Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now: Major Force West (1999)
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…
Major Force West was a studio, production group, and record label. But before they went West, Major Force existed in Japan where they were a record label at the forefront of bringing Hip Hop to the East. While there have been several people variously related to Major Force, Masayuki Kudo and Toshio Nakanishi, who are often reffered to as “Toshi and Kudo” outside of Japan, were the two producers behind Major Force West, and alongside Takagi Kan they were the main members of Major Force who would collaborate with Mo’ Wax and their artists.
Back in Japan during 1976 Toshio Nakanishi formed a band called Plastics with Hajime Tachibana and Chica Satō. The group were not musicians, with Toshio an illustrator, Hajime a graphic designer, and Chica a stylist working at a fashion boutique. The band was influenced by everything from The Sex Pistols, Kraftwerk, and Devo, and their sound was deemed part of the New Wave. Their first single Copy / Robot was released by Rough Trade in the UK in 1979, and was followed by an album Origato Plastico released in Japan in 1980.
Plastics broke up in 1981, but Toshio Nakanishi quickly formed Melon, a new group with Chica Satō and other members of Plastics. Do You Like Japan? the debut album from Melon, was released in 1982, and continued their New Wave sound, though new influences were also apparent. While recording the album in New York, Toshi had seen Africa Bambaataa perform and was inspired to add turntable scratching to the end of Melon’s O.D. (Optimistic Depression), and in 1983 Toshi released his Homework album, a lofi mixtape with a distinctive Hip Hop influence. Homework featured Hiroshi Fujirwara scratching on it, and the pair would continue to collaborate.
1983 also saw Melon evolve as it welcomed new members including Masayuki Kudo, and when Melon’s second album Deep Cut arrived in 1987 it contained influences from New York Hip Hop and the early work of Bristol’s The Wild Bunch, who Toshi had spent time with while Melon recorded in London. The album later went out of print due to uncleared samples, but was re-released in 2005, with new versions of songs and many of the original samples removed.
Melon dissolved in 1988, but that same year Toshio Nakanishi, Hiroshi Fujirwara, Takagi Kan, Masayuki Kudo, and Gota Yashiki founded the Japanese record label Major Force. Their first release was from Tiny Panx, a group formed by Hiroshi Fujirwara and Takagi Kan, and their song Last Orgy used a mixture of English and Japanese lyrics in its rap which is hard to understand even if you’re bilingual.
The label released several 12" singles in its first two years, with songs from Hiroshi Fujirwara, Takagi Kan, Toshi, and Kudo, and they began to look for new artists too. In 1989 Major Force hosted a DJ competition which was won by DJ Krush at the start of his career, and there were talks of Krush signing to Major Force. Although this didn’t happen, the Japanese rap group Scha Dara Parr also participated in the competition and they would soon make their recording debut on Major Force, releasing two albums and several singles on Major Force between 1990–91.
By now the labels sound was evolving beyond Hip Hop, and 1991 saw the release of The 1st Kiss, an Acid Jazz sounding single from Toshi and Kudo. The album was released under the name Love T.K.O. (Love Tosh & Kudo’s Organization), and in 1992 the pair moved to London with the intention of recording a Love T.K.O. album.
Soon after moving to London, Toshi and Kudo visited Honest Jon’s record store on Portobello Rd and met James Lavelle. At the time Lavelle was working at the store, and he was just about to start his record label Mo’ Wax, as Toshi explained:
James was a Major Force collector and when he saw Japanese people, he said, “If you have a Major Force record, I’ll buy it.” I was surprised. We got along well and started Major Force West in Mo’Wax.
Major Force West was the name given to the studio set up in Mo’ Wax’s headquarters, which Toshi and Kudo moved to following the completion of Love T.K.O.’s Headturers album. Kudo later recalled the many collaborations and projects they worked on during this period:
Mo’Wax was also in the early days of activity, and Howie B had a studio for a while, with various artists coming and going every day. It was around this time that the work related to Mo’Wax requested by James increased, and I was invited to join UNKLE. It was a very busy time which was ripe for countless productions such as EMS Orchestra and Massive Attack remixes, collaboration with Howie, early UNKLE singles, Skylab, etc.
1994 saw the launch of Major Force West as a label in partnership with Mo’ Wax, but the new label only lasted one year, with five releases in 1994 including Love TKO’s Headhunter, a collaboration with Howie B, and an EP billed as Mo’ Wax v.s. Major Force which featured Time Has Come, the first UNKLE single. The Time Has Come 12" sold well, and reached #120 in the UK Singles Chart, just outside the official Top 100. In his autobiography, The Rise and Fall of Plastics, Melon, and Major Force, Toshi discussed his early work at the Major Force West studio:
At that time, the studio was in Madness’ building on Holloway Road (famous for Joe Meek), a cold, murderous street. Moreover, our studio was in the basement, and the humidity and chills were not good…
Another thing that came to my mind was when James left a record box and went out saying, “The records in this, you can sample,” and we got the basic shape of a song. A few months after I made it, it was released under the name of UNKLE, and the composer credit became James Lavelle. “I don’t say I’m composing when I leave a record and go somewhere!”, I complained…
Except Saturdays and Sundays, I basically did Major Force Studios every day. Kudo liked to go 9–5 every day and tinker with it. Sometimes it didn’t make sense, and I was messing around with it. That’s because I had time …I liked to get to the core with a quick finish.
Outside of their work with Mo’ Wax, both Toshi and Kudo also collaborated with Howie B, and the trio were joined by Mat Ducasse to form Skylab, releasing the album #1 in 1994, some of which was recorded at the Major Force West studio. The band would later release a follow up album without Howie B titled 1999, and Toshi called it “My favorite album of the recordings when I was in London”.
In 1995 Kudo joined a recording session in LA to create the debut album for UNKLE, which at the time was primarily a collaboration between Kudo and Tim Goldsworthy, guided by James Lavelle who lead the group. For the 1995 sessions they were also joined by producer Mario C, keyboardist Money Mark, and DJ Shadow. While several songs were recorded, the album was ultimately scrapped, and only a few songs from the sessions were released by UNKLE including Berry Meditation, and Garage Piano. Another UNKLE song featuring Kudo and Takagi Kan was also later released titled Last Orgy 3, which is both an homage and follow up to Tiny Panx’s Last Orgy song from 1988. But following the LA sessions, both Tim Goldsworthy and Masayuki Kudo left UNKLE and their production duties were taken over by DJ Shadow, who produced UNKLE’s debut album Psyence Fiction, which was released in 1998.
Major Force continued to be active in Japan, and in 1997 they released Out Of Body Experience, a new album by Water Melon, a Melon spin-off group which featured many of Melon’s members, including Toshi and Kudo, with this Japanese only release recorded at the Major Force West studio. 1997 also saw Mo’ Wax release a new compilation of songs from Major Force titled Major Force — The Original Art-Form. James Lavelle later said it took ten years to get permission to release the compilation, with an earlier announced 7" collection from Mo’ Wax and Major Force titled Theremin Beats never released. By now the Major Force catalogue had been out of print for years, and happy fans pushed the Mo’ Wax compilation to #43 in the UK Independent Albums Chart.
By now Toshi and Kudo’s time in London had come to an end, and in 1999 a compilation credited to Major Force West and titled 93–97 was released by Mo’ Wax which compiled various songs from Toshi and Kudo’s London years, as detailed by the albums press release:
Major Force West 93–97 tidies some of this prolific activity into a single compilation of essential beats and wild sounds. Some of the music was recorded in the legendary Major Force bunker in Mo’ Wax’s Mortimer Street offices, while other tracks date from a session at Mario Caldato’s House Of Hits which took place in late ’95…
Of note for fans of UNKLE are the songs Soup Or Salad and Abstract Soul, which were recorded as part of the 1995 UNKLE session in LA. They feature performances and production from Tim Goldsworthy, Kudo, and Money Mark, but notably don’t credit James Lavelle, suggesting that they were demos which he hadn’t had any input on yet. Toshi would later release another compilation of songs from this period in 2008, with some songs featuring Howie B, Kudo, and Simon Richmond who released music on Mo’ Wax as Palm Skin Productions.
Mo’ Wax brought out another set of Major Force releases in 2000 and 2001, with remixes of Return Of The Original Art-Form, a song by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Kudo, and DJ Milo which was originally released by Major Force in 1988. These new releases from Mo’ Wax were titled The Re-Return Of The Original Art-Form and featured remixes by DJ Format, DJ Harvey, and Cut Chemist.
One final Major Force related item was released by Mo’ Wax in 2000, and that was Ape Sounds, the debut album from BAPE founder Nigo. The album features contributions from Toshi and Kudo, as well as Money Mark and UNKLE, and was recorded at the Major Force West studios whenever Nigo visited London.
After Mo’ Wax shut down, Kudo continued collaborating with Money Mark and Nigo, producing songs for their post-Mo’ Wax releases, as well as writing and producing for other acts such as Teriyaki Boyz and Natural Calamity. Toshi meanwhile continued to release new music under various names including Blair Witch And Bush Of Ghost Project, Plastic Folk, Plastic Sex, The Japanese Noise Band, and Tycoon To$h & Terminator Troops. In his autobiography, The Rise and Fall of Plastics, Melon, and Major Force, Toshi detailed the ups and downs of his prolific career, from forming Plastics, hearing Hip Hop, and working with Mo’ Wax and Howie B’s Pussyfoot Records in England.
But while there was obviously some frustration with Mo’ Wax at the time, it seems as though everyone moved on, and in 2004 Kudo and Takagi Kan contributed an Ape Sounds Remix of UNKLE’s Panic Attack for 2004’s deluxe edition of UNKLE’s Never, Never, Land album.
After an incredibly prolific career, in May 2016 Toshio Nakanishi took part in a Plastics reunion show, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the bands formation. 2016 also saw the Plastics back catalogue reissued, and a new book was released which commemorated the bands career. Any further celebration plans were unfortunately put on hold though when in November 2016 Toshi announced he had oesophageal cancer, and he released a charity single to help pay medical bills.
Also in November 2016, Masayuki Kudo, Kan Takagi, and Gota Yashiki reunited under the Major Force banner to hold their “Return Of Original Art Form” event. James Lavelle also DJed at the event, marking the first time Kudo and James Lavelle had reunited in almost ten years, and Lavelle described the reunion as being very special to him.
In 2017 Toshio Nakanishi died aged 61, and at the time James Lavelle issued a statement eulogising Toshi which said:
I am deeply saddened to hear the news that friend, hero, icon, inspiration, pioneer of Japanese music, art and fashion, original UNKLE member and Major Force West partner has died losing his battle with cancer…You will be deeply missed thank you for all the amazing memories.
In 2018 Red Bull released a short Major Force documentary celebrating the labels 30th anniversary, and the creative output of everyone involved. The documentary features interviews with many of the labels collaborators, including James Lavelle and Nigo and was accompanied by a t-shirt designed by NEIGHBORHOOD’s Shinsuke Takizawa. Members of Major Force also reformed as a group to put on a concert as part of the celebrations, and that year Major Force Productions released Top Secret Man, a cover of the Plastics song off their 1980 album Welcome Plastics.
While their Major Force West work with Mo’ Wax have unfortunately remained out of print, Toshi and Kudo’s contributions to Howie B’s Pussyfoot Records from the same period were re-released digitally in 2018, and compilations such as Pussy Galore feature songs and artwork from Toshi and Kudo. Likewise, both Skylab albums have also been re-released digitally and are available to purchase and stream.
Most recently in Japan, 2020 saw the release of Murder Face, a new 12" from Major Force Productions, featuring contributions from Masayuki Kudo, Kan Takagi, Gota Yashiki & Leo Imai. The release was also available to buy with a hoodie or sweatshirt accompanied by a USB with the music on it. Throughout 2020 both Kudo and Takagi Kan have continued to DJ in Japan, and have kept fans updated via their respective social media pages. So far no new music has been announced, but as they said during 2018’s 30th anniversary celebrations, it’s not over yet.
Note: Many of the quotes in this article have been translated from Japanese into English and have been edited for clarity.
