The Man from Mo'Wax

Last updated
The Man From Mo'Wax
The Man From Mo Wax.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Jones
Produced by
  • M.J. McMahon
  • Matthew Jones
  • Brian A. Hoffman
Starring
CinematographyMiguel Medina
Edited byAlec Rossiter
Production
company
Capture
Distributed by
Release date
  • 15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)(SXSW)
  • 30 August 2018 (2018-08-30)(United Kingdom)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$25,502 [1]

The Man From Mo'Wax is a 2016 documentary film about DJ and record label boss James Lavelle.

Documentary film nonfictional motion picture

A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record. "Documentary" has been described as a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries. Documentary films were originally called 'actuality' films and were only a minute or less in length. Over time documentaries have evolved to be longer in length and to include more categories, such as educational, observational, and even 'docufiction'. Documentaries are also educational and often used in schools to teach various principles. Social media platforms such as YouTube, have allowed documentary films to improve the ways the films are distributed and able to educate and broaden the reach of people who receive the information.

James Lavelle British DJ

James Lavelle 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 Meltdown festival on London's South Bank, and curated the 2016 exhibition Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick at Somerset House. He was the subject of 2018 documentary film The Man From Mo'Wax.

Contents

Directed by Matthew Jones, and produced by M.J. McMahon, Matthew Jones and Brian A. Hoffman. The Man From Mo'Wax had its European premiere as part of the 2016 BFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2016 and was given a cinema release in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2018.

BFI London Film Festival annual film festival held in London, United Kingdom

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1953 and held in the United Kingdom, running in the second half of October with cooperation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shorts from approximately 50 countries.

Overview

The film follows Lavelle's life from childhood, documenting his rapid rise to fame following the founding of his record label Mo' Wax. [2] The film focuses on various pivotal moments in Lavelle's career, starting with his days writing for Straight No Chaser , and putting on club nights in London. Lavelle's shift from A&R man to musical artist as part of UNKLE becomes the central theme, with his fractious relationship with DJ Shadow unfolding throughout.

Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy in 1992. 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 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 in 1996. Some of the Mo' Wax catalogue is now part of the Beggars Group, but there are rumors that the label itself has folded and is no longer putting out new releases.

<i>Straight No Chaser</i> (magazine)

Straight No Chaser is an influential British music magazine based in London, originally published between 1988 and 2007, it restarted publishing in mid 2017 in a limited edition format, released once a year. The magazine covers various forms of black music and electronic music.

DJ Shadow American trip-hop musician

Joshua Paul Davis, better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American record producer and DJ. He first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut studio album, Endtroducing...... He has a personal record collection of over 60,000 records.

Development

The film was initially produced under the working title The Man From UNKLE, and later Artist & Repertoire. The film makes extensive use of private archive footage provided by both Lavelle and Shadow. Over 700 hours of footage were unearthed by the filmmakers. [2]

Reception

As of 3 January 2019, The Man From Mo'Wax with a limited release, had grossed $25,502. [1]

Limited release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically in major metropolitan markets.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 13 reviews. [3] Time Out film critic Philip De Semlyen described it as “A warts-and-all tales of hubris and heavyweight beats”. [4]

A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services. This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users can view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies, and creating databases for companies to learn about their actual and potential customers. The system enables users to easily compare many different reviews of the same work. Many of these systems calculate an approximate average assessment, usually based on assigning a numeric value to each review related to its degree of positive rating of the work.

Rotten Tomatoes American review aggregator for film and television, owned by Fandango

Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. The name "Rotten Tomatoes" derives from the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes when disapproving of a poor stage performance.

<i>Time Out</i> (magazine) magazine

Time Out is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. Time Out started its publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 315 cities in 58 countries worldwide.

Charts

Charts (2018)Peak
position		Ref(s)
UK Official Music Video Chart (OCC)1 [5]

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Unkle British electronica band

Unkle are a British musical outfit founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Originally categorised as trip hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.

<i>Endtroducing.....</i> 1996 studio album by DJ Shadow

Endtroducing..... is the debut album by American music producer DJ Shadow, released on September 16, 1996 by Mo' Wax. It is composed almost entirely of samples, mostly from vinyl records, and features moody, slow tracks and upbeat jams reminiscent of Shadow's early hip hop influences. Shadow produced Endtroducing over two years using minimal equipment, particularly an MPC60 sampler.

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Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. He has been living and working in New York City since 1999.

Attica Blues are a UK trip hop band, who made their debut releases on the Mo' Wax label. Taking their name from an Archie Shepp album, the band have also provided remixes for Ultra Naté, Sneaker Pimps, Silent Poets and DJ Krush.

<i>More Stories</i> 2008 studio album by Unkle

More Stories is a selection of UNKLE works and remixes created during the War Stories era. The album was released in Japan on 16 January 2008, followed by a 31 January release date in Australia.

Richard "Rich" File is a composer and music producer, best known for his work with James Lavelle as part of Unkle. He has also released singles under the alias Forme.

Malcolm Catto is a British musician and producer. He is the co-founder and producer of the London psych'/jazz/experimental outfit The Heliocentrics. The Heliocentrics have so far released four of their own albums but have also issued collaborations with DJ Shadow, Mulatu Astatke, Lloyd Miller, Orlando Julius and Melvin Van Peebles.

Psychonauts, also known as The Psychonauts, are a British music duo. They consist of Pablo Clement and Paul Mogg. The two met in Somerset, UK, while "digging through crates at the local record store". Clement is also a member of James Lavelle's Unkle project.

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Elliott Omar Power-Taiwo, simply known as Elliott Power, is a British recording artist, born and raised in West London. Power released his debut single Sink/Swim in 2013 on Marathon Artists. His debut album Once Smitten was released in 2016 as a Marathon Artists and Mo' Wax collaboration. In 2015 The Elliott Power songs Sword Souls and On The Windrush were remixed by UNKLE and featured on Global Underground #GU41: James Lavelle Presents UNKLE Sounds - Naples compilation.

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References

  1. 1 2 "The Man From Mo'Wax (2018) - Financial Information". the-numbers.com. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Synopsis". The Man From Mo'Wax. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "THE MAN FROM MO'WAX (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Film review: The Man From Mo'Wax - Philip De Semlyen
  5. ↑ Official Music Video Chart Top 50 - 23 September 2018 – 29 September 2018
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