— SpacePack

Hello all and thanks for joining in for another edition of Lazy Sundays. Prepare to expand your mind to the sound of this week’s featured artist; Nightmares on Wax.

George Evelyn, the brainchild for Nightmares on Wax, is a DJ from Leeds, UK. Heavily inspired by soul music as well as the emergence of the hip hop scene in the late 1980′s (with groups such as the Sugarhill Gang), Evelyn’s early influences made him want to make “something that identified with the b-boys. We wanted to do tracks that had hip hop beats but experimented with ideas“. This merging of genres (as discussed in The Electro Wars) bridged a gap between soul music and hip-hop and was a strong force in the development of N.o.W.’s chilled-out lounge aesthetic.

Nightmares on Wax – Night’s Interlude You can hear the soul genre’s influence on Evelyn here with a great sample off a Quincy Jones song. This song is featured on later albums but altered slightly in each version.

Although N.o.W. began as a DJ based act, the contribution of studio artists on the LPs Smoker’s Delight (1995) and Carboot Soul (1999) made Evelyn rethink the musical dynamics of N.o.W. and allowed the group to play more like a band than a studio act. However, the drum beats featured in songs were not replaced by live drums because according to Evelyn, the “sound of the beats is what makes nightmares.”

Nightmares on Wax – Finer   From Carboot Soul.  Sara Winton’s vocals take this track to the next level of chill.

Following the release of Carboot Soul, Evelyn laid low for awhile with N.o.W. and aimed to legitimize his name as a producer. He would go on to assist De La Soul with the production of their EP The Sound of Now (2002), and in the opinion of many helped to push the hip hop group back into the public eye.

De La Soul – Keep On (Produced by Nightmares on Wax)

Evelyn also began his own independent record label, Wax on Records. In his words, “The basic idea behind WAX ON records: the soul of NOW is to deliver quality music with that certain ‘soul factor’ and, for that purpose, to create a network of unknown, or known artists, djs, singers/MCs, producers and musicians alike,” George explains. “In the strong belief that when you have creative people all pulling in the same direction, something special is gonna happen…”. Most recently, iTunes has teamed up with WAX on Records to release albums from featured artists signed to the record label at reduced prices. Featured artists include, Aphex Twin, Battles, Boards of Canada, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Autechre and Squarepusher to name but a few. Music from these artists can be purchased through iTunes.

Nightmares on Wax – 70s 80s (From the 2002 release, Mind Elevation. This was my summer jam last year)

Nightmares on Wax – 195 lbs. (From the 2008 release …thought so)

Nightmares on Wax – You Wish (From the 2006 release, In a Space Outta Time)

Nightmares on Wax has a long history of providing rich sounds that are perfect to post up and relax to. Whether you’re reaching for that glass of wine, that unlit Belmont or perhaps something more herbal, let this be the soundtrack to your Lazy Sunday.

If you like what you hear, then take a look at previous LAZY SUNDAY posts; Bob Marley, Al Green, Modest Mouse, Mumford & Sons & The Tallest Man on Earth. Cheers!