So Ease, your phone number is not Leeds , where are you living now?
“I have been living in Ibiza for three years now, I got married in Koh Samui, Thailand then returned to Leeds and myself and my wife just one day looked at each other and thought, this is all just bricks and mortar, let’s move somewhere hot…so we now live in Santa Gertrudis. And love it. Our ‘Wax Da Beach’ parties at the beach bar Kumharas have been brilliant too…”
So Leeds back in the day, you got into dance music and club culture through hip hop and breakdancing…what tunes and bands were you listening to back then?
“Everything really. Ska, Electro, The Scientist, anything Dub, The Specials, the tune ‘Buffalo Girls just blew me away, Trax Records, 2 Tone. I was organising illegal raves in Leeds that combined anything from house to jazz – amazing nights…”
Did you stay out of trouble as a kid?
“My mum has just walked in, shall we ask her? Let’s put it this way, I never got caught…”
Where did the name come from?
Me and my mate started doing bedroom hip hop mix tapes and tagged a line that included the phrase ‘your wildest dreams’…Nightmares On Wax just evolved from there…
How did you meet Kevin Harper who you released your first album in 1991 ‘A Word of Science:The First And Final Chapter’.
“Ha, the boy wonder. Well I was breakdancing in Leeds then I met this stupendous bodypopper called Kevin in Bradford. He taught me how to scratch and DJ, he later moved to Leeds, we made a tune, pressed it up ourselves and then drove and down the country selling it to record shops. We were so fortunate that which ever record store we hit there was a big DJ or label dude – Dave Dorrell, Paul Anderson, Mike Pickering, Graeme Park…Warp picked us up and off we went…”
You went on to run The Headz Club in Leeds, what sort of DJs and tunes were coming out of those speakers?
“Wow, Africa Bambaataa, DJ Shadow, the early Mo Wax stuff…head nodding beats, you know?”
You are known for spinning anything from chill out, acid house, electronica – what do you prefer playing?
“Just honest music – records with feeling and a vibe, the genre doesnt matter.”
What is currently on your car stereo?
“The Seven Samurai album.”
What record never leaves your box?
“The Lonnie Liston Smith double sider headed up by Expansions…”
Messiest night you’ve ever had with Dave Beer?
“Are you joking, a million!?”
So, tell us about the August album ‘Thought So’, how long did that take?
“I wrote this on the drive from Leeds to Ibiza, my Spanish frind Nacho drove us down in a camper van, I knew I had to get down to my new home and get my studio set up but I just did it on the road.”
Best club you’ve ever DJ’d at?
“Hmmm, Icon in Berlin and ‘Downbeat’ in Leeds…”
What has been your proudest release you’ve put out?
“Got to be ‘Smokers Delight’.
What DJs you’ve played on the same bill as have you thought, yeah this person is wicked?
“Mr Scruff and the don DJ Spinna.”
What one tune ever released would you like to remix?
“To be honest, if I ever like a tune – leave it untouched.”
Jennifer Lopez or Angelina Jolie?
“Angelina.”
What is next for us to expect from The Nightmares on Wax?
“A load of UK dates and the new single out this week.”
