NIGHTMARES ON WAX Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Over the years, George 'E.A.S.E' Evelyn has made some very good downtempo music as Nightmares on Wax, as well as some killer club cuts. Even so, he's previously made little quite as musically refined as Shout Out To Freedom. Made in cahoots a giant cast-list of guest performers, the album's 15 tracks rarely surprise - we know by now that Evelyn will blend elements of soul, hip-hop, jazz, reggae and smooth grooves - but are still capable of genuinely taking your breath away. Basically, Evelyn is doing what he does best, only better than ever, with more extensive use of live instrumentation and some genuinely stirring orchestration. Highlights include the Balearic ambient jazz brilliance of 'Wonder', the low-slung, flash-friend soul shuffle of 'Own Me' and the sunrise-ready bliss of 'Imagineering'.

Review:  Over the years, George 'E.A.S.E' Evelyn has made some very good downtempo music as Nightmares on Wax, as well as some killer club cuts. Even so, he's previously made little quite as musically refined as Shout Out To Freedom. Made in cahoots a giant cast-list of guest performers, the album's 15 tracks rarely surprise - we know by now that Evelyn will blend elements of soul, hip-hop, jazz, reggae and smooth grooves - but are still capable of genuinely taking your breath away. Basically, Evelyn is doing what he does best, only better than ever, with more extensive use of live instrumentation and some genuinely stirring orchestration. Highlights include the Balearic ambient jazz brilliance of 'Wonder', the low-slung, flash-friend soul shuffle of 'Own Me' and the sunrise-ready bliss of 'Imagineering'.

Review: This year marks three decades since George Evelyn sat down with original Nightmares on Wax production partner Kevin Harper to make music for the first time. In those days, Evelyn was focused just as much on house and techno as reggae, soul, jazz and hip-hop. You'd forgive Evelyn if he got a little misty-eyed on Shape The Future, but bar the appearance of his old Leeds pal LSK (a rapper who rose up at the same time as the Yorkshire veteran), its really business as usual. With an impressive cast list of guest stars swinging by to lend soulful vocals, on-point raps and high quality musicianship, the album is as colourful, laidback and groovy as anything Evelyn has released. Given his longevity, that's remarkable.

Review: Having delivered a seventh studio album of a long and productive career as Nightmares On Wax last year, George Evelyn has been treated to the full retrospective programme by Warp in 2014. Earlier this year the label issued a best of, artfully punned NOW Is The Time, this week has seen Warp reissue in deluxe format all of Evelyn's six previous and widely loved long players. All of them are in stock at Juno and worthy of your time, though Carboot Soul is a particular favourite amongst the review team here. The Quincy Jones sample on opener "La Nuit" never sounded so good!

Review: Amazingly, it's 25 years since George 'E.A.S.E' Evelyn and then production partner Kevin 'Boy Wonder' Harper sat down and recorded "Dextrous", their monstrous, bleep-era classic on Warp. A quarter of a century later, Evelyn is still going strong, though the grooves have mellowed a lot in that time. Here, Warp celebrate the producer's epic career with a much-deserved retrospective. All the familiar favourites are present, from the rush-inducing thrill of early dancefloor smashers "I'm For Real" and "Aftermath", to the sinewy downtempo goodness of the decidedly Balearic "Les Nuits", the blazed hip-hop dub of "195 Llbs" and stoner soul of "70s 80s".

Review: A welcome reissue of Nightmares On Wax's now classic Late Night Tales curators' mix comp. First released in 2003, this new LP edition is naturally the unmixed version and demonstrates the timeless bleep-era dance selector's funkiest and hippest influences, all of which demonstrate that this is an artist whose love for music extends far beyond the popular; the likes of Cortex, Quincy Jones, Search, Dusty Springfield, Large Professor, and even Brian Blessed prove this to be a diggers' delight that goes well beyond your average postie's job-lot. Ending on two original numbers, too - 'Brothers On The Slide (Dub)' and 'The White City (Part 1)' - you can be sure that George Evelyn's talents don't extend just to the decks either, bringing an original organic hip-hop and electronic funk source to an otherwise madly layered set of sonic flavours.