Celebrating 25 years of Nightmares On Wax’s seminal ‘Smokers Delight' album, this Thursday will see the premiere of a 12 minute short film inspired by one of Nightmares main man George Evelyn’s dreams. Directed by Jamie Whitby of Agile Films, the film follows Tiger, a friendly neighbourhood stoner happily stuck in a comfortable wake-and-bake routine. After he discovers that he may have unknowingly stepped through the doors of perception, he is forced to detective his way back to reality.
Following up the special anniversary reissue of the album in April this year, four new “Sonic Buds” bonus tracks - new tracks ‘Let’s Ascend’ and ‘Aquaself’ alongside an alternative Funk mix of ‘Dreddoverboard’ and the timeless ‘Nights Introlude’ recorded live at Concord Music Hall in Chicago in 2014 - are set for release this week on 12” EP. Nightmares On Wax’s ‘Smokers Delight’ album was one of a handful of records to define a generation along with Massive Attack's ‘Blue Lines’, Portishead's ‘Dummy’ and Tricky's ‘Maxinquaye’. It took George Evelyn from his electronic-genre-blending debut 1991’s ‘A Word of Science’ into releasing his much-loved downbeat blend of soul, hip-hop, dub and timeless club sounds, for which he has become renowned.
Recorded with long term collaborators Hamlet Luton on bass, Chris Dawkins on guitar, Robin Taylor-Firth on keys and Shovell on percussion; music lovers from around the world were intoxicated by Smokers Delight’s bassy, afterhours sound that became the backdrop to a million late-night living room sessions. Fact Magazine retrospectively described the album as: “Pulling from the same influences that defined the late 1980s rave explosion... reconfigured the UK’s summer of love for the Discman generation while remaining just as suited to chill-out room comedowns or Ibiza sunset sessions.” ‘Smokers Delight’ managed to capture that feeling and add a dash of light to the darkness, changing the musical landscape for Nightmares and the still young Warp label forever. The album has been a consistent success for Warp, achieving Silver certification in the UK.
Interviewed in Joe Muggs’ book Bass, Mids, Tops; George expands on his inspiration and headspace at the time of creating ‘Smokers Delight’: “It was all the things that turned me on: reggae, soul, and through sampling and digging, hip hop was the backbone. That’s why you’ve got the dub influences on there, and the lovers rock soulful influence in there. That album is the DNA of everything that turns me on musically. At the time people used to say to me, “You’ve definitely got a Nightmares sound,” I’d be like, “Really, what do you mean?” But where I am now today, I think I understand that from a vibrational and spiritual point of view. I’m more in tune with what my heart feels and what I’m connected to when I’m making music. I know when I’m in that zone.”
