Wax Trax! Records
Chicago independent label pivotal to industrial and punk.
Wax Trax! Records is an independent American label from Chicago. It started as a Denver record shop in 1974, run by partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold that store in 1978 and relocated to Chicago, opening a new shop under the same name in Lincoln Park that November. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the label side of the business became a major force in industrial and punk rock music, also serving as a U.S. outlet for European acts. TVT Records bought the label in 1992, and it was shut down in 2001. Jim Nash’s daughter, Julia Nash, revived Wax Trax! in 2014. On February 6, 2025, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the old Chicago storefront a landmark.
Richard Giraldi of the *Chicago Sun-Times* compared the label’s importance to that of Chess Records, calling it just as significant to punk, new wave, and industrial genres. Critic Greg Kot said the label’s legacy was trusting the artist.
The shift from store to label was gradual. Early limited releases included a Brian Eno seven-inch. The first official Wax Trax! release was the Brian Eno single 'Wimoweh'/'Seven Deadly Finns' (WAX 001) in 1979, followed by Divine’s *Born To Be Cheap* seven-inch. But Ministry’s 1981 single “Cold Life” and the licensing of Front 242’s *Endless Riddance* EP established Wax Trax! as America’s leading industrial label of the era.
Notable artists on the label included Minimal Compact, Front 242, KMFDM, PIG, VNV Nation, Underworld, Meat Beat Manifesto, Front Line Assembly, Young Gods, Sister Machine Gun, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Coil, Chris & Cosey, Chris Connelly, Die Warzau, In the Nursery, Controlled Bleeding, The KLF, Braindead Soundmachine, Cubanate, and Laibach. It also released many side projects from Ministry’s Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker, such as Revolting Cocks, Acid Horse, Pailhead, PTP, Lead into Gold, and 1000 Homo DJs.
Nash and Flesher licensed recordings from Belgium’s Play It Again Sam and opened a North American office for that label as a division of Wax Trax!. Play It Again Sam ran Wax Trax! Europe until the partnership ended badly in the early 1990s. One artist licensed through that deal was Irish singer Roisin Murphy, whose first album *Hairless Toys* came out that way. Play It Again Sam U.S.A. was later absorbed by Caroline Records.
After a bankruptcy filing, TVT Records bought Wax Trax!
Quick Facts
- Founder
- Jim Nash / Dannie Flesher
- Country
- United States
- Location
- Chicago
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado in 1974, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago, opening a store under the same name in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in November of that year. The record store became a record label slowly at first, initially releasing limited edition records such as Brian Eno's 'Wimoweh'/'Seven Deadly Finns' seven inch. The first official Wax Trax! release was the Brian Eno single 'Wimoweh'/'Seven Deadly Finns' (WAX 001) in 1979, followed by Divine's Born To Be Cheap seven inch. The release of Cold Life by Ministry in 1981—along with the licensing of Front 242's Endless Riddance EP—set the stage for Wax Trax! to become America's preeminent industrial label of the 1980s and 1990s.
Reader's Guide
Wax Trax! Records is significant for its role in shaping the industrial and punk rock scenes in Chicago and the United States. Richard Giraldi of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, 'As important as Chess Records was to blues and soul music, Chicago's Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres.' According to critic Greg Kot, the legacy of Wax Trax is trusting the artist. The label released a wide range of influential artists, including Front 242, KMFDM, Ministry, and many side projects. After a bankruptcy filing, Wax Trax! was bought by TVT Records in 1992, with Nash and Flesher retaining creative control. TVT closed the label's doors in 2001. In 2014, Julia Nash re-established the label. On February 6, 2025, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks unanimously voted to declare the old Chicago storefront a landmark.
Did You Know?
- The label was purchased by TVT Records in 1992 and discontinued in 2001.
- In 2014, Julia Nash re-established Wax Trax! Records with a 12-inch single from Cocksure.
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