It always feels good to arrive at a certain destination after a long journey, whilst simultaneously knowing that a new chapter has just opened. For George Evelyn aka E.a.s.e., the force behind trailblazing leftfield act Nightmares On Wax, things have come full circle.
With 'thought so...', the producer with the disarming smile delivers Nightmares' album number six ' following on from his genre-defining longplayers 'A Word Of Science' (1990), 'Smokers Delight' (1995), 'Car Boot Soul' (1998), and later, 'Mind Elevation' (2002), and 'In A Space Outta Sound' (2006).
This new album was inspired by a special journey from Evelyn's birthplace of Leeds to his new family home located right in the middle of Ibiza. Instead of shipping all his studio equipment by boat, E.a.s.e. rose to the challenge of writing some music on a unique roadtrip. By bringing the gear, a decent sound engineer and the N.O.W. live band members in camper vans on the long journey from the UK to the Balears and with a setting that readily provided inspiration, the rapport in exchanging ideas was instant, and thus the concept of 'thought so..' arrived, from the process itself.
'I remember quite a bunch of great moments on that road trip as if it was yesterday' Evelyn recalls. 'We would stop at any sight or landscape view that promised some sort of inspiration really, allowing us all the freedom to just dwell in that moment and emotion we found ourselves in, only to get inspired by the resulting feelings.'
Coming home E.a.s.e. filtered the results, adding his trademark beats which was a labour of love working through the night in his now-Ibiza-based, home-embedded WAX ON studios 'just to get the sound right and give it some of that extra love' as he puts it. Long term Nightmares On Wax collaborators Robin Taylor Firth (keys), Chris Dawkins (guitars & bass), Shovell (perc), vocalists Ricky Ranking, Chyna Brown, Ella May, and new addition Stewy Love all took part in this amazing journey to the Balears and returned to Evelyn's studio to finish up what they started.
Both the songs as well as the overall production sound on 'thought so...' mark a new era in almost two decades of Nightmares On Wax. Even more than before, the N.O.W. sound reflect and represent a trademark musical vision that puts inner peace, joy of life and uplifting spirits first at all times.
Evelyn's deep love of Soul, HipHop, Reggae and Jazz is hugely prevalent to 'thought so...', blending perfectly with his trademark sound, reduced electronica and heavy producution.
'Apart from the road trip itself and the music that resulted from it, I am really inspired by the new, exceptionally beautiful surrounding for me and my family to live in. I am really enjoying being at home in my studio and creating tunes more than I ever did before. Without having to make any effort, I am automatically surrounded by new beats and fresh sounds every single day... and it doesn't look like that's going to stop for the next years really. In fact, I am really into producing for other artists now, doing some executive production as well as doing some serious a&r work myself for my label WAX ON records.'
As well as producing his own work, George also puts on numerous WAX ON label nights around Europe, intermittently fronted by the N.O.W soundsystem, and a weekly radio show 'Wax Da Box' (every thursday on Ibiza Sonica and hosted by the man himself).
And so, the journey of a man they call E.a.s.e. and his band Nightmares On Wax continues on, in another phase and from a new base camp, and most importantly arriving in a place of contentment two decades on. George Boskamp 2008
