Editing Mo' Wax

{{Short description|Defunct English record label}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Mo' Wax
| image       = 
| image_size  = 
| image_alt   = 
| caption     = 
| parent      = [[Island Records]] (majority of catalogue)
| founded     = {{Start date|1992}}
| founder     = [[James Lavelle]]
| defunct     = <!-- {{End date|2002}} -->
| status      = Inactive
| distributor = [[PIAS Group]]
| genre       = 
| country     = United Kingdom
| location    = 
| website     = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}

'''Mo' Wax''' was a British [[record label]] founded by [[James Lavelle]] in [[1992]].<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=268}}</ref> The label was not co-founded by [[Tim Goldsworthy]], as is often reported.<ref>{{Citation |title=Christopher Tubbs interviews DJ and UNKLE producer James Lavelle |url=https://vimeo.com/76140183 |language=en |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Kev Geoghegan |date=13 June 2014 |title=Meltdown is 'something joyous' says curator James Lavelle |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27698391 |access-date=13 June 2014 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. 

Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of [[trip hop]], [[turntablism]] and [[alternative hip hop]] during the mid-1990s. The label also released notable records covering [[techno]], [[drum and bass]] and [[Electro (music)|electro]]. Mo' Wax also helped the graffiti artist [[Futura 2000]] regain popularity, by using his artwork on many of their releases in the 1990s. 

Lavelle signed partial ownership of Mo' Wax over to [[A&M Records]] (now part of the [[Universal Music Group]]) in 1996.<ref name="Larkin90" /> When their deal expired he signed with [[Beggars Group]], who still own some of the catalogue.<ref name="Larkin90" /><ref>{{Cite periodical|last=Paoletta|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MAoEAAAAMBAJ&q=wax|title=U.K.'s Mo' Wax Inks Joint Venture With XL|date=1998-11-28|magazine=Billboard|volume=110|page=6|number=48|language=en}}</ref>

The name derives from "Mo'Wax Please", the title of a column James Lavelle wrote in the magazine ''[[Straight No Chaser (magazine)|Straight No Chaser]]'' and the Oxford club night he ran. This in turn was influenced by the [[Freddie Roach (organist)|Freddie Roach]] LP, ''[[Mo' Greens Please]]'' on [[Blue Note records]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gaunt|first=James|title=Making Psyence Fiction|publisher=Foxteeth Press|year=2020|isbn=9781702889346|pages=12, 14}}</ref>

The original Mo' Wax logo as used on the early releases was designed by UK graphic designer Ian Swift "Swifty" and the label grew their reputation by featuring artwork contributions from [[Futura 2000|Futura]], [[Robert Del Naja]] (from [[Massive Attack]]), She One, ''[[Req|Req1 ]]'' and [[Kostas Seremetis]].
[[Ben Drury]] and Will Bankhead were the main designers responsible for the art direction and design of the label.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gaunt|first=James|date=2021-08-01|title=Art of Mo' Wax: Ben Drury|url=https://medium.com/mo-wax-where-are-they-now/art-of-mo-wax-ben-drury-593effc78409|access-date=2021-12-24|website=Mo' Wax – Where Are They Now|language=en}}</ref>

The label also released toys and art prints under their Mo' Wax Arts (MWA) imprint, and collaborated with artists such as [[Mark Gonzales]], [[Mike Mills (director)|Mike Mills]], and [[Money Mark]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mo Wax Arts – complete listings|url=https://www.mowaxdiscography.com/mwa.html|access-date=2021-12-24|website=Mo Wax Discography|language=en}}</ref>

The label shut in 2002 and was celebrated in 2014 with an exhibition titled "Urban Archaeology: 21 years of Mo' Wax".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dhaliwal |first1=Ranjit |title=Urban Archaeology – 21 years of Mo'Wax – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2014/jun/13/urban-archaeology-21-years-of-mowax-in-pictures |access-date=17 April 2019 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In 2015, Lavelle licensed back the Mo' Wax label to release [[Elliott Power]]'s "Murmur" single as a limited edition hand stamped [[12" vinyl]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Delany|first1=Joseph|title=Elliott Power: Murmur|url=https://www.nowness.com/story/elliott-power-murmer-james-lavelle-mo-wax|website=Nowness.com|date=5 September 2015|access-date=2016-04-29}}</ref> On 26 February 2016, Elliott Power's debut album, ''Once Smitten'', was released on Mo' Wax in collaboration with Marathon Artists.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stewart-Lockhart|first1=George|title=Elliott Power – Once Smitten|url=https://www.discogs.com/Elliott-Power-Once-Smitten/release/8172356|date=3 March 2016|publisher=Discogs|access-date=2016-04-02}}</ref> This is the label's most recent release.

==Discography==
{{Cleanup|section|reason=Formatting, non-use of wikitable(s), laundry list appearance, unreferenced|date=December 2019}}
* MW 001 [[Repercussions (band)|Repercussions]] – ''Promise''
* MW 002 Raw Stylus – ''Many Ways'' (12")
* MW 003 Palm Skin Productions – ''Getting Out Of Hell'' (12")
* 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 011 El Malo - ''Mighty & Solution'' (12")
* MW 012 DJ Takemura - ''Hoping For The Sun'' (12")
* MW 013 Palm Skin Productions – ''In A Silent Way'' (12")
* MW 014 [[DJ Shadow]] - ''In Flux''
* MW 015 The Federation – ''Remix E.P.'' (12")
* MW 016 Step - ''If'' (12")
* MW 017 La Funk Mob - ''Tribulations Extra Sensorielles''
* MW 018 RPM – ''2000 / Sortie Des Ombres''
* MW 019 Dee C. Lee - ''New Reality Vibes'' (12")
* MW 020 [[Attica Blues (band)|Attica Blues]] - ''Vibes, Scribes 'n' Dusty 45's'' E.P.
* MW 021 Deep Joy - ''Make Some Sense Of This'' (12")
* MW 022 Visionistics - ''Mysterious Ways'' (12")
* MW 023 La Funk Mob - ''Casse Les Frontieres, Fou Les Tetes em L'Air'' (2 x 10")
* MW 024 [[DJ Shadow]] / [[DJ Krush]] - ''Lost And Found (S.F.L) / Kemuri'' (12")
* MW 025 [[DJ Krush]] – ''[[Strictly Turntablized]]''
* MW 026 V.A. -''[[Headz]]''
* MW 027 DJ Shadow - ''What Does Your Soul Look Like''
* MW 028 U.N.K.L.E - ''The Time Has Come E.P.''
* MW 029 Palm Skin Productions - ''The Beast''
* MW 030 ''(no official release)''
* MW 031 Sam Sever & The Raiders Of The Lost Art - ''What's That Sound?''
* MW 032 [[Money Mark]] - '' Insects Are All Around Us''
* MW 033 DJ Krush - '' A Whim''
* MW 034 Money Mark – ''[[Mark's Keyboard Repair]]''
* MW 035 [[Luke Vibert]] - ''A Polished Solid''
* MW 036 Money Mark - ''Cry''
* MW 037 [[Rob Dougan]] – ''[[Clubbed to Death (instrumental)|Clubbed to Death]]''
* MW 038 Attica Blues - ''Blueprint''
* MW 039 DJ Krush – ''[[Meiso]] (LP)''
* MW 040 Andrea Parker - ''Melodius Thunk''
* MW 041 ''(no official release)''
* MW 042 DJ Krush - ''Meiso (Single)''
* MW 043 Money Mark - ''Third Version E.P.''
* MW 044 Money Mark - ''Legitimate Pop Songs?''
* MW 045 Andrea Parker - ''Rocking Chair''
* MW 046 [[Dr Octagon]] – ''[[Dr. Octagonecologyst]]''
* MW 047 Air - ''Modular''
* MW 048 ''(no official release)''
* MW 049 [[Carl Craig|Innerzone Orchestra]] - ''Bug In The Bassbin''
* ''MW 050 (Sam Sever - ''Zone Alone'' - Unreleased Test Pressing)''
* MW 051 Innervisions - ''Mermaids''
* MW 052 V.A. - ''Headz 2 Sampler''
* MW 053 V.A. - ''Headz 2 Sampler''
* MW 054 V.A. - ''Headz 2 Sampler''
* MW 055 Dr Octagon - ''Blue Flowers''
* MW 056 V.A. - ''Excursions''
* MW 057 DJ Shadow - ''Midnight In A Perfect World''
* MW 058 DJ Shadow - ''Stem''
* MW 059 [[DJ Shadow]] – ''[[Endtroducing.....]]''
* MW 060 DJ Krush - ''Only The Strong Survive''
* MW 061 V.A. – ''[[Headz|Headz 2A]]''
* MW 062 V.A. – ''[[Headz|Headz 2B]]''
* MW 063 DJ Shadow - ''High Noon''
* MW 064 [[Dr Octagon]] – ''[[Instrumentalyst (Octagon Beats)]]''
* MW 065 Urban Tribe - ''Eastward''
* MW 066 Money Mark - ''Hand In Your Head''
* MW 067 Attica Blues - ''Tender''
* MW 068 Dr Octagon - ''3000''
* MW 069 UNKLE - ''Berry Meditation''
* MW 070 UNKLE - ''Rock On'' (12" - One Sided Promo)
* MW 071 Luke Vibert - ''Do Unto Others''
* MW 072 [[Luke Vibert]] – ''[[Big Soup]]''
* MW 073 [[Sukia (band)|Sukia]] – ''Contacto Espacial Con El Tercer Sexo''
* MW 074 ''(no official release)''
* MW 077 DJ Krush – ''[[MiLight]]''
* MW 078 [[Liquid Liquid]] – ''Liquid Liquid''
* MW 080 [[Attica Blues (band)|Attica Blues]] – ''Attica Blues''
* MW 082 V.A. – ''The Original Artform''
* MW 085 [[UNKLE]] – ''[[Psyence Fiction]]''
* MW 088 DJ Krush – ''[[Holonic-The Self Megamix]]''
* MW 090 Money Mark – ''[[Push the Button (Money Mark album)|Push The Button]]''
* MW 099 [[Andrea Parker (DJ)|Andrea Parker]] – ''Kiss My Arp''
* MW 101 V.A. – ''Time Machine'' (mixed by [[Psychonauts (band)|Psychonauts]])
* MW 102 [[Urban Tribe]] – ''The Collapse of Modern Culture''
* MW 104 [[Tommy Guerrero]] – ''A Little Bit of Somethin'''
* MW 105 Major Force West – ''93–97''
* MW 110 V.A. – ''[[Quannum Spectrum]]''
* MW 112 [[Blackalicious]] – ''[[Nia (album)|Nia]]''
* MW 115 [[DJ Assault]] – ''Belle Isle Tech''
* MW 121 [[DJ Magic Mike]] – ''The Journey (Era of Bass Part 1)''
* MW 122 [[Divine Styler]] – ''[[Wordpower, Vol. 2: Directrix]]''
* MW 129 [[Nigo]] – ''Ape Sounds''
* MW 132 [[South (U.K. band)|South]] – ''[[From Here on In (South album)|From Here on In]]''
* MW 141 [[David Axelrod (musician)|David Axelrod]] – ''David Axelrod''
* MW 143 [[Malcom Catto]] – ''Popcorn Bubble Fish''
* MW 145 V.A. – ''Now Thing  ''
* MW 152 [[Malcolm Catto|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]]''

'''MWLP Prefix''' - Only 3 catalogue numbers were released on the LP prefix before the label started to include LP's in the main MW prefix. Also available as CD with prefix MWCD..
* MWLP 001 V.A. - ''Jazz Hip Jazz''
* MWLP 002 The Federation - ''Flower To The Sun''
* MWLP 003 V.A. - ''Royalties Overdue''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mowaxdiscography.com Mo' Wax Discography]
* [http://www.discogs.com/label/111-Mo-Wax Mo'Wax at Discogs.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20230327143653/https://www.mowaxplease.com/ Mo' Wax Please] (Archived)
* [http://www.djouls.com/mowax/index.html Review & Discography at Djouls.com]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:British record labels]]
[[Category:Electronic music record labels]]
[[Category:Hip-hop record labels]]