Nightmares On Wax
★★★★ Shout Out! To Freedom… WARP. CD/DL/LP
A brush with mortality inspires guest-laden psychsoul suite by Warp stalwart.
A cancer scare forced George Evelyn, Warp’s longest-serving if least heralded act, to stop, take stock and listen to his inner voice as he hung up his DJ headphones in early 2020. The man who went from bleep to bong in the mid-’90s digs much deeper here, combining his mastery of late-night hip-hop grooves with unhurried electronica, jazz and dub, the soulful murmurings of Haile Supreme glueing it all together. Whether coaxing tender, melodic sax turns from Shabaka Hutchings (Wonder’s Balearic sunrise vibes), witnessing Washington DC rap Afro-futurists OSHUN manifest their destiny (Breathe In) or letting the pulse drop for Greentea Peng to ride languid steel drums (Wikid Satellites), its class is unmistakeable, surpassing even the low-slung gait of 1995’s previous career milestone Smokers Delight. Andy Cowan