Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now: As One (1997)
Mo’ Wax was a record label started by James Lavelle in 1992, which closed about ten years later. Initially they released 12" singles and licensed a compilation from Japan of Japanese Hip Hop, until 1994 when they began releasing albums of their artists original work. While some of these artists such as DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, and Money Mark continued releasing music after Mo’ Wax closed, others have seemingly disappeared from the music scene. In this series I will look at each artist on Mo’ Wax and try to find out where are they now…
As One is the alias of Kirk Degiorgio whose earliest release was on an Untitled EP with songs from both of Degiorgio’s As One and Future/Past aliases, released in 1991 by B12. This was followed by further Future/Past releases on labels such as Planet E and R & S Records, as well as a slew of other releases under a variety of aliases, though he would become best known for his work as As One, with the first As One album appearing in 1994.
While his early work is categorised as Techno, by 1995 Degiorgio was becoming tired of the genre and began exploring different sounds such as Drum & Bass. It was during this period that he also noticed a lot of the music he was buying was being produced by the same people, including Rupert Parkes, aka Photoek. Degiorgio soon met Photek and the two began working together, with Photek releasing his T-Raenon 12" on Degiorgio’s Op-ART label in 1996, and the two also began collaborating and influencing each others future work. Unfortunately their musical collaborations remain unreleased, as Degiorgio later explained:
We ended up collaborating but just as we were in the middle of it, he got signed to Virgin and I got signed to Mo’Wax so we couldn’t really work together any more and went our separate ways. That experience really influenced me when it came to production and cutting up breaks.
In 1996 Mo’ Wax re-released Innerzone Orchestra’s Bug In The Bassbin with several new remixes, and one of these was the Future/Past Mix by Kirk Degiorgio. This was Degiorgio’s first appearance on Mo’ Wax, but was soon followed by the inclusion of As One’s The Counterpoint on the Headz 2B compilation album. The Counterpoint is exclusive to this album, and was only later compiled on Kirk Degiorgio’s Selected Rarities compilation album released in 2020.
1997 saw Degiorgio remix Attica Blues for Mo’ Wax, with his 3ree (A Means To Be) (As One Instrumental Remix) appearing in Febuary on the 3ree (A Means To Be) single. This was followed by an As One album, Planetary Folklore, which was released in Novemeber 1997 by Mo’ Wax. Outside of an album sampler, and the aforementioned remixes and compilation appearences, this was Degiorgio’s only release on Mo’ Wax, and also his final contribution to the label.
Planetary Folklore’s production was inspired by Degiorgio’s time with Photek as well as the new instruments Degiorgio was starting to buy, as he explained:
With the Mo Wax deal, I kitted out my studio with vintage keyboards like a Fender Rhodes, a Clavinet and a Wurlitzer…[and] I had a whole lot of great hardware effects like the Ursa Major Space Station and Moog parametric EQ…
On his old website Kirk Degiogio extensively listed the instruments used on his albums, and revealed that Planetary Folklore featured him performing with a Waldorf Wave, Waldorf Pulse, Emulator IV, Kurzweil K2000S, Latronic Notron Sequencer, Fender Rhodes Stage 73 Electric Piano Mk I, Roland CR33 Drums, and Kurzweil K2000S. The album also featured contributions from Carl Craig using an ARP Odyssey on Mind Filter, while the rest of the album features live saxophone, oboe, and guitar performances from other artists.
The sound of an As One album tends to be more influenced by Soul, Funk, and Jazz, according to Degiorgion, and reviews of Planetary Folklore agreed, likening the album to Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra and Herbie Hancock due to its “excursion into modal jazz; over rolling 7/8 breakbeats”, and Free Jazz inspirations. Muzik called it “The jazz album that Kirk De Giorgio has always been wanting to make”, and gave the album a score of 10/10, writing:
…his Mo’Wax debut is as steeped in the arcane rituals of jazz masters such as Hancock and Davis as it is in the sublime textures of modern electronica. Deeply soulful vocal tracks, lysergic acid jams, funky voodoo techno, cacophonous freestyle, it’s not an easy listen. But persevere, because “Planetary Folklore” is an essential landmark on the jazz-techno fusion highway.
Future Music gave Planetary Folklore 8/10 when they reviewed the album in 1998, and wrote:
Since the classic Amalia, Kirk Degiorgio has consistently proved himself to be one of Britain’s most inspired producers of Detroit-tinged jazz techno. His latest album … finds him in a more reflective mood, experimenting with pastoral electronics and textures which seem to owe more than ever to the classic West Coast fusion period of the early 70s…this is still a thoroughly modern album though, and it’s one which delivers a perfect lesson in the art of musical innovation.
While The Wire wrote that Planetary Folklore “represents a quantum leap” in “Degiorgio’s attempt to make a jazz album”, and that:
The record’s best moments come when Degiogio dispenses with electronics completely (at least in terms of sound), matching mood to movement through the use of ‘real’ instruments. Both “Libran Legacy” and “Amalia’s Mode” evoke the feel of his beloved 60s jazz recordings with almost uncanny accuracy.
The Wire also noted that the albums title and artwork were inspired by the artist Victor Vasarely, specifically his Planetary Folklore works. Freize also noted the comparison, calling the As One cover art “a computer-generated Vasarely-rip off of golden circles comprising a virtual ball”.
In 2001 it was reported that Planetary Folklore had sold 20,000 copies worldwide, and by then Kirk Degiorgio had left Mo’ Wax and was signed to Ubiquity Records, where he released the next As One album, 21st Century Soul. Degiorgio soon began creating music for TV commercials which allowed him expand his studio, filling it with vintage instruments, and he also explored other sounds outside of Techno, most notable with The Beauty Room, a Soft Rock band Degiorgio led, who released their self titled debut album in 2006. That year Degiorgio also released As One’s Planetary Folklore 2, and only released two more solo albums until 2019, 2013’s Kirk Degiorgio Presents Sambatek, and 2014’s Korrupt Data.
In 2019 Degiorgio began re-issuing his early As One work, and he also released Communion, the first new As One album in over ten years, which International DJ Mag described as sounding “like a futuristic echo of a bygone era: a collection of timeless-sounding electronic tracks that could have been beamed down from a far-off galaxy.” The new album is closer to the Techno sounds of early As One releases rather than the Free Jazz of Planetary Folklore, but also includes work with a full orchestra, recorded at Abbey Road.
As of October 2020, Kirk Degiorgio has now re-released the first six As One albums alongside two collections of rarities, making them all available digitally on Bandcamp. In 2020 Degiorgio also debuted a new project as Templefeld, releasing an EP in September, and has continued to present a radio program on Worldwide FM which explores Jazz and various other obsessions of its host. He has also presented videos on creating electronic music on Sonic Academy, with the most recent episodes focusing on using VST effects.
