Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now: Mistura (1993)

James Gaunt
Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now
4 min readMay 10, 2020

--

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…

Mistura’s Coast To Coast 12" single (1993)

Mistura is a Brazillian Jazz outfit lead by Rowland Sutherland who released their debut 12" on Mo’ Wax in 1993, Coast To Coast. The insert from the white label promo release states that the record represents the “typical sound of Jazz renowned for being played in such classic Jazz clubs as ‘Talkin’ Loud’ n ‘Kudo’”, referring to the club nights hosted by Gilles Peterson (Talkin’ Loud) and James Lavelle (Kudo) during this time. Furthing his connection with Lavelle, Sutherland appeared on a mini-LP release from That’s How It Is in 1994, the second release from the club, put out to promote the regular Monday night hosted by James Lavelle and Gilles Peterson.

Mistura was founded by flautist, composer and arranger Rowland Sutherland in the 1980’s while Sutherland was finishing college and he was heavily interested in Brazilian music. Regarding the name he told UK Vibe:

“The name ‘Mistura’ means mix, mixture, or mixing in Brazilian Portuguese. I originally called it ‘Mistura Brasileira’ as in Brazilian mix, as initially I was mostly blending a mixture of authentic Brazilian music with Jazz, plus playing some originals of mine.”

The group were initially a nine piece, and began playing gigs around the UK in 1989, but it became too difficult for Sutherland to manage so he disbanded the group in 1992, telling UK Vibe:

I was getting a lot of requests to play with the band at different venues including Jez Nelson’s ‘Something Else’ nights at Jazz Café, on Gilles Peterson’s Talking Loud at the Fridge in Brixton. I was feeling a different sound by then, which was more Jazz Fusion with the Funk and Soul feel, surrounded by various Brazilian elements. After a year and a half I reformed the band as a septet and had just one percussionist, Richard Ajileye, who was a founding member of the band along with pianist Mark Donlon.

It was this lineup who recorded Coast To Coast, Sutherland’s lone release on Mo’ Wax, which Sutherland said “did really, really well, especially in Japan.” Mistura would next release music in 1998, now called Rowland Sutherland’s Mistura, when they featured on the B-side of a split release with Ithamara Koorax & Friends, with both contributing two songs.

This was followed by an album in 2002, also called Coast To Coast, and featuring seven tracks, four of which were written by Sutherland. The Guardian said of the album:

“…the band is an entertaining Latin-Brazilian outfit, heavy in the trombone and percussion departments. It’s a dream setting for a flute player, and Sutherland shines throughout…Coast to Coast is a self-produced affair, with dull spots, but not bad within the scope of its genre.”

In 2014 Sutherland re-teamed with James Lavelle when he performed at James Lavelle’s Meltdown Festival. Straight No Chaser editor Paul Bradshaw, who employed James Lavelle to write a column prior to the launch of Mo’ Wax Records, was given an evening to curate. The event was called Enlightenment, and Bradshaw asked Rowland Sutherland to perform, with Sutherland first performing a set called Deep Vibes, followed by a tribute performance to John Coltrane.

This second set was called Enlightenment — A re-envisioning of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, and was introduced by Bradshaw who explained that they had recieved a grant from the PRS Foundation for Rowland to create this new piece. The concert was well received by the press and sold out in ten days, leading to a matinee being added. The performance was later broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and performed again at the end of 2014 at Union Chapel, and once more in 2016.

Across his career Sutherland has released music with groups such as Icebreaker, and The London Improvisers Orchestra, as well as contributing his skills to songs by Joss Stone, Us3, Masters at Work, MC Solaa, and Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar soundtrack. Most recently he contributed the song Sutherland’s New Law to The London Improvisers Orchestra’s album We Stay Apart Because We Love Each Other. Love Is Stronger Than Greed which released in April 2020.

Rowland Sutherland currently lectures at the University of Kent, and has worked with Trinity College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, and Birmingham Conservatoire.

--

--

James Gaunt
Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now

An Australian writer with a passion for research. James edits music fanzine The Shadow Knows and writes regularly about Mo’ Wax Records. www.jamesgaunt.com