Nightmares on Wax
Encyclopedia
George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE (Experimental Sample Expert), is a DJ from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. His music is released on Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

 and was one of the first releases on the label. Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew. He met Kevin Harper and together they released their first album in 1991, a techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...

-edged record entitled "A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter
A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter
A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter is the debut album of the trip hop artist Nightmares on Wax.-Track listing:# "Nights Interlude" # "A Case of Funk" # "Coming Down" # "Stop " # "Biofeedback"...

". This was the beginning of NoW's career. Today, Harper is a solo DJ and Evelyn is accompanied by Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth is a British musician and label owner, notable for performance, songwriting and production on various projects including Nightmares on Wax, Olive, Backyard Dog, and BudNubac....

 and has created a sound that is not classifiable, a "sound of the beats is what makes nightmares."

It is not a coincidence that the name Nightmares on Wax is an acronym for NOW, as they describe their music as "the sound of N.O.W." to exemplify the raw honesty and artistic freedom. George elaborates, "Today’s music is inspired by whatever has gone on before. That’s what fascinates me. Soul music is the earliest form of hip hop. That’s why I want to create it. It might seem like recreating what was done in the past, but what I want to do is merge soul and hip hop together. That’s why I’ll bring in the live aspect of what happened back then into current hip hop trends. That’s the angle I’m arriving at."

Early career

Before the popularity of Nightmares on Wax, George Evelyn was raised listening to soul music. His father and sister specifically led him to be influenced by Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

 and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...

. Later, as rap music became more popular, he was fascinated by the likes of Rappers Delight and Buffalo Gals
Buffalo Gals
"Buffalo Gals" is a traditional American song, written and published as "Lubly Fan" in 1844 by the blackface minstrel John Hodges, who performed as "Cool White." The song was widely popular throughout the United States...

. Due to this wave of hip-hop in the 1988, DJ EASE was inspired to join a breakdance crew where he grew close to Kevin Harper, a fellow b-boy who had a similar background. They created a team today known as Nightmares on Wax. This alliance stemmed to their earliest stages of popularity, releasing their single “Dextrous” in 1990. This was the beginning of their career but what really made Wax a noteworthy presence in the musical arena was their No. 38 hit, "Aftermath." The track was an important part of the new wave of music that incorporated hip-hop with a digital break down, creating “something that identified with the b-boys. We wanted to do tracks that had hip hop beats but experimented with ideas”. This was an innovative musical sensation known as the "Northern Bleep", which combines the bleep of techno over of a hip-hop based track. This was done by many other artists, for example, The Forgemasters, LFO
LFO
LFO may refer to:* LFO , an English techno act* LFO , an American three-man pop/rap group** LFO , an album released by the American pop group LFO* Light Finding Operation, a form of mecha from the anime TV series Eureka Seven...

, and Unique 3.

In 1991, NoW released "A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter
A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter
A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter is the debut album of the trip hop artist Nightmares on Wax.-Track listing:# "Nights Interlude" # "A Case of Funk" # "Coming Down" # "Stop " # "Biofeedback"...

" in the same experimental fashion, but that was the end. The album was built in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, where Evelyn complied the samples that were recorded on two sets of tapes while co-running the Headz Club. Poverty Records recorded on one set of tapes self-titled the Poverty tapes that contained the finished tracks. The other set was a record of prototype ideas titled EASE tapes. To explain his process, Evelyn described NoW’s composition strategies stating, “I just built the tracks around these ideas that I’ve had for the last four years. The only think that changed was bringing in live musicians and editing.”

A change in direction

After A Word of Silence, Nightmares disappeared from the music scene for a four-year hiatus as promised in the sub title "The First and Final Chapter." Evelyn went on to run The Headz Club in Leeds. At this time, he also developed their record label, Poverty Records. He returned to the artistic side of the music industry with a track on the Mo' Wax Headz compilation. The next Nightmares on Wax album release was not until Smokers Delight
Smokers Delight
Smokers Delight is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on October 24, 1995 . The album's opening track, Nights Introlude, includes a sample of Quincy Jones's cover of Summer in the City.-Track listing:...

in 1995, by which time Harper had left to pursue a career in DJing. This is the album that truly gave token to DJ EASE's soul background, with tones similar to that of Barry White evident in the slo'mo, soulistic roots of the music. Evelyn was joined on keyboards and programming by Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth is a British musician and label owner, notable for performance, songwriting and production on various projects including Nightmares on Wax, Olive, Backyard Dog, and BudNubac....

 with whom he began to record more of his trademark chill-out tracks, and brought in a variety of musicians, writers, vocalists, and rappers, giving the music a greater variety as well as allowing him to take the band out on tour. This album was also known as the break through into the American market. Some critics described the album as an anthem to the use of Marijuana. "Carboot Soul
Carboot Soul
Carboot Soul is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on April 12, 1999 .-Track listing:# "Les Nuits" – 6:20 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Morse" – 6:21 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Ethnic Majority" – 4:31# "Jorgé" – 2:29...

" was another break though album as well as the first album to be domestically distributed through US label, Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

. The album featured underground soul singer Sara Winton, Hamlet Luton on Bass, Chris Dawkins on guitar, and Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth
Robin Taylor-Firth is a British musician and label owner, notable for performance, songwriting and production on various projects including Nightmares on Wax, Olive, Backyard Dog, and BudNubac....

 on keyboards with the Pure Strings Orchestra harmonizing on strings. EASE is credited for his role in the mixing of the music as well as producer along with Glyn Poole. Bruce Wood is credited as the engineer of the album. The culmination of these musicians became known as the band called Nightmares on Wax and defined their live sound on their 1999 tour.

This was a change for NoW, as they began as a DJ based group. Their new found contribution of live musicians allowed for a the group to operate more like a band than a studio act. The drum machine however, was not replaced with a live musician, remaining true to its original technology based tracks. No longer in partnership with Kevin Harper, Evelyn had the opportunity to expand and better that which he and Kevin Harper started. His strategy to do so was clear as he added the live artists, adding authenticity and validity to his work. He explains that “Doing the live side proves there is more to the music. People have something more tangible to relate the music to and it gives us the chance to connect with the audience. Also I’ve always had this idea of creating a big band – which is what we call our sound. The main priority for NOW is to prove that we can perform music. But we’re not ignoring the fact that we come from a studio, technical background. We just want to mix the old with the new. That’s why, at the moment, I don’t have a live drummer. The sound of the beats is what makes Nightmares.”

Music business

After "Carboot Soul
Carboot Soul
Carboot Soul is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on April 12, 1999 .-Track listing:# "Les Nuits" – 6:20 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Morse" – 6:21 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Ethnic Majority" – 4:31# "Jorgé" – 2:29...

," NoW did not release another album until 2002. In the meantime, Evelyn exchanged his artistic license for a business one and spent the next several years concentrating on establishing himself as a producer and musical consultant before returning to the creative side of the industry.

In 2000, Evelyn assisted in the comeback of hip hop pioneers De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

, when they appeared on the EP The Sound of N.O.W.. Although De La Soul have maintained a steady, loyal and strong fanbase since the beginning of their career some music critics have suggested that Evelyn's EP helped push them back into the public eye. That same year, Evelyn produced a Studio: K7 mixtape called DJ Kicks.

In 2005, Evelyn started his own independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

, "WAX ON Records". Taylor-Firth followed in his fellow band mate's footsteps and also started his own label named BlancoMusic.

Return to music composition and mixing

In 2002, Evelyn reclaimed his artistic license with the release of his 4th LP under Warp Records, Mind Elevation
Mind Elevation
Mind Elevation is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on September 2, 2002 .-Track listing:# "Mind Eye" – 7:05# "Say-Say" – 4:39# "Thinking of Omara" – 5:33# "Date With Destiny" – 5:11# "Bleu My Mind" – 3:50...

, and came back with an even more innovative creative helmet and several years of business experience under his belt. Despite his return to the creative side of the industry, he has held a firm grasp on foundations of a business he is perpetually expanding. He continued to evolve his new label and build a network of little known artists searching for their musical identity, honesty, and freedom.

Four years later in March 2006, NoW released their 5th LP, In a Space Outta Sound
In a Space Outta Sound
In a Space Outta Sound is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on March 7, 2006 .-Track listing:# "Passion" – 7:00# "The Sweetest" – 5:24# "Flip Ya Lid" – 5:24# "Pudpots" – 3:42# "Damn" – 7:38# "You Wish" – 3:30...

again under Warp Records. When addressed about the amount of time between the records, Evelyn expressed his distaste for schedules, joking that they made him break out in a rash. To keep in the spirit of network's mantra, Evelyn explains that NoW is very focused on allowing things to happen and not forcing albums into production.

In 2008, NoW released their final LP under Warp titled thought so.... Shortly after in 2009, another record named Coming Home was released, this time under WAX ON Records.

Recent activity

In 2009, Nightmares on Wax toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 stopping in eleven cities in January and February including Boston, MA; New York, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR; and Seattle, WA.

DJ Ease was then nominated for DJ of the year 2010.

Today, George Evelyn continues to expand his musical empire including both his business endeavors.

Discography

  • A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter
    A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter
    A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter is the debut album of the trip hop artist Nightmares on Wax.-Track listing:# "Nights Interlude" # "A Case of Funk" # "Coming Down" # "Stop " # "Biofeedback"...

    (September 16, 1991)
  • Smokers Delight
    Smokers Delight
    Smokers Delight is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on October 24, 1995 . The album's opening track, Nights Introlude, includes a sample of Quincy Jones's cover of Summer in the City.-Track listing:...

    (September 25, 1995) #84 UK
  • Carboot Soul
    Carboot Soul
    Carboot Soul is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on April 12, 1999 .-Track listing:# "Les Nuits" – 6:20 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Morse" – 6:21 vocals by Sarah Winton# "Ethnic Majority" – 4:31# "Jorgé" – 2:29...

    (December 4, 1999) #71 UK
  • DJ-Kicks: Nightmares on Wax
    DJ-Kicks: Nightmares on Wax
    DJ-Kicks: Nightmares on Wax is a DJ mix album, mixed by Nightmares on Wax, released on the Studio !K7 label as part of the DJ-Kicks series.*CD Cat number: !K7093CD*Vinyl Cat number: !K7093LP-CD Track List:#Type - Slow Process – 5:04...

    (October 2, 2000) (DJ mix album
    DJ mix
    A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...

    )
  • Mind Elevation
    Mind Elevation
    Mind Elevation is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on September 2, 2002 .-Track listing:# "Mind Eye" – 7:05# "Say-Say" – 4:39# "Thinking of Omara" – 5:33# "Date With Destiny" – 5:11# "Bleu My Mind" – 3:50...

    (September 2, 2002)
  • Late Night Tales: Nightmares on Wax
    Late Night Tales: Nightmares on Wax
    Late Night Tales: Nightmares on Wax is a DJ mix album, mixed by Nightmares on Wax, released as part of Late Night Tales' Late Night Tales / Another Late Night DJ series.-Track listing:# "Midnight Marauders" - Joe Dukie & DJ Fitchie...

    (May 12, 2003) (DJ mix album)
  • In a Space Outta Sound
    In a Space Outta Sound
    In a Space Outta Sound is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on March 7, 2006 .-Track listing:# "Passion" – 7:00# "The Sweetest" – 5:24# "Flip Ya Lid" – 5:24# "Pudpots" – 3:42# "Damn" – 7:38# "You Wish" – 3:30...

    (March 7, 2006) #93 UK
  • Thought So...
    Thought so...
    thought so... is an album by Nightmares on Wax, released on August 26, 2008 .-Track listing:# "Intro"# "Da Feelin"# "195lbs"# "Be There"# "Bringin It"# "Calling"# "Moretime"# "Pretty Dark"# "Hear in Colour"# "Still? Yes!"...

    Ricky Ranking and Ella May, Chyna Brown. (August 25, 2008) UK
    UK Albums Chart
    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

     #135
  • Coming Home (2009)

External links

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