Wax Trax! Records

American record label

Parent label: Wax Trax! Records, Inc.·Est. 1978

waxtraxfilms.comtwitch.tvwaxtraxchicago.comwaxtrax.com

The Wax Trax! story started in the mid-1970s when partners (in both the relationship and business sense) Jim Nash (2) and Dannie Flesher opened a record store under that name in Denver, Colorado. In 1978, they sold the Denver store (which is still open) and moved to Chicago, Illinois, where they opened a new Wax Trax! location. After releasing a couple of low-key limited edition records, Nash and Flesher officially launched the Wax Trax! record label on a wider scale in 1981 with the release of a 12" EP by experimental punk band Strike Under, followed in 1982 by a 7" by disco/dance artist Divine. But it was their third release - a re-issue of Ministry's "Cold Life" EP, which had been one of their earlier limited edition offerings - that really set the tone for the label's future as North America's premiere home for electro-industrial music. Aside from releasing the early Ministry/Revolting Cocks material, Wax Trax! specialized mainly in licencing European releases by artists such as Front 242, Coil and Laibach. They had a very close relationship with Play It Again Sam, initially sub-licencing many of their releases, and later launching an official Play It Again Sam Records USA label. The label fell on hard times in the early 1990s due to many of their artists leaving for major labels. In 1992/93, the label was bought by TVT Records and remained active with Nash & Flescher retaining creative control. But despite their involvement the pioneering spirit of the label never recovered. Nash's death in 1995 was considered by many signal the true end of the label, but TVT continued to use the imprint for many of their electronic releases, including several titles licensed from Warp Records, until the late '90s. On June 14, 2014, Wax Trax! (now led by Jim Nash's daughter, Julia Nash) officially released its first new music in twenty years with the 'TKO Mindfuck' 12" single by Cocksure (Chris Connelly and Jason Novak).

Discography

336 albums
search
swap_vertexpand_more

Tri Repetae++

Autechre · 1995

Studio Album

Dubnobasswithmyheadman

Underworld · 1994

Studio Album

Incunabula

Autechre · 1993

Studio Album

Amber

Autechre · 1994

Studio Album

Second Toughest In The Infants

Underworld · 1996

Studio Album

Geography

Front 242 · 1982

Studio Album

Front By Front

Front 242 · 1988

Studio Album

The Dark Age Of Love

Coil · 2022

Studio Album

Opus Dei

Laibach · 1987

Studio Album

Official Version

Front 242 · 1987

Studio Album

Love's Secret Domain

Coil · 1991

Studio Album

Tactical Neural Implant

Front Line Assembly · 1992

Studio Album

Symbols

KMFDM · 1997

Studio Album

Caustic Grip

Front Line Assembly · 1990

Studio Album

Nihil

KMFDM · 1995

Studio Album

Chill Out

The KLF · 1990

Studio Album

Angst

KMFDM · 1993

Studio Album

No Comment

Front 242 · 1984

Studio Album

Nova Akropola

Laibach · 1986

Studio Album

Surfing On Sine Waves

Polygon Window · 1993

Studio Album

A Way Of Life

Suicide · 1988

Studio Album

Beers, Steers + Queers (The Compact Disc)

Revolting Cocks · 1990

Studio Album

The Young Gods

The Young Gods · 1987

Studio Album

Confessions Of A Knife...

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult · 1990

Studio Album

Gashed Senses & Crossfire

Front Line Assembly · 1989

Studio Album

Naïve

KMFDM · 1990

Studio Album

Interference

Cubanate · 1998

Studio Album

Don't Blow Your Top

KMFDM · 1988

Studio Album

Adios

KMFDM · 1999

Studio Album

Heartbeat

Chris And Cosey · 1981

Studio Album

Tenebrae Vision

Cyberaktif · 1991

Studio Album

Trance

Chris And Cosey / The Creative Technology Institute · 1982

Studio Album

Bytes

Black Dog Productions · 1993

Studio Album

Corrosion

Front Line Assembly · 1988

Studio Album

Xtort

KMFDM · 1996

Studio Album

Big Sexy Land

Revolting Cocks · 1986

Studio Album

Sexplosion!

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult · 1991

Studio Album

Time Tourist

B12 · 1996

Studio Album

What Do You Know, Deutschland?

KMFDM · 1986

Studio Album

Bible Of Dreams

Juno Reactor · 1997

Studio Album

Buried Dreams

CLOCKDVA · 1989

Studio Album

Smokers Delight

Nightmares On Wax · 1995

Studio Album

Technø Primitiv

Chris And Cosey · 1985

Studio Album

... From The Inside

A Split - Second · 1988

Studio Album

Praise The Fallen

VNV Nation · 1998

Studio Album

Money

KMFDM · 1992

Studio Album

Songs Of Love & Lust

Chris And Cosey · 1984

Studio Album

Grinding Into Emptiness

Noise Unit · 1989

Studio Album