The rumour that DJ/producer George Evelyn has given up cannabis will shock most Nightmares On Wax fans.

After all, NOW's legendary 1995 album was named Smoker's Delight after Evelyn's legendary dope intake.

But whether or not he has truly given up the herb is still up in the air.

Particularly considering NOW'S recent album is called Mind Elevation.

But Evelyn insists the only thing that influenced that album was, "life in general".

"I feel this is our most positive album to date," Evelyn explains. "This comes from my new self-awareness over the past five years and also becoming a father recently."

Evelyn is cagey about whether he has truly given up the Class C-range drugs for good but makes the point that: "I don't live my life by it anymore.

"I still believe weed is a good listening tool but I would never say it's a good creative tool.

"If you smoke weed while trying to record, you often find four hours later you have only recorded four bars of music. People know how much I used to smoke but these days even the weakest weed would seem like the best."

Instead, Evelyn is focused on developing Nightmares On Wax.

NOW's 1999 album, Carboot Soul, was a tribute to the Seventies soul and funk records that Evelyn had picked up on Sundays at car boot sales.

His mixture of soul record sampling, strange guitar effects and a horn-section to create what Evelyn describes as "the Big-Band style" combined to develop a sound that was part Seventies US, part Nineties UK.

Mind Elevation is, for Evelyn, a natural progression from Carboot Soul, as NOW again makes use of its 12-piece band, regular singer Chyna B and guest rappers.

Evelyn is also on a natural high after getting a great reception during NOW's recent tour of Australia.

"We were just so surprised and elated at the good response we had over there. We also went to a lot of great parties. They treat Sunday night just like it's Saturday night over there."

For tickets, call 01273 709709.

Preview by Jay Clifton, features@theargus.co.uk