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NIGHTMARES ON WAX
Mind Elevation (WARPCD95) Warp Records 2002 13 Tracks. 60mins07secs. Buy this CD on line now |
The brainchild of George Evelyn, Nightmares On Wax first appeared in the aftermath of the scene explosion. Hailing from the industrial city of Leeds, the then duo, comprising Kevin Harper, established themselves with the seminal Dextrous and Aftermath, characteristic of the bleepy techno sound taking the country by storm, alongside fellow Yorkshireman and label mate Mark Bell, aka LFO. The album that followed, A Word Of Science introduced some elements of hip-hop on tracks like Mega Donutz or Back In Time. By the time the second NOW album surfaced, almost four years later, Evelyn was on his own and the sound had developed into a magnificent blend of hazy soul, lazy beats and lush hip-hop/dub that was to become his trademark.
Following 1998’s Carboot Soul, a reminder of the times when Evelyn was hunting 12” in car boot sales, comes the fourth episode in the Nightmares On Wax adventures. Expanding on the same influences, Mind Elevation reaffirms the Nightmares’ connections with soul music and dub, with the opening tracks, Mind Eye and Say-Say, setting up the tone perfectly. As the years go by, the music appears more and more laidback, and this album is not an exception, with Evelyn progressing gently into familiar territories. Looking to take his music to the live environment once again, this time with a thirteen piece band, he develops here the blueprint for live instrumentation by taking his samples to a different level. But the main evolution here is the introduction of four impeccably shaped songs scattered amongst the collection of instrumentals. Date With Destiny, Know My Name, the first excerpt of the album, are both sweet soulful moments, featuring Chyna B on vocals. If Know My Name proves to be rather upfront, Date With Destiny has a more nonchalant feel, reminiscent of some of Massive Attack’s early classics. Environment and 70s 80s, by far the two highlights on this album, are classic NOW soul-tainted dub hip-hop. While Chyna B presides to the destiny of Environment, LSK takes control of the seismic and militant 70s 80s, reminiscing about riots, racism and recession during the Thatcher years.
Still on top of his art, George Evelyn produces with Mind Elevation a brilliant piece of soulful laidback dopey dance music. Here, once again, Evelyn takes the NOW sound to yet another level by introducing more proper songs in his usual scope.
| 01 | Mind Eye | 08 | Humble |
| 02 | Say-Say | 09 | 70s 80s |
| 03 | Thinking Of Omara | 10 | Know My Name |
| 04 | Date With Destiny | 11 | BBH (Bongo-Brk-Haven) |
| 05 | Bleu My Mind | 12 | Mirrorball |
| 06 | Environment | 13 | Thoughts |
| 07 | Soul-Ho |
A WORD OF SCIENCE Warp Records 1990 Buy it on
line now
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Nights Interlude
A Case Of Funk Coming Down Stop (Crack) Biofeedback Mega Donutz Playtime Aftermath Fun Back Into Time Dextrous BWTM Sal Batardes Ease How Ya Doin'? _ |
SMOKERS DELIGHT Warp Records 1995 Buy it on
line now
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Nights Interlude
Dreddoverboard Pipes Honour Me + You Stars Wait A Minute/Prayin (For a Jeepbeat) Groove St. Time (To Listen) (Man) Tha Journey Bless My Soul Cruise (Don't Stop) Mission Venice What I'm Feelin (Good) Rise Rise (Reprise) Gambia Via Vagator Beach _ |
CARBOOT SOUL Warp Records 1999 Buy it on
line now
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Les Nuits
Morse Ethnic Majority Jorgé Finer Esae Jimi Argha Noah Fire In The Middle Survival Capumcap _ |
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MIND ELEVATION Warp Records 2002 Buy it on
line now
|
Mind Eye
Say-Say Thinking Of Omara Date With Destiny Bleu My Mind Environment Soul-Ho Humble 70s 80s Know My Name BBH (Bongo-Brk-Haven) Mirrorball Thoughts Tha Journey |
| NIGHTMARES
ON WAX
The brilliant Nightmares On Wax site is a mine of information and includes the possibility to listen to every single track ever released. |
| WARP
The almighty Warp Records, home of Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre and the best electronic artists around. |