FAX +49-69/450464 (also known as simply 'FAX' or 'FAX label') was a German record label founded in Frankfurt in 1992 by ambient musician Peter Kuhlmann (who recorded as Pete Namlook, a phonetic inversion of his surname). It was originally devoted to Namlook's collaborations with other German electronic artists, primarily in hard trance and hardcore styles, but soon expanded with the debut of the ambient Silence and Air projects; consequently, ambient and downtempo music became the predominant focus of the label.
The main label has three principal subdivisions, indicated by the first two letters of a given record's catalog number. PK is typically for Namlook's solo releases, PW ('Peter's World') is for collaborations with international artists – including Turkish folk musician Burhan Öçal as Sultan, English DJ Mixmaster Morris as Dreamfish and Japanese ambient artist Tetsu Inoue as Shades of Orion, 2350 Broadway and 62 Eulengasse – and PS ("Peter's Sublabel") releases records by other artists – without Namlook – of diverse nationalities and idioms, including US guitarist Robert Musso, bassist Bill Laswell, German techno producer David Moufang (aka Move D) and English sound artist Chris Meloche. In addition to these divisions, there are three sub-labels: Yesterday & Tomorrow (YT), Ambient World (AW) and Rather Interesting (RI). Yesterday & Tomorrow issued a series of albums juxtaposing ambient and the "ambient side" of classical chamber music (which has been unofficially discontinued, with no releases since 1995). Ambient World is dedicated to the re-issuing of otherwise out-of-print FAX discs, particularly those from the 1990s. Rather Interesting is a label maintained by German IDM musician Uwe Schmidt, with the vast majority of its catalog being his solo material, issued under a multitude of aliases.
Until the creation of the Ambient World sub-label and the subsequent release of its discography on the iTunes Store, all FAX records were issued in extremely limited quantities, with typically 500–1000 pressings depending on the project. That has resulted in FAX originals fetching high prices on eBay and other online auction websites.
Label founder Pete Namlook died of unspecified causes on 8 November 2012, although no official statement regarding the label's future has been made.