thumb|right|Cetyl palmitate, a typical wax ester. Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic (malleable) near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C (113 °F) to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents. All waxes are organic compounds, both synthetic and naturally occurring.

Types

Waxes are organic compounds that characteristically consist of long alkyl chains. Natural waxes are typically esters of fatty acids and long chain alcohols. Synthetic waxes are long-chain hydrocarbons lacking functional groups.

Plant and animal waxes

Waxes are biosynthesized by many plants and animals. They typically consist of several components, including wax esters, wax acids, wax alcohols, and hydrocarbons. Wax esters are typically derived from a variety of carboxylic acids and a variety of fatty alcohols. The composition depends not only on species, but also on geographic location of the organism. Because they are mixtures, naturally produced waxes are softer and melt at lower temperatures than the pure components.

Animal waxes

The best known animal wax is beeswax, but other insects secrete waxes. A major component of beeswax is the ester myricyl palmitate substance which is used in constructing their honeycombs. Its melting point is 62-65 °C. Spermaceti occurs in large amounts in the head oil of the sperm whale. One of its main constituents is cetyl palmitate, another ester of a fatty acid and a fatty alcohol. Lanolin is a wax obtained from wool, consisting of esters of sterols.

Plant waxes

Especially in warm climates, plants secrete waxes as a way to control evaporation and hydration. From the commercial perspective, the most important wax is Carnauba wax, a hard wax obtained from the Brazilian palm. Containing the ester myricyl cerotate, it has many applications. Other more specialized vegetable waxes include candelilla wax, ouricury wax, sugarcane wax, retamo wax, jojoba oil. The epicuticular waxes of plants are mixtures of substituted long-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, containing alkanes, fatty acids, primary and secondary alcohols, diols, ketones, aldehydes.

Petroleum derived waxes

Although most natural waxes are esters, paraffin waxes are hydrocarbons, mixtures of alkanes usually in a homologous series of chain lengths. These materials represent a significant fraction of petroleum. They are refined by vacuum distillation. Paraffin waxes are mixtures of saturated n- and isoalkanes, naphthenes, and alkyl- and naphthene-substituted aromatic compounds. The degree of branching has an important influence on the properties. Millions of tons of paraffin waxes are produced annually. They are used in adhesives, in foods (such as chewing gum and cheese wrapping), in cosmetics, and as coatings.

Montan wax

Montan wax is a fossilized wax extracted from coal and lignite. It is very hard, reflecting the high concentration of saturated fatty acids and alcohols, not esters that characterize softer waxes. Although dark brown and smelly, they can be purified and bleached to give commercially useful products.

Polyethylene and related derivatives

Some waxes are obtained by cracking polyethylene at 400 °C. The products have the formula (CH₂)_nH₂, where n ranges between about 50 and 100. As of 1995, about 200 million kilograms/y were consumed.

Uses

Waxes are mainly consumed industrially as components of complex formulations, often for coatings. The main use of polyethylene and polypropylene waxes is in the formulation of colourants for plastics. Waxes confer matting effects and wear resistance to paints. Polyethyelene waxes are incorporated into inks in the form of dispersions to decrease friction. They are employed as release agents. They are also used as slip agents, e.g. in furniture, and corrosion resistance.

Candles

Waxes and hard fats such as tallow have been used to make candles, used for lighting and decoration in a number of religious traditions, including Christianity and Hinduism, as well as various neo-pagan religions such as Wicca. The Emperor Constantine is reported to have called for the use of candles during an Easter service in the 4th century AD. Candles continue to be used today by Christians in worship as symbols of the light of Christ. In the Roman Catholic Church, beeswax candles are used, since a colony of bees is a celibate sisterhood with a single mother. Candles of wax or tallow took the place of lamps used in various Jewish rituals such as the Sabbath lights; in the Havdalah ceremony; and the Hanukkah lights. A synagogue had to be well lit, and pious folk used to donate candles for the purpose. On the basis of the verse: 'The soul of man is a candle of the Lord', a special candle which burns twenty-four hours is kindled on the anniversary of the death of a near relative (Yahrzeit) and often two lighted candles are placed at the head of the corpse awaiting burial. In fact, according to the Shulchan Aruch, wax candles are the only kind of light which can be used for Bedikat Chametz, and not tallow or oil. Candles have also played a role in pagan religions and in modern humanist festivals. Virtually all rituals in Wicca include the lighting of altar candles, where two main candles are often used to represent the God and the Goddess; and the lighting of candles is a central theme at the Wiccan holiday of Brigid or Imbolc, which is also known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Waxing Light. Wax candles were also used in secular life for lighting, signals in warfare, safety in travel and for time keeping, and are still in popular use today to provide soft lighting for meals and other social activities.

Other uses

Sealing wax was used to close important documents in the Middle Ages. Waxes are used to make wax paper, impregnating and coating paper and card to waterproof it or make it resistant to staining, or to modify its surface properties. Waxes are also used in shoe polishes, wood polishes, and automotive polishes, as mold release agents in mold making, as a coating for many cheeses, and to waterproof leather and fabric. Wax has been used since antiquity as a temporary, removable model in lost-wax casting of gold, silver and other materials.

Wax with colorful pigments added has been used as a medium in encaustic painting, and is used today in the manufacture of crayons and colored pencils. Carbon paper, used for making duplicate typewritten documents was coated with carbon black suspended in wax, typically montan wax, but has largely been superseded by photocopiers and computer printers. In another context, lipstick and mascara are blends of various fats and waxes colored with pigments, and both beeswax and lanolin are used in other cosmetics. Ski wax is used in skiing and snowboarding. Also, the sports of surfing and skateboarding often use wax to enhance the performance. Beeswax or coloured synthetic wax is used to decorate Easter eggs in Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Paraffin wax is used in making chocolate covered bon-bons. Wax is also used in wax bullets, which are used as simulation aids.

Wax types

Animal waxes

Beeswax - produced by honey bees

Chinese wax - produced by the scale insect ''Ceroplastes ceriferus''

Earwax - found in the human ear.

Lanolin (wool wax) - from the sebaceous glands of sheep

Shellac wax - from the lac insect ''Kerria lacca''

Spermaceti - from the head cavities and blubber of the sperm whale

=== Vegetable waxes ===

Bayberry wax - from the surface wax of the fruits of the bayberry shrub, ''Myrica faya''

Candelilla wax - from the Mexican shrubs ''Euphorbia cerifera'' and ''Euphorbia antisyphilitica''

Carnauba wax - from the leaves of the Carnauba palm, ''Copernica cerifera''

Castor wax - catalytically hydrogenated castor oil

Esparto wax - a byproduct of making paper from esparto grass, (''Macrochloa tenacissima'')

Japan wax - a vegetable triglyceride (not a true wax), from the berries of ''Rhus'' and ''Toxicodendron'' species

Jojoba oil - a replacement for spermaceti, jojoba is pressed from the seeds of the jojoba bush, ''Simmondsia chinensis''

Ouricury wax - from the Brazilian feather palm, ''Syagrus coronata''.

Rice bran wax - obtained from rice bran (''Oryza sativa'')

Soy wax - from soybean oil

Mineral waxes

Ceresin waxes

Montan wax - extracted from lignite and brown coal

Ozocerite - found in lignite beds

Peat waxes

Petroleum waxes

Paraffin wax - made of long-chain alkane hydrocarbons

Microcrystalline wax - with very fine crystalline structure

Petroleum jelly

Synthetic waxes

Polyethylene waxes - based on polyethylene

Fischer-Tropsch waxes

Chemically modified waxes - usually esterified or saponified

substituted amide waxes

polymerized α-olefins

See also

Slip melting point

References

External links

Waxes

www.microcrystallinewax.net, resource for microcrystalline wax research

Waxes

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Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Nightmares on Wax
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	George Evelyn
alias	DJ EASE
origin	Yorkshire, England
genre	Electronic, acid house, trip hop, downtempo, chill-out music
occupation	Musician
years active	1988 to present
label	Warp Records, WAX ON Records
website	www.nightmaresonwax.com
current members	George Evelyn, Robin Taylor-Firth, Chris Dawkins
past members	Kevin Harper
notable instruments	Keyboard }}

George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE (Experimental Sample Expert), is a DJ from Leeds, UK. His music is released on Warp Records and was one of the first releases on the label. Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew, he met Kevin Harper and together they released their first album in 1991, a techno-edged record entitled "A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter". This was the beginning of NoW's career. Today, Harper is a solo DJ and Evelyn is accompanied by Robin Taylor-Firth and has created a sound that is not classifiable, a "sound of the beats is what makes nightmares."

It is not a coincidence that the name Nightmares on Wax is an acronym for NOW, as they describe their music as "the sound of N.O.W." to exemplify the raw honesty and artistic freedom. George elaborates, "Today’s music is inspired by whatever has gone on before. That’s what fascinates me. Soul music is the earliest form of hip hop. That’s why I want to create it. It might seem like recreating what was done in the past, but what I want to do is merge soul and hip hop together. That’s why I’ll bring in the live aspect of what happened back then into current hip hop trends. That’s the angle I’m arriving at."

Early career

Before the popularity of Nightmares on Wax, George Evelyn was raised listening to soul music. His father and sister specifically led him to be influenced by Quincy Jones and Curtis Mayfield. Later, as rap music became more popular, he was fascinated by the likes of Rappers Delight and Buffalo Gals. Due to this wave of hip-hop in the 1988, DJ EASE was inspired to join a breakdance crew where he grew close to Kevin Harper, a fellow b-boy who had a similar background. They created a team today known as Nightmares on Wax. This alliance stemmed to their earliest stages of popularity, releasing their single “Dextrous” in 1990. This was the beginning of their career but what really made Wax a noteworthy presence in the musical arena was their No. 38 hit, "Aftermath." The track was an important part of the new wave of music that incorporated hip-hop with a digital break down, creating “something that identified with the b-boys. We wanted to do tracks that had hip hop beats but experimented with ideas”. This was an innovative musical sensation known as the "Northern Bleep", which combines the bleep of techno over of a hip-hop based track. This was done by many other artists, for example, The Forgemasters, LFO, and Unique 3.

In 1991, NoW released "A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter" in the same experimental fashion, but that was the end. The album was built in Leeds, where Evelyn complied the samples that were recorded on two sets of tapes while co-running the Headz Club. Poverty Records recorded on one set of tapes self-titled the Poverty tapes that contained the finished tracks. The other set was a record of prototype ideas titled EASE tapes. To explain his process, Evelyn described NoW’s composition strategies stating, “I just built the tracks around these ideas that I’ve had for the last four years. The only think that changed was bringing in live musicians and editing.”

A change in direction

After ''A Word of Silence'', Nightmares disappeared from the music scene for a four-year hiatus as promised in the sub title "The First and Final Chapter." Evelyn went on to run The Headz Club in Leeds. At this time, he also developed their record label, Poverty Records. He returned to the artistic side of the music industry with a track on the Mo' Wax Headz compilation. The next Nightmares on Wax album release was not until ''Smokers Delight'' in 1995, by which time Harper had left to pursue a career in DJing. This is the album that truly gave token to DJ EASE's soul background, with tones similar to that of Barry White evident in the slo'mo, soulistic roots of the music. Evelyn was joined on keyboards and programming by Robin Taylor-Firth with whom he began to record more of his trademark ''chill-out'' tracks, and brought in a variety of musicians, writers, vocalists, and rappers, giving the music a greater variety as well as allowing him to take the band out on tour. This album was also known as the break through into the American market. Some critics described the album as a anthem to the use of Marijuana. "Carboot Soul" was another break though album as well as the first album to be domestically distributed through US label, Matador Records. The album featured underground soul singer Sara Winton, Hamlet Luton on Bass, Chris Dawkins on guitar, and Robin Taylor-Firth on keyboards with the Pure Strings Orchestra harmonizing on strings. EASE is credited for his role in the mixing of the music as well as producer along with Glyn Poole. Bruce Wood is credited as the engineer of the album. The culmination of these musicians became known as the band called Nightmares on Wax and defined their live sound on their 1999 tour.

This was a change for NoW, as they began as a DJ based group. Their new found contribution of live musicians allowed for a the group to operate more like a band than a studio act. The drum machine however, was not replaced with a live musician, remaining true to its original technology based tracks. No longer in partnership with Kevin Harper, Evelyn had the opportunity to expand and better that which he and Kevin Harper started. His strategy to do so was clear as he added the live artists, adding authenticity and validity to his work. He explains that “Doing the live side proves there is more to the music. People have something more tangible to relate the music to and it gives us the chance to connect with the audience. Also I’ve always had this idea of creating a big band – which is what we call our sound. The main priority for NOW is to prove that we can perform music. But we’re not ignoring the fact that we come from a studio, technical background. We just want to mix the old with the new. That’s why, at the moment, I don’t have a live drummer. The sound of the beats is what makes Nightmares.”

Music business

After "Carboot Soul," NoW did not release another album until 2002. In the meantime, Evelyn exchanged his artistic license for a business one and spent the next several years concentrating on establishing himself as a producer and musical consultant before returning to the creative side of the industry.

In 2000, Evelyn assisted in the comeback of hip hop pioneers De La Soul, when they appeared on the EP ''The Sound of N.O.W.''. Although De La Soul have maintained a steady, loyal and strong fanbase since the beginning of their career some music critics have suggested that Evelyn's EP helped push them back into the public eye. That same year, Evelyn produced a Studio: K7 mixtape called DJ Kicks.

In 2005, Evelyn started his own independent record label, "WAX ON Records". From his roots deep in the heart of soul music, to his uncanny ability to mix and master his prototypes with the collaboration of live musicians, Evelyn perfectly demonstrates the musical honesty many artists strive for. In addition, he manages to maintain this integrity under the scope of musical freedom. This is not an easy thing to do, considering the stigma that follows the use of others ideas. Evelyn wades through the copycats and the imitators and truly pays token to his inspirations in his mastered original tracks. “The basic idea behind WAX ON records: the soul of NOW is to deliver quality music with that certain ‘soul factor’ and, for that purpose, to create a network of unknown, or known artists, djs, singers/MCs, producers and musicians alike,” George explains. “In the strong belief that when you have creative people all pulling in the same direction, something special is gonna happen…”.Taylor-Firth followed in his fellow band mate's footsteps and also started his own label named BlancoMusic.

Return to music composition and mixing

In 2002, Evelyn reclaimed his artistic license with the release of his 4th LP under Warp Records, ''Mind Elevation'', and came back with an even more innovative creative helmet and several years of business experience under his belt. Despite his return to the creative side of the industry, he has held a firm grasp on foundations of a business he is perpetually expanding. He continued to evolve his new label and build a network of little known artists searching for their musical identity, honesty, and freedom.

Four years later in March 2006, NoW released their 5th LP, ''In a Space Outta Sound'' again under Warp Records. When addressed about the amount of time between the records, Evelyn expressed his distaste for schedules, joking that they made him break out in a rash. To keep in the spirit of network's mantra, Evelyn explains that NoW is very focused on allowing things to happen and not forcing albums into production.

In 2008, NoW released their final LP under Warp titled ''thought so...''. Shortly after in 2009, another record named ''Coming Home'' was released, this time under WAX ON Records.

Recent activity

In 2009, Nightmares on Wax toured the United States stopping in eleven cities in January and February including Boston, MA; New York, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR; and Seattle, WA.

DJ Ease was then nominated for DJ of the year 2010. As NoW grows in popularity, so does their genre of music. iTunes has teamed up with NoW’s label, Warp Records, to create a collection of music called Warp20 as well as is releasing over 50 of the labels best selling albums all at reduced prices. This will include musicians such as Aphex Twin, Battles, Boards of Canada, Jamie Lidell, Grizzly Bear, Autechre, Squarepusher and many others. The umbrella these items are help under are being marketed under is a promotion for Nightmares On Wax as well as other musicians within the same genre.

Today, George Evelyn continues to expand his musical empire including both his business endeavors as well as his creative compositions with a realistic approach on the development of music as art, not fame.

Discography

''A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter'' (September 16, 1991)

''Smokers Delight'' (September 25, 1995) #84 UK

''Letting the Cables Sleep'' (1999)

''Carboot Soul'' (December 4, 1999) #71 UK

''DJ-Kicks: Nightmares on Wax'' (October 2, 2000) (DJ mix album)

''Mind Elevation'' (September 2, 2002)

''Late Night Tales: Nightmares on Wax'' (May 12, 2003) (DJ mix album)

''In a Space Outta Sound'' (March 7, 2006) #93 UK

''Thought So...'' Ricky Ranking and Ella May, Chyna Brown. (August 25, 2008) UK #135

''Coming Home'' (2009)

See also

Late Night Tales

DJ-Kicks

References

External links

Official NOW. site

N.O.W. on charts

BlancoMusic

BudNubac, Taylor-Firth's side-project

Category:Music from Leeds

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