Nightmares on Wax is George Evelyn (DJ E.A.S.E.), the Leeds producer who has been on Warp Records since 1988 — one of the label's longest-running artists. Smokers Delight (1995) helped define downtempo and trip hop, and Carboot Soul (1999) is every bit as essential. Find Nightmares on Wax vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Nightmares on Wax formed in Leeds, England in 1988 by George Evelyn (DJ E.A.S.E.) and Kevin Harper. They signed with Warp Records - the iconic Sheffield electronic music label - at its founding and have been central to the label's history. Harper departed in 1991, with Evelyn continuing the project as his solo vehicle. The 1991 debut A Word of Science explored the contemporary bleep techno aesthetic, with the 1995 follow-up Smokers Delight pivoting toward downtempo and trip hop - establishing a defining template for the genre alongside contemporaries like Massive Attack and Portishead. Evelyn has been based in Ibiza since the early 2000s. He has continued releasing material across multiple decades and is one of the longest-running artists on Warp Records.
Nightmares on Wax's sound combines downtempo, trip hop, electronic, bleep techno, hip hop instrumental, lounge, dub, and chillout with Evelyn's distinctive production approach (sample integration, atmospheric production), and arrangements drawing on classic hip hop, dub, reggae, soul, and broader electronic music influences.
Warp Records pressings of the Nightmares on Wax catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Nightmares on Wax typically start with Smokers Delight (1995) or Carboot Soul (1999).
