Whoa.

James Lavelle presents : Urban Archaeology - A Classic Mo' Wax Def Mix by Dale Cooper on Mixcloud

This mix opens up a whole storage room full of shiny little nineties nuggets in the back of my mind.

(I would say, in retrospect, this particular part of my brain is a happy place.)

Apart from providing me with a personal soundtrack to my late teens, Mo'Wax managed to become a global phenomenon for many years, spawning some major classics with the likes of DJ Shadow, DJ Krush and Dr. Octagon. Much of the label's stunning artwork was done by 3D (from Massive Attack) and Futura 2000. (Have you read the KNOTORYUS interview with this legend?)

(image via HypeBeast)

Mo'Wax mogul James Lavelle

is setting up an exhibit spanning the full 21 years the label existed and he's funding it via Kickstarter. If you kick in a fiver, you get an exclusive mix. You can stream this mix for free below. Go to kickstarter and kick in a fiver anyway so you can download it. On the MoWax21 site, you'll find a blog on the project and a call to fans to collect their nineties images of Mo' Wax memories.

(image via slamXhype)

From the press release:

"Mo'Wax was a London-based record label that was started by James Lavelle in 1992 when he was just 18 years old.

Culturally, the label’s cocktail of influences ranged from Star Wars and Def Jam to Japanese Manga art. Crucially though, Mo’Wax was uniquely British. From Luke Vibert and Doctor Octagon to resurrecting David Axelrod and Liquid Liquid, Mo’Wax seamlessly jumped from hip hop to techno with the excitable glee of a young graffiti artist with a new wall to paint. Notable releases include La Funk Mob’s ‘357 Magnum Force’, remixed by Richie Hawtin and Carl Craig, fifteen years ahead of their commercial zenith at Cocoon, Ibiza. Equally, Lavelle cites the ‘Headz’ compilation as a key part of their creative peak, which featured music from Attica Blues, Nightmares On Wax and ‘The Time Has Come’ by UNKLE. Released in 1994 with artwork by 3D from Massive Attack, it was one of the first albums to popularize the term trip hop.

Mo’Wax scored commercial and creative payoff with the release of turntable genius DJ Shadow ‘s ‘Endtroducing’. A million-seller across the world, it caught the ears of pretty much everyone. Other key releases followed from the likes of Money Mark and of course ‘Dr. Octagonecologyst’ , the debut solo album from Dr. Octagon, which included seminal hip hop single ‘Blue Flowers’. Other key singles came from Andrea Parker – with the wistful ‘Rocking Chair’, as well as music from Liquid Liquid, DJ Krush and Rob D’s string-drenched classic ‘Clubbed To Death’. Shadow’s ‘Influx’ released in 1992 was another high point."