Photo: Mimm
Mimm and Local Motive are continuing to grace Nottingham with the most prolific and interesting artists the Funktion Ones can handle. After hosting tastemaker Gilles Peterson earlier in 2014, and then the lovable Mr Scruff a little later, it came as no surprise that the slickest promoters in town were set to serve up another legendary name - Nightmares on Wax.
A bloke who’s been dipped in coatings of soul from a young age and has only added to his musical layers, Nightmares on Wax is the bird in a bird in a bird on the Christmas dinner table - the meal you’ve been waiting for all year. With influences including everything from hip hop, to reggae, to electronica, to house, to jungle and trip hop, the evening was set to be a plate filled with all the trimmings and an extra couple of yorkies shoved in for good measure.
We didn’t arrive at The Irish Centre (I refuse to call it The I Club) until quite late, so unfortunately missed Aicha’s set. As the sister of local master lyricist K-Deuce and promoter of new Dilla-influenced night Donuts, this was clearly the move of a bunch of imbeciles – we’ll have to make up for it by coming to her next event, grabbing free doughnuts while we’re at it in a totally selfless act.
But, I digress. I love The Irish Centre. Every time I walk through the doors, I know it’s going to be a wicked night. There’s normally a weird, underground buzz reminiscent of Blueprint days and this evening was no different. A venue charmingly rough around the edges, packed with music lovers of every age with massive smiles on their faces. Up the stairs we went, only to discover the new record shop, Plates, at the top. We had a quick flick through some vinyl and got proper buzzing off some burning incense before grabbing a drink and heading into the main room. We managed to catch Tusk’s final few funky disco beats while casting an eye on the growing crowd from seating at the side.
With happy vibes all round, it was high time to get excited so, after a few teeth clenches and friendly face-grabs, it was time to soldier on to the front, where the sound was much louder and clearer. Enter Nightmares on Wax. It was Bob Marley’s birthday that day so, naturally, he opened his set with Is This Love, getting the whole room singing and hugging in harmony. It were bleddy beautiful.
What happened after that can only be described as musical witchcraft. How can one man jump from funk to drum ‘n’ bass and fuse them together so well? It was like a grandma dancing with her grandson at a family reunion. Lovleh. The way he linked the bloodline in all the genres and threaded it through to each tune meant a complete globule of musical fluid that just… worked.
I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t recognise half the tunes he played but I enjoyed myself all the better for it. Everything was so sumptuous and edible, and the masterfully calculated peaks of the journey just meant the tunes made so much more sense. Nightmares on Wax is a master of tease. First he caressed the crowd with delicate and easy tunes, soon moving into beats that had mid-range peaks to get the feet moving, bringing everyone back down slowly, then he blasted us with full force of the Funktion Ones, sending everyone crackers.
A serious session that made me feel right at home. I can’t wait for the next collaboration from Mimm and Local Motive, they certainly know who to get on the blower when thinking of whacking on a night of epic proportions.
Nightmares on Wax played The Irish Centre on Friday 7 February 2015.
Local Motive website
Mimm website
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