THE MAN FROM MO’ WAX (MUSIC  FROM THE MOTION PICTURE).

dereksmusicblog ♦ September 1, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture).

Label: UMC.

Twenty-six years ago in 1992, eighteen year old British electronic musician James Lavelle, and DJ, producer and recording artist Tim Goldsworthy cofounded a new record label Mo’ Wax. Little did anyone realise that Mo’ Wax would go on to release some of the most important, influential and innovative electronica, hip hp[ and trip hop releases over the next twenty-six years. This includes tracks by Hiroshi and Kudo, Zimbabwe Legit, Marie ‘Queenie’ Lyons and The Wild Bunch plus trip hop classics from La Funk Mob, Attica Blues, Dr. Octagon, DJ Krush, RPM and DJ Shadow who released his classic album Entroducing in 1996. Tracks from these artists feature on The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) which has just been released by UMC.

The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) documents James Lavelle’s career between 1992 and 2018, and the rise and rise of a man who became one of the most influential men in British music, James Lavelle. 

While James Lavelle is an influential figure within the British music, he’s regarded as enigmatic. The new film is valiant attempt to understand The Man From Mo’ Wax.To understand this enigmatic powerbroker, the filmmaker unearthed over 700 hours of film and interviewed DJ Shadow, Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja  Ian Brown, Futura, Thom Yorke and Grandmaster Flash. They help tell the story of one of the most enigmatic yet influential figures in contemporary British culture.

The Man From Mo’ Wax is far from a PR exercise and looks at the highlights and low points of James Lavelle’s  three decade career. This takes place against a soundtrack that features trip hop classics from  DJ Shadow, La Funk Mob, Attica Blues, Dr.Octagon, DJ Krush and  RPM. There’s also tracks that James Lavelle cowrote and  produced  with Thom Yorke, Ian Brown and Queens of the Stone Age. They’re joined by tracks from Hiroshi and Kudo, Zimbabwe Legit, Marie ‘Queenie’ Lyons and The Wild Bunch on The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture).

Opening The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) is Unkle’s Back In Forth which is taken from their 1993 sophomore album Never, Never which was released by Island Records. Never, Never was the followup to their classic debut album Psyence Fiction which was released in 1988. Five years later and controversy surrounded  the original version of Back In Forth, which featured a sample  of Black Sabbath’s Change. This seemed like an unlikely inspirations for Unkle who were one  of pioneers of hip hop. 

Marie ‘Queenie’ Lyons wrote See and Don’t See as a single of DeLuxe in 1972. It’s funky, soulful and features a vocal powerhouse from Marie ‘Queenie’ Lyons.

The Wild Bunch released Friends and Countrymen as a single on Island Records in 1986. It was hip hop with a message, and is a reminder of the genre’s glory days.

In 1994 RPM released Food Of My De-Rhythm which combined crisp beats, carefully selected samples, scratching, a scorching  saxophone,  a dirty bass synth and uber funky guitar. Given a stir by RPM and the result is Mo’ Wax perfection,

Hip hoppers Blackalicious released Swan Lake as a single on the Solesides label in October 1994. It’s soulful, funky, jazz-tinged  and melodic hip hop that is timeless.

Attica Blues released their Vibes, Scribes ‘N’ Dusty 45’s EP in 1994 which featured Contemplating Jazz. It’s a jazzy and soulful slice of trip hop from Attica Blues.

In 1994, Dr Octagon released their eponymous debut album  on Bulk Recordings. One of the album’s highlights was the futuristic and otherworldly hip hop of Blue Flowers. It was a taste of what was to come from Dr Octagon.

When DJ Shadow released High Noon as a single on Mo’ Wax in 1997, it featured the extended of Organ Donor. This was a tantalising taste of what was to come from DJ Shadow. Two years later, in 1996, DJ Shadow released his trip hop classic Endtroducing…..which  featured Organ Donor. 

Josh Homme and James Lavelle joined force to write and produce Like Clockwork. which lent its name to Queens Of The Stone Age 2013 album. It was certified gold in Australia, Canada and Britain, and was also nominated for a Grammy Award.

Closing The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) is DJ Shadow’s What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1).It was released by as a single on Mo’ Wax in 1994, and in 1996 featured on the trip hop classic Endtroducing….which is still one of the best albums released on Mo Wax.

For anyone yet to discover the music of Mo’ Wax The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) offers the perfect introduction to the label and the music that inspired it. There’s sixteen tracks including electronica, hip hop and trip hop on Mo’ Wax The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) which provides the musical backdrop to the documentary about the enigmatic James Lavelle. 

He masterminded the rise and rise of Mo’ Wax and in the process  became one of the most  important and influential figures in British music. Now some twenty-six years after James Lavelle cofounded Mo’Wax The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture) is a reminder of the music that influenced and inspired him, and that he went on to write, record and release.

The Man From Mo’ Wax (Music From The Motion Picture).