B.P.T. Radio 036: Tornado Wallace

We welcome Tornado Wallace (@tornadowallace), long time friend of the label and whose record 'Falling Sun' we released through Second Circle back in 2016.  Interview (excerpt) down below.

www.musicfrommemory.com

MFM: Hey Lewie, how have you been lately?

TW: I dipped out to East Asia and Australia for the infamous Berlin winter and now I’m back ready for the euro warmth. Though it’s in no hurry to arrive here just yet.

MFM: There's a new record coming on Basic Spirit, the label you run with Jamie Tiller, and it all looks rather secretive... Can you tell us more about it Lew E? :) 

TW: I made these tracks when I was holed up sick for a week. Not being able to go to the studio I relied strictly on samples and software, which was fun to change the workflow up a little bit. I wanted to make some very club ready tracks, without any intention for a release. They (rather obviously) sample two well known tracks, but there’s a lot of new ideas too. I use a different name as it felt like a different style and approach to how I usually go about things. I think there will be more Lew E things on the horizon though :D.

MFM: Previous releases on Basic Spirit also had this '90s touch to it. What is it that you like about (music from) that era?

TW: I grew up in the 90s so a lot of the music coming out then really hits the nostalgic feels. But also, really interesting things were happening with technology, and it became a lot more affordable to put together a record. So there were a lot of - for lack of a better term - laymen releasing electronic music. Some of which had very new and out-there approaches to processes like sampling, mixing and arranging. But trends and technology all moved along so quickly that some of these sounds and ideas never had a chance to get fully fleshed out. Which is why it’s nice to pick up where some left off. People are currently very responsive to this late 90s/early 2000s sound, which is great for me because that’s a time when I really fell in love with electronic music. As a DJ, I’m playing these really personal tracks that I discovered as a teenager, and for the first time since I began playing parties/clubs 18 years ago, people seem to really understand them. It’s a very cool feeling.

MFM: You've also started a new more pop oriented project called a.s.o. together with vocalist Alia Seror O’Neill. Has it always been a dream or goal of yours to start a more band kind of project? Does it require a different writing/recording approach compared to when making dance music for the clubs?

TW: I like making music that I like listening to. And with the pandemic in full swing in 2020, I was having a little break from club music, and diving deeper into other styles of music I enjoy. Both from a listening and producing perspective. I found it to be a very different approach. It’s more melody/hook driven and focuses on getting ideas down quickly as they’re forming. A lot of the time I would use a basic keyboard and guitar to record, and Alia would add vocal melodies and harmonies on the fly. Sometimes it could get difficult when we would both want to put our fleeting ideas down at the same time! On that note, collaboration is never easy for me as I like to have full creative control of whatever it is I’m working on, and sometimes the creative paths divide and compromises have to be made. Sometimes the compromised path is thick and thorny, and sometimes it is paved gold and smells of roses.

MFM: How did you go through the selecting and recording process, any specific record or mood you had planned?

TW: I came across a bunch of really nice tracks all in a relatively similar downtempo/shoegaze style, and wanted to make a mix of music like that. For moody home/car/train etc listening. I also included a forthcoming Cousin remix of an a.s.o. single which I love and wanted to share early!

MFM Mix 049: Tornado Wallace

Dipping into warmer waters with the Life Classics mood masters tapped into a soul defining well of exquisite late 90s and early 00s house music. Dreamy, techy, jazzy, groovy, this one has it all. 

Deep house at its absolute finest.

@sanctuary3

Q. What inspiration did you draw upon when putting this mix together? Is there a sound, feeling, or time/place in dance music history that connects all the different elements in one way or another?

A. We’ve always had our heads locked into the deeper shades of house from the late 90’s to early 00’s, in particular those nostalgic tracks that tap into that spacey special place. The mix is shaped around a bunch of records that resonate that feeling for us, a nod to those dance floor dreamers found late into the night with stars in their eyes.

Q. Are there any records in the mix that are especially close to your hearts, or old favourites that you’ve been keeping up your sleeves for the right moment?

A. The opening track is from Ronin's Night Grooves EP. A firm favourite of ours that we've kept on rotation over the years. And also the last track from Aurora Borealis on FNAC, this one has been on the shelf for long minute, but don't often play it out so it felt right letting it run here.

Q. What’s the latest with your Life Classics parties in Berlin? Do you have some fun nights planned at OHM once again this year, and who have been some of the guests that have blown your minds in recent years, and why?

A. We just had a banging start to another year's residency a couple of weeks back with Telephones. Next month we've got Antal coming through again, he has been a staple of our nights since the A.S.E days and it's always a wild one. Red Greg was definitely a recent highlight, treated us all to a master class deep into the wee hours.

MDC.294 Sanctuary

Tornado Wallace B2B Telephones All Night Long. Recorded live at Savage in Hanoi on 01.11.2024. Huge thanks to the Savage and (RE)TREAT Festival crew 😍

Tornado Wallace B2B Telephones All Night Long @ Savage, Hanoi - 01.11.24

One of the most requested files from the Figaro vault is being declassified. Prins’ set at Echo Beach this year sure was a doozy, it had the paddock bopping as day turned into night ~ undeniably fun, undeniably classy. Get your laughing gear around Prins Thomas’ Echo recording.

Echo Tones #4 - Prins Thomas

New Sound Metaphors DJs promo mix 2025. 
Thanks for your support! ❤️

For bookings (Sound Metaphors DJs):
dominic@thepool-london.com

H.A.N.D. MIX 066 : Sound Metaphors DJs

Recorded live at Giant Steps 09.02.25

@johngomezldn
@aneeshp

John Gómez at Giant Steps

Spontaneous session at the wedding party of Chrissi & Stefan in Salzwedel /Bürgermeisterhof

Chris' Idea c/o Arno, Uwe & Justi

@ssofayyy
berlincommunityradio.com/cooking-palms-trax
mixcloud.com/BCR_Radio/

Cooking With Palms Trax 019 ft. Sofay

berlincommunityradio.com/cooking-palms-trax
mixcloud.com/BCR_Radio/

Cooking With Palms Trax 031

Cooking With Palms Trax // NTS o8

Palms Trax is a producer and Dj based in Berlin, Germany. His first record was released in October of 2013 on London-based imprint Lobster Theremin.

For bookings: matt@octopus-agents.com