Nightmares on Wax — Aftermath

JUL 01 1990 · 12:00

Nightmares on Wax — Aftermath (1990) Director: Jarvis Cocker Era: Yorkshire Bleep & UK Rave Vanguard (1990) - The single's October 1990 release places this video at the precise apex of the UK bleep techno explosion, concurrent with LFO and Sweet Exorcist on Warp Records, and immediately preceding the Second Summer of Love's cultural crystallisation into identifiable subcultures. Exceptionally high. This is a rare confirmed-directed early work by Jarvis Cocker for one of the foundational tracks of the Yorkshire bleep canon, released on Warp Records' inaugural roster. It documents a precise cultural moment — the peak of UK bleep techno's chart penetration — in a visual idiom (VHS-grade, nocturnal, industrial) that is inseparable from the music's identity. The video's subsequent inclusion in the BFI Southbank 'BUG: Warp Records' retrospective confirms its standing as a historically significant artefact within the broader narrative of UK electronic music and its visual culture. Context: Released 8 October 1990 on Warp Records in association with Outer Rhythm, 'Aftermath' reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1990. It was hailed as one of the finest examples of the 'Yorkshire bleep' style — the propulsive, bass-heavy techno sound developed by Leeds and Sheffield acts on Warp alongside LFO, Sweet Exorcist, and Tricky Disco. The track samples Newcleus' 'Jam On It' and Cuba Gooding's 'Happiness Is Just Around the Bend', embodying bleep techno's practice of fusing electro, hip-hop, and Chicago house. The video was created at the precise cultural moment when UK rave culture was transitioning from illegal warehouse events into a nationally recognised movement, making it a document of the underground-to-mainstream inflection point. It later appeared on Nightmares on Wax's 1991 debut album A Word of Science, which is widely regarded as a blueprint for 1990s trip-hop and downtempo music. Director notes: Confirmed co-directed by Jarvis Cocker and Martin Wallace (IMDb; Culture Fandom wiki). The video was produced for Warp Records as part of the label's inaugural release cycle. It was made before Cocker achieved mainstream fame with Pulp, during a period in which he was actively directing promotional clips for Warp artists including LFO and Aphex Twin. The video was later featured at the 'BUG: Warp Records' special event at BFI Southbank, where a selection of rare early Warp music videos directed by a young Jarvis Cocker were screened and discussed. The production reflects the zero-budget, DIY ethos of early Warp releases, consistent with the label's generic-sleeve aesthetic and Northern English underground electronic scene.