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Few labels become legendary in their own right, but James Lavelle's Mo' Wax has done it with the help of DJ Shadow, Attica Blues, Rob D. and Andrea Parker. Fly! talks to the instigators.

"I get second pick from James's enormous stable of groupies" jokes DJ Shadow on one of the perks of being signed to James Lavelle's Mo' Wax label. From musicians to groupies, it seems everyone has some reason for latching on to Lavelle. As the owner of the hugely successful label, there are certainly enough reasons. Having built a credible reputation over the last few years as a young man with a talent for releasing innovative music and breaking new talent, he attracted the major labels almost as soon as he began. As for the press, well in James they have the ideal '90s success story: a young man with a vision and determination which took him from stoned music freak to internationally recognised label boss and onto the glossy pages of GQ and The Face. DJ shadow probably wasn't joking after all.

But, feature spreads, business deals and pulling-power aside, Lavelle's main talent is for attracting a diverse range of outstanding artists to his label. His music policy of letting artists 'get on with it' is well respected in the industry. No conventional board room meetings to decide signings here, James either likes what you're doing or he doesn't. And that's the main criteria to secure a release. It also ensures that the likes of Attica Blues, Andrea Parker, Rob D and DJ Shadow ended up on his payroll. "I met James and sold him some Japanese Hip Hop records and it went from there. He said, 'I'm starting a new label, you're into hip hop, go into a studio and do me some tracks', which is kind of his style of doing things." Says Charlie from Attica Blues.

Attica Blues are one of the few Mo' Wax bands amongst an impressive array of solo artists. Comprised of D'Afro (the spokesman) Tony Nwathukwu (the programmer and all round music boffin) and Roba (the vocals) the London-based band sparked a great deal of interest back in August of '95 with their first single release on Mo' Wax, 'Blueprint'. Currently, the band is working on material for their forthcoming album which promises more of Attica's unique sound. Combining hip hop beats with jazzy undertones, layered with Roba's sweet vocals, it's the kind of sound which for pigeon-holing purposes would probably be somewhere near trip hop. But, in a genre predominantly fuelled by sampled sounds and break beats, Attica Blues are into creating the 'sounds' for themselves. Listen closely to a track and you'll find anything from string arrangements to original keyboard breaks. It might sound like something sampled from some obscure jazz album, but it's all been created in a small studio in South London. As D'Afro explains: "I'm tired of listening to tunes that are rehashes of things I heard five years ago - I'd rather see something fresh and new - people taking chances. . . As far as being innovative is concerned, it's time for people to start drawing upon themselves and coming out with something new." It's the kind of approach to making music which has made the band one of Mo' Wax's acts to look out for in the near future.

The same could be said for Andrea Parker. Musically, she's on a different plain from Attica Blues, but shares the same concern with originality. Parker's recent 12" release of 'Melodious Thunk' gives a taste of her dark, experimental bass-driven avant-garde techno creations, and bodes well for the album she's busy working on in the Mo' Wax studios. But, don't expect it to sound anything like the 12". The album will feature Parker's own ethereal vocals, dark lyrics and anything from a 40 piece orchestra (seriously!) to a D.A.T. recording of her driving through a carwash. "I'm a real sounds person," admits Parker, "I like to spend days finding sounds for the album, rather than just creating." And when she's not driving around with her D.A.T. recorder poised, Parker is busy working out every last part needed to piece her songs together. "I really like making life extremely difficult for myself, I've decided. I have to write my lyrics myself. I've got live musicians coming in on the album to do strings, bass, Latin percussion - but I'll always write the parts first. That's why I won't have big-time producers coming along because they'll take over. There are some brilliant producers out there, but it takes away your original sound and they've always got their own sound. Also I haven't spent 8 years collecting sounds just for someone to come along and put some cheesy keyboard over the top of it to make it more commercial."

This relentless determination to keep complete control of her music is probably what made Parker end up signing with Mo' Wax after several years of releasing material with reputable techno labels like R&S. "Other labels couldn't always see how to sell someone like me. But James, was more like, 'do what you do and if it don't sell it don't sell but at least it's something different trying to break new ground." The Lavelle gamble with innovative talent has paid off before, and Andrea Parker looks like another prospective addition to the Mo' Wax Hall of Fame.

When Parker does end up there, she'll be joining one of the first entries: DJ Shadow. His 'Influx' release back in 1992 is still regarded as one of Mo' Wax's most groundbreaking tunes- even by Lavelle himself. Not surprisingly, DJ Shadow is another studio-bound Mo' Wax artist working on a forthcoming album at the moment. "Just now, I'm putting the finishing touches on my showtunes/hip house masterpiece. It'll blow your wig off," says Shadow with typical modesty. Musically, it marks a new departure for both DJ Shadow and for Mo' Wax but is characteristics of the label's search for new musical concepts "It was Jimmy who first suggested the 'show tunes/ hip house' project. Apparently it was a big quest of his for some time. I'm too happy to see his wish fulfilled," confesses Shadow. In the process of complying to Lavelle's musical tastes, DJ Shadow has also produced his first novelty record. Until now that had been the exclusive domain of Rob D, the man behind 'Clubbed to Death'.

Lavelle's artists at Mo' Wax may have come up with a great heap of experimental vinyl over the last two years, fusing every possible combination of hybrids around a hip hop/jazz/jungle backbone. Working a funked up beats driven track around a classical string sample from Elgar might not sound like the ideal combination for beat heads, but Rob D has possibly stretched the boundaries of hip hop as far as they've ever gone. The reason for doing it seems simple enough. "Most Hip Hop is really good, but it always takes ideas from Stevie Wonder or Isaac Hayes who were really expressing themselves on a wider scale. The rhythm of hip hop music is really expressive with its aggression, so why not match it with some music which is a little more profound. That's what I'm trying to do." enthuses Rob D.

The single release of 'Clubbed To Death' back in September won him great critical acclaim and the album currently going through the last stages of production is no doubt be eagerly awaited by the music press and fans alike. But, Rob D. is struggling to get the sound he wants exactly right. To call the Aussie producer wonderboy a perfectionist would probably be an understatement. "I'm really quite perverse in the way I work," admits Rob D, "A lot of people just go in and work quickly, but I'm always worrying about whether the work I'm doing is of any worth. I get really worried if it's going to be disposable. I fret about it for days and days." But he shouldn't worry. When people start searching through the vaults of Mo' Wax in fifty years, Rob D's music is sure to stand out: even amongst the likes of DJ Shadow, Attica Blues and Andrea Parker.

Exhaustive list of Mo' Wax from UK Amazon