Trax Records: The 40th Anniversary

Specifications: 180 gram black vinyl, cut at 45 rpm for superior audio quality, high fidelity mastering.
Label: Red central label, faithful to Trax tradition, with white logo and titles drawn in industrial font.
Inner sleeve: Matte black, elegant and protective, recalls the old school essentiality of underground releases, maintaining an aesthetic coherence with the entire project.
Feeling: Solid, heavy to the touch, designed to last over time and offer a deep and dynamic listening, both on professional systems and in clubs.

Born in Chicago, spread across the world: Trax Records ignited a global cultural revolution with the raw sound of House Music. A label that didn’t just release records—Trax changed lives, built communities, and rewrote the rules of dance culture.

Chicago, 1984. In a modest vinyl pressing plant on the city’s industrial west side, one of the most influential record labels in electronic music history was born: Trax Records.

Founded by Larry Sherman, a savvy and unconventional businessman who had recently acquired Precision Record Pressing, Trax began almost by accident — but went on to change music forever. Sherman started pressing vinyl for local DJs and producers who had no access to major labels, giving them a platform to capture the sound rising from Chicago’s underground dancefloors.

Trax Records quickly became the spiritual and literal home of House Music — a genre still in its infancy, forged in the sweaty clubs and marginalized neighborhoods of the city by Black and Latinx DJs and producers. A hybrid of disco, funk, and electronic experimentation, house was raw, soulful, and revolutionary.

Early Trax releases like “No Way Back” by Adonis, “Your Love” by Jamie Principle & Frankie Knuckles, and “Move Your Body” by Marshall Jefferson weren’t just records — they were cultural manifestos. Pressed on low-budget, often noisy vinyl, their sonic power was undeniable. These tracks became underground anthems, then worldwide hits, spreading house music from Chicago to New York, London, Berlin, and Tokyo.

Despite controversies surrounding Sherman’s business practices — including disputes over royalties and artist rights — Trax became synonymous with House Music itself: bold, unpolished, and liberating. The red logo, lo-fi artwork, and unmistakable analog sound became visual and auditory icons of an era.

Today, 40 years later, Trax Records is more than a label. It is a symbol of creative freedom, cultural resistance, and the power of music to ignite global movements. Its birth didn’t just mark a milestone in Chicago’s music scene — it sparked a worldwide revolution.

Trax Records Is Releasing a 40th-Anniversary Compilation This Summer

Out digitally and on vinyl in June, Trax Records: The 40th Anniversary Collection features classics by house pioneers including Frankie Knuckles & Marshall Jefferson.

Trax Records is releasing a hefty compilation project next month as part of the label’s ongoing 40-year-anniversary celebrations.

Out digitally and on vinyl on June 20, Trax Records: The 40th Anniversary Collection features singles and remixes by house pioneers including Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson, Ron Carroll, Frankie Bones and Joey Beltram, along with work by the label’s late founder Larry Sherman and its longtime owner/president Rachael Cain, who has long made music under the name Screamin Rachael.

The project was curated by the label’s creative director Jorge Cruz, who’s been with Trax since 2009. Cruz will play as part of a release party for the project happening at Chicago’s Reckless Records on June 20. Beyond Cruz’s set focused on the history of Trax, the event will feature sets by Joe Smooth, Ron Carroll, Screamin’ Rachael and more.

The project will also be available for purchase via limited-edition vinyl drops. On June 20, the first batch of songs of the compilation’s 40 total tracks will be released, with subsequent vinyl releases each containing six to seven tracks to maximize sound quality and happening through January 2026. Vinyl will be available at record stores worldwide.

The Trax plant opened in Chicago in 1984, with the label business becoming officially incorporated the following year, amid the dawn of house music, with Trax widely recognized as a crucial early hub for evolution and dissemination of the genre. In its early years, the label released key house tracks, including Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle’s “Your Love,” Marshall Jefferson’s “The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body)” and many other genre-defining classics by artists like DJ Pierre, Ron Hardy, Mr. Fingers, Phuture, Maurice Joshua and Screamin’ Rachael.

The label also recently announced the release of its first vinyl release in more than a decade, Rising Again, a six-track compilation that’s out now.

CAROL JIANI

"First of all congratulations for the label still going strong 40th year. I come from old school and loved the songs "Move Your Body" Marshall Jefferson Classic. The late Legendary Frankie Knuckels and Jamie Priciple's "Baby Wants To Ride" Great melody lines and keeping House Music alive.It means a great deal to me that we are bringing back the good old days . In those days the fans knew exactly what songs were coming on.Thank you Trax for bringing and keeping great melody lines alive.Music remains the greatest therapy in a very difficult world."