Feelin' Good

Leeds lad and Warp veteran George Evelyn is possibly best known for the sumptuous Balearic favorite “Nights Interlude”/”Les Nuits.” This well-loved cosmic jam began as the Quincy Jones-sampling opener to his 1991 debut A Word of Science and, rerecorded and reworked, then developed over the next two albums into a chill-compilation regular and a hardy perennial of the discerning beach-bar DJ’s set. The tune’s evolution neatly encapsulates Evelyn’s own musical journey from bedroom scratch-and-sampler to fêted trip hop DJ to — with collaborator since 1995 Robin Taylor-Firth — maestro of his own live band, and beyond.

Nightmares On Wax have long outlasted the trip-hop boom and with contemporaries like the Herbaliser, Quantic and DJ Food now sit at the intersection of funk, electronics, jazz and the bass-driven values of the sound system. For this eighth album they’re in an even more reflective mood than usual. Recorded in Ibiza — Evelyn’s new home — the record stays admirably true to its title with intimations of early morning sun, gentle waves on secluded beaches, good company, the odd herbal pick-me-up and general zoned-outness.

But it’s also hugely varied. While there’s a pleasingly ramshackle funk to tracks like “Eye (Can’t See)” and “Be, I Do”… read more »