Danny Kane, Keziasoul & Nightmares On Wax)

Biography

George Evelyn, known as Nightmares On Wax, is an English DJ and producer from Leeds, UK, who began his musical journey in the late 1980s inspired by American hip-hop culture, breakdancing, and body-popping at school after watching breakdancing movies. He joined a local breakdance crew where he met Kevin Harper, and together they formed Nightmares On Wax, blending boom bap beats with experimental flows drawing from soul, house, techno, reggae, funk, and dub. Their early work caught the attention of Warp Records, leading to the seminal single 'Dextrous' in the late '80s, which sold over 30,000 copies and charted in the UK Top 75, followed by their debut album A Word Of Science: The 1st and Final Chapter in 1991, featuring funk-laden downtempo house.[1][2][6]

After Harper left post-debut to focus on DJing, Evelyn continued solo, pioneering downtempo and chill-out sounds with landmark albums like Smokers Delight (1995), a stoner hip-hop classic, Carboot Soul (1999) infusing organic funk, and later works such as In A Space Outta Sound (2006), Thought So (2008), and Mind Elevation (2002), which incorporated live musicians, global collaborations, jazz, dub, and hip-hop sampling techniques. His style evolved from bleep-techno roots to a signature blend of electronica, soul, funk, hip-hop, and Balearic influences, shaped by running club nights like Downbeat playing rare groove, house, and jazz before the rave era.[3][4][2]

Evelyn's legacy endures as a Warp Records mainstay for over 30 years, influencing trip-hop and chill-out movements while maintaining a hip-hop production mentality of deconstructing and manipulating elements across genres. He describes his sound as 'experimental hip-hop with a twist,' responsive to social pressures, and continues to explore global serendipity in collaborations from his Balearic base.[4][5][3]

Fun Facts

• Nightmares On Wax's 'Dextrous' became a seminal British dance track in the late '80s, selling over 30,000 copies and hitting the UK Top 75 before their debut album.[6]
• Evelyn ran a club night called Downbeat in Leeds, playing hip-hop, rare groove, house, and jazz at afterparties with Kevin Harper before house and techno had defined labels.[3]
• His DJ Kicks mix on !K7 in 2000 paid homage to slow-chugging hip-hop instrumentals with horn sections, akin to A Tribe Called Quest meets Kenny Dope.[1]
• Evelyn has Native American ancestry in his family lineage, which inspired discussions leading to collaborative tracks like spiritual jazz-infused mantras.[7]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Todd Terry - Stylistic influence from house music origins (House tracks exploration) [Late 1980s-1990s]
• Kenny Dope - Inspiration for hip-hop infused house and digging into roots (DJ Kicks mix influences) [1990s-2000s]

Key Collaborators

• Kevin Harper - Co-founder and early band member in Nightmares On Wax trio with John Halnon (A Word Of Science (pre-production influence), early singles like 'Dextrous') [Late 1980s-1991]
• John Halnon - Early trio member exerting influence on debut (A Word Of Science composition) [Pre-1991]

External Links

• Spotify