Bleep

Following a debut album born from B-Boy days and megamix tape edits, Nightmares On Wax became the solo vessel of George Evelyn as he struck out on one of his most defining albums with Smokers Delight. As Warp's longest serving artist, Evelyn has been integral to the label's many decades of sonic experiments, with early material like ‘Dextrous’ proving fateful to the fledgling history of Warp and bleep techno, but it's albums like this that truly cemented the artistry of Nightmares On Wax and firmly crystallised the hazy sounds of DJ E.A.S.E.

The liner notes professed in 1995 that “the media try to fool the young B-Boys ‘n’ Girls with trendy names such as “TRIP HOP” but at the end of the day “HIP HOP” is “HIP HOP”!” And though many similarities can be drawn to the Bristol sound, Evelyn looks closer to the source, taking the echoes of his early techno hits and interspersing them with Latin drums, dub bass, and oldschool breakbeats, recognising the continuum that reggae, hip hop, soul, jazz, and dance music all inhabit.

Evelyn provides a masterclass in sampling as he lifts passionate soul vocals and sax loops, soaring over crisp shuffling percussion, piano melodies and Rhodes keys intertwining in blissful fashion. The subdued dazzle of synths fade in to the gorgeous opener ‘Nights Introlude’, jazzy keys and pulled bass signalling the lights of the club dimming and smoke filling the dancefloor. Pastoral folk strings give a lilting, dynamic effect to ‘Bless My Soul’ alongside chunky bouncing rhythms, while ‘Groove St.’ takes the tempo up a notch without ever losing that funk.

Smokers Delight's fascinating cover art is as intricate as the music itself, representing the album's rich tapestry of sounds and Black music culture on every level. Truly a milestone in hip hop history.