never, Land Revisited'' was released. The original album debuted at ...
'' * MW 001 Repercussions – ''Promise'' * MW 01
Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful p ...
– ''
Melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...
''


References


External links


Mo' Wax Discography

Mo'Wax at Discogs.com

Mo' Wax Please


{{Authority control British record labels Electronic music record labels Hip hop record labels