Nightmares on Wax

George Evelyn (born on January 15th, 1970 in Leeds, England), is known professionally as Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E; a DJ and electronic music producer praised for his contribution to the downtempo, trip-hop, instrumental hip-hop, and techno canons. In its initial 1988 incarnation, Nightmares on Wax was a group consisting of George Evelyn with John Halnon, and later Kevin Harper. They dropped their debut album, A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter, on the legendary Warp records in 1991, but Kevin Harper quit shortly after to forge a career as a DJ. Second album Smokers Delight arrived on Warp and on Wax Trax in the US in 1995 and despite only reaching number 84 on the UK Albums Chart, is considered one of the best trip-hop albums ever made. Still aligned with trip-hop, third album Carboot Soul landed in 1999 and went to number 71 on the UK Albums Chart, accompanied by a bespoke packet of Rizla cigarette papers in its initial vinyl run. The '00s yielded a trio of albums from Nightmares on Wax, 2002's Mind Elevation, 2006's In a Space Outta Sound, and 2008's Thought So, which went to number 19 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Nightmares on Wax continued to put out successful electronic albums throughout the '10s, including seventh studio album Feelin' Good, which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in 2013, and UK indie top 20 Shape the Future, released in 2019. Packed full of guest stars, from neo-soul artist OSHUN to London saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, 2021 album Shout Out! To Freedom.... marked George Evelyn's ninth LP as Nightmares on Wax and explored themes relating to freedom and the pandemic.