As we nudge house music gently off the scene, and welcome a revamp of funk, groove and disco, we also prepare for the astonishingly cool dude that is George Evelyn, AKA Nightmares On Wax.

He will be returning to’t North on 20th March, having grown up here with a soundtrack of dub, reggae and heavy bass. He now resides in Ibiza, claiming that he ‘comes from the city, but sunshine is in my music’.

The intimate venue, Wire (in conjunction with Just A Little), will play host to the musical wizard, hoping that his experimental chilled-out, grooving vibes will bring some zing and Balearic sun to our chilly city. Strong support in the shape of Stephen Howe and Simon Scott, are juicy additions, to ensure those bodies are suitably warmed up for a blistering boogie.Wire has been on a winning streak with its recent chain of events, hosting Ben UFO, Daniel Avery and Boddika, to name but a few of the blinders. Add to that Nightmares On Wax, and the underground pit suddenly becomes Ali Baba’s lavish cave.

The thing about Nightmares On Wax is that he is constantly evolving and adapting to the music scene – he will not fade away like some of these artists and genres. Indeed, he has been continually reinventing himself since his first studio album in 1991. His quest has always been to find fresh music, guaranteed to leave you ‘Feeling Good’, and even if you’ve never heard of him, there’s a chance you may be one of the 1.5 million viewers/listeners of his Boiler Shop set back in 2013: a stonking hour and a half session of investigational hip-hop, soul and groove.

He is Warp Records’ longest serving artist, and for good reason: each project is dealt with in isolation, allowing inexorable improvements and genius updates. Having dabbled in the band scene, Mr Evelyn is now back on a solo mission, making music for the people to dance. He then nips to London the following night, but according to his events page, that is it for the UK, so don’t risk it, buy a ticket.

[Flora Tiley]