With his hotly anticipated new project, Echo45 Sound System, due in a month, stalwart innovator Nightmares On Wax discusses the record’s individual cuts.
Nightmares On Wax – or George Evelyn – is an emblem of the maxim: ‘If you know, you know.’ The legendary visionary has a tenure that stretches across three decades and is the longest-serving artist of the label Warp Records. An auteur of the avant-garde, a genre-defiant arbiter, an orchestrator of boundary-pushing art. If you don’t know, you probably should.
Evelyn is gearing up to release his latest body of music on 14th November. The work is entitled Echo45 Sound System, and sees the artist bringing together an eclectic plethora of highly revered artists. Among those featured are: Oscar Jermone, Yasiin Bey, Greentea Peng, Sadie Walker, and Liam Bailey.
With a fresh teaser, “True”, featuring the aforementioned Walker, now blessing our ears, Wonderland asked Evelyn to break down the individual track list for the forthcoming project. Keep scrolling…
Listen to True…
Read the track-by-track…
“Echo 45, We Are” ft. Oscar Jerome
We wanted that soulful ’80s radio jingle vibe, and Oscar brought in the soulful element.
“Dive Into” ft. Louis VI
It’s a roots reggae vibe with a modern twist, and Louis brought that ancient meets contemporary feel.
“Desire” ft. Haile Supreme & Liam Bailey.
It came together in three stages: a soulful reggae foundation, Haile’s vocals, and Liam’s toasting, giving it that dancehall edge.
“Bang Bien” ft. Yasiin Bey
It’s got a hypnotic, almost ancient chant feel, and Yasiin brought in a tribal, abstract hip-hop vibe.
“Echo 45” ft. Liam Bailey
It’s our dubplate signature, a call out to the sound system and our crew, tying into that pirate radio and sound clash vibe.
“I Remember” ft. Greentea Peng
It’s a nostalgic boom-bap track where she reflects on growing up with music capturing that shared love of sound system culture.
“Starwood Bound” ft. Sadie Walker
It’s got that British street soul vibe, blending hip-hop, reggae, and soul influenced by pirate radio.
“Ain’t So” ft. LSK
It’s a conscious call to action track, touching on social issues and bringing that reflective moment into the album.
“Mumzie Cut” ft. Liam Bailey
It’s an ode to sound system culture bringing in that classic reggae vibe and paying homage to the legends.
“Holding On” ft. Ladi6
It’s a sunny blend of dub and street soul recorded in New Zealand adding a warm touch to the album’s foundation.
“Wind of Change” ft. Yarah Bravo
It’s a conscious spiritual track about being your authentic self and letting go of what’s not truly you.
“True”
This song taps into that ’80s street soul vibe, like Loose Ends or 52nd Street. Sadie wrote it about missing her grandma and still feeling her spirit around.
“Hop-To-Mystic” ft. Liam Bailey
Wraps it up on a rootical, comforting note, bringing everything full circle with that smooth, legendary reggae feel.
