Robin Taylor-Firth is a British musician and label owner, notable for performance, songwriting and production on various projects including Nightmares on Wax,^[1] Olive,^[2] Backyard Dog,^[3] and BudNubac.^[4]

His recording career began in the early 90s with a series of twelve-inch singles pressed by Dislocated Hip Records, under the artistic name 'On'. Picked up in 1993 by Warp Records' sub-label, Nucleus, Taylor-Firth began a relationship with Sheffield-based Warp Records which continues via his membership of Nightmares on Wax to the present day.

"You're Not Alone", which he co-wrote with Tim Kellett and recorded with the band Olive reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in 1997.^[5] Backyard Dog were also notable for the commercial success of the song "Baddest Ruffest", which featured on the soundtrack of Ali G Indahouse, and also in Coca-Cola's 2002 World Cup UK advertising campaign. Taylor-Firth currently resides in Madrid, Spain, where he is the creative director of BlancoMusic.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BlancoMusic
• Budnubac

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Nightmares on Wax
Background information
Birth name	George Evelyn
Also known as	DJ EASE
Origin	Yorkshire, England
Genres	Electronic, acid house, trip hop, downtempo, chill-out music
Occupations	Musician
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Warp Records, WAX ON Records
Website	www.nightmaresonwax.com
Members
George Evelyn, Robin Taylor-Firth, Chris Dawkins
Past members
Kevin Harper

George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE (Experimental Sample Expert), is a DJ and electronic music composer 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."^[1]

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."^[2]

Early career[link]

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. In 1988, DJ EASE was joined a breakdance crew where he grew close to Kevin Harper. They created a team today known as Nightmares on Wax. "We wanted to do tracks that had hip hop beats but experimented with ideas”. This technique is used by many other artists including The Forgemasters, LFO, and Unique 3.

In 1991, NoW released A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter. The album was built in Leeds, where Evelyn compiled the samples that were recorded on two sets of 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 thing that changed was bringing in live musicians and editing.”^[1]

A change in direction[link]

After A Word of Science, 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.^[3] The next Nightmares on Wax album release was Smokers Delight in 1995, by which time Harper had left to pursue a career in DJing. Evelyn was joined on keyboards and programming by Robin Taylor-Firth with whom he began to record more of his trademark chill-out tracks. He 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 a breakthrough into the American market. Carboot Soul was the first album to be domestically distributed through US label, Matador Records.^[3] 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. These musicians became known as the band called Nightmares on Wax and defined their live sound on their 1999 tour.^[4]

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 what he and Kevin Harper started. 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.”^{[citation needed]}

Music business[link]

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.. That same year, Evelyn produced a Studio: K7 mixtape called DJ Kicks.

In 2005, Evelyn started his own independent record label, "WAX ON Records". Taylor-Firth followed in his band mate's footsteps and also started his own label named BlancoMusic.

Return to music composition and mixing[link]

In 2002, Evelyn released his fourth LP under Warp Records, Mind Elevation. He continued to evolve his new label and build a network of artists.

Four years later in March 2006, NoW released their fifth LP, In a Space Outta Sound again on Warp Records.^[3] 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.^[5]

In 2008, NoW released their final LP under Warp titled thought so.... In 2009, Coming Home was released, this time under WAX ON Records.

Recent activity[link]

In 2009, Nightmares on Wax toured the United States stopping in eleven cities in January and February.

DJ Ease was then nominated for DJ of the year 2010^{[citation needed]}.

Today, George Evelyn continues to expand his music and both his business endeavors.

Discography[link]

• A Word of Science: The First and Final Chapter (September 16, 1991)
• Smokers Delight (September 25, 1995) #84 UK
• Carboot Soul (December 4, 1999) #71 UK
• DJ-Kicks: Nightmares on Wax (October 2, 2000) (DJ mix album)
• Mind Elevation (September 2, 2002) #47 UK
• 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^[6]
• Coming Home (2009)

See also[link]

• Late Night Tales
• DJ-Kicks

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official NOW site
• NOW on charts
• BlancoMusic
• BudNubac, Taylor-Firth's side-project
• warp.net NOW page