Nightmares on Wax | You Wish

Nightmares on Wax’s “You Wish” - how George Evelyn chopped a Judy Clay sample in two hours to create a downtempo classic that hit #1 on Beatport eight years after release.

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Story Behind “You Wish”

The Two-Hour Masterpiece

Sometimes the tracks that take the longest to perfect aren’t the ones that resonate most. “You Wish” came together in under two hours—an anomaly for George Evelyn, who typically obsesses over every element of his productions. “That’s something for me that never happens,” Evelyn admitted when reflecting on the track’s creation.

The story actually begins with another artist entirely. Evelyn had originally written a song for Mozez (who appears elsewhere on In a Space Outta Sound) that used a sample from Judy Clay and William Bell’s 1968 Stax single “Private Number.” But something wasn’t clicking, and he pulled the sample out. “Fast forward, and I’m still looking at this sample going, ‘There’s something I want to do with this,’” Evelyn recalled.

Robin Taylor-Firth’s Three Takes

Toward the end of recording the album, Evelyn approached his longtime collaborator Robin Taylor-Firth with an idea. “I said to Robin Taylor-Firth, ‘I want you to rephrase what’s in the guitar loop, but I want you to jam around it. I’m just going to chop it up and do something with it, use it as an interlude or something like that.’”

Taylor-Firth laid down three different takes on keyboards. That was it. Evelyn went to work, and two hours later, a track that was intended as a brief interlude had become one of the album’s most enduring moments. There’s a lesson there about getting out of your own way—”as a producer, you can be a bit of a perfectionist,” Evelyn noted, “but some things you can just do because you’re not in your own way.”

“You Wish” Recording and Production Details

Sampling Stax Soul

The foundation of “You Wish” rests on that Judy Clay and William Bell sample from “Private Number,” a 1968 duet produced by Booker T. Jones for Stax Records. The sample appears at 0:32 and continues throughout the track, providing the soulful backbone that gives “You Wish” its warm, nostalgic quality.

Evelyn didn’t simply loop the sample—he filtered and processed it, layering Taylor-Firth’s keyboard improvisations on top to create something that felt both vintage and contemporary. This approach exemplifies the Nightmares on Wax production philosophy: using musicians like samplers, capturing live performances and then reshaping them into something new.

The Nightmares on Wax Sound

In a Space Outta Sound marked Evelyn’s fifth studio album and represented a return after a period of silence. The album blends dub-heavy trip-hop with Jamaican influences, and “You Wish” sits perfectly within this framework—relaxed but purposeful, sample-based but live-feeling.

The track runs 3:30, clocking in at 103 BPM in A minor. That slow tempo gives it an unhurried, meditative quality that has made it a staple of chillout playlists and DJ sets for nearly two decades.

Notes About “You Wish” by Nightmares on Wax

• Release Date: February 20, 2006 (UK: March 7, 2006)

• Duration: 3:30

• Genre: Downtempo / Trip-Hop / Chillout

• Album: In a Space Outta Sound (5th studio album, track 6)

• Producer: George Evelyn

• Label: Warp Records

• Key: A Minor

• BPM: 103

• Chart Performance: #1 on Beatport Chillout chart (2008, held for approximately two years)

Nightmares on Wax “You Wish” Era Details

Album Details

• Album: In a Space Outta Sound

• Release Date: February 20, 2006 (US); March 7, 2006 (UK)

• Label: Warp Records

• Producer: George Evelyn

• Total Tracks: 12

• Chart Performance: #93 UK Albums Chart

• Critical Reception: Metacritic score of 64 (”generally favorable reviews”)

Personnel

• George Evelyn - Production, Programming, Composition

• Robin Taylor-Firth - Keyboards

• Booker T. Jones - Original “Private Number” producer (sampled)

• William Bell - Original songwriter (sampled)

Sample Credits

• Track contains sample from “Private Number” by Judy Clay and William Bell (Stax, 1968)

• Original song written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell

Album Context

• Fifth studio album from Nightmares on Wax

• First album in seven years (following Mind Elevation in 2002)

• Features collaborations with Mozez, Ricky Rankin, and others

• Described as having more Jamaican influences than previous releases

• Reissued on vinyl in 2014

Interesting Facts About “You Wish”

The Gorillaz Effect

Eight years after its release, “You Wish” experienced an unexpected second life. Gorillaz included the track in one of their mixes for Pandora around 2007, and suddenly this album deep cut found a massive new audience. “By the end of 2008, the track was number 1 on Beatport for close on two years,” Evelyn recounted. “I think it went back to number 1 in 2011.”

Evelyn’s reaction captures the bewilderment of any artist watching an older track suddenly explode: “I’m like, ‘But it’s eight years old now? Where were you lot then!’” The experience shaped his philosophy about releasing music: “I believe that songs are like little babies with their own little spirit, and once you let them out there, they take on their own life.”

The Accidental Hit

“You Wish” was never intended to be a standout track. Evelyn initially planned to use it as an interlude—a brief transitional moment rather than a proper song. The fact that it became one of his most recognized tracks speaks to the strange alchemy of music creation.

“’You Wish’ is just one of those tracks that I wouldn’t say was deeply thought about at all, but it’s been taken on this amazing journey,” Evelyn reflected. “I think there’s a freedom there, because as a producer, you can be a bit of a perfectionist, but some things you can just do because you’re not in your own way.”

The track has appeared on numerous compilations including Ministry of Sound collections, Science Fiction Jazz Volume Ten, and Nightmares on Wax’s own career retrospective N.O.W. Is The Time (2014).

Common Questions

Q: What sample does “You Wish” use? A: “You Wish” samples “Private Number” by Judy Clay and William Bell, a 1968 Stax Records single produced by Booker T. Jones. The sample appears at 0:32 and runs throughout the track.

Q: How long did it take to make “You Wish”? A: George Evelyn created “You Wish” in approximately two hours after Robin Taylor-Firth recorded three keyboard takes. Evelyn has noted this rapid creation was unusual for him as a producer.

Q: Why did “You Wish” become popular years after release? A: Gorillaz included the track in a Pandora mix around 2007, exposing it to a new audience. By 2008, the song reached #1 on the Beatport Chillout chart, where it remained for approximately two years.

Q: What album is “You Wish” on? A: “You Wish” is track 6 on In a Space Outta Sound, Nightmares on Wax’s fifth studio album, released on Warp Records in February/March 2006.

Q: Who plays keyboards on “You Wish”? A: Robin Taylor-Firth plays keyboards on the track. He’s a longtime Nightmares on Wax collaborator who has appeared on multiple albums including Carboot Soul and Smokers Delight.