One of the prime architects of the organic grooves later dubbed trip-hop,
Nightmares on Wax deserted their early formula in 2002 only when it became respectable and a crossover appeared most likely. With the air cleared of downtempo cash-ins, producer
George Evelyn and producer/keyboardist
Robin Taylor-Firth went right back to dub-heavy trip-hop with
In a Space Outta Sound. Unsurprisingly,
Nightmares on Wax remain among the best at constructing simple grooves with endless depths; their only rival is
Massive Attack. The centerpiece is "Damn," seven and a half minutes of gently undulating hip-hop courtesy of a reedy
Al Hirt sample (familiar from its use by
De La Soul) that eventually flowers into an R&B jam with a gospel choir. The other highlight is the hypnotic rocksteady groove of "Flip Ya Lid" with vocals from
Ricky Rankin. As with past
NoW releases,
In a Space Outta Sound boasts an emphasis on sound architecture that requires expensive stereo equipment (or bucket loads of narcotics) to fully appreciate.