Wallace on tartan, techno & too much clubbing

The Skinny: Where are you currently based?

Wallace: I’m in Shrewsbury; south of Manchester, West of Birmingham, just east of the Welsh border.   

How did your kilt-sporting Scottish character come about?

My dad’s side of the family is from Edinburgh and Fife. I don't have the accent, so I'm constantly disappointing people, but that part of my nationality means a lot to me. When it came to choosing a DJ name, everything sounded contrived or bland. I thought I’d use my surname and the clan tartan rather than create some bespoke brand. It offered me the ability to hide behind a look. I did also study in Edinburgh from 2008.  

How was it?

The scene was a bit flat at the time. I watched Tame Impala play to ten people at Sneaky Pete’s. In terms of dance music, there wasn’t really a big party or night that dominated. My first gig was at a squat party my friends ran on Forrest Road. There was a real opportunity to make our mark promoting at Cab Vol – it was the hot spot back then. I remember we booked Erol Alkan. If you’d have told me at the time I’d be releasing on his label, Phantasy, next month I’d have said pull the other one! 

What were some landmark moments in the 12 years between?

Moving from a city to the countryside was the main catalyst for change. I tried to stay on after my degree in 2013, but I was going to Sneaky’s every other night and not doing anything. I needed to find focus, and I was never going to get that in Edinburgh. Many artists find their creative spark in the hustle and bustle… mine always came from a quieter place. There’s so much inspiration in nature. It’s this endless pool of beauty and complexities to draw from.  My dad used to make nature documentaries, and as a kid, I’d go out to wherever he was researching. 

Your mum was a music teacher, right? Does she offer feedback?

She's never fed back on my music, but she is learning the harp. I’d love to do a record with her one day. It’d be nice to have someone who’s driven so much of what I do today in the studio.   

You collaborated with a vocalist for your new record, Cravings / Concourse. How did it come about?

I'd discussed doing a record with Erol the week before I played Panorama Bar (in my kilt). I dropped a Love Letters track in the set, and a friend of his – who’d been in the crowd – came up to me afterwards. So, I reached out to Maxime, and he did what you now hear on the record pretty much first take. It was the first time I'd worked with a vocalist, and he’d never been asked to do it before. It was nice it came around in this serendipitous, stress-free way.  

What are some prominent themes found on Cravings / Concourse?

David Byrne wrote this book about music and space. You’re always writing something for your environment. I think this release is a nice segue into the colder months. The lyrics explore the nature of cravings, intimacy, sexuality, and personal experiences with navigating desire. If you ask a room full of people what they crave, it will be different for everyone. It means something to me, something to you.   

What do you crave?

I'm constantly in the pursuit of digging for new music. That’s the feeling that's driven me since I was 18.    

And what drives you to make music?

There’s not too much of a theme to my work, it's just an expression of how I'm feeling that day. Whether that be happy, sad, dark or warm, I've always tried to make it feel alive.   

Do you have a process or equipment to get around this?

I use hardware. It gives you the ability to stop screen staring and use your hands and ears to feel what you're doing. But equally, you need expensive equipment, you can mimic it within the computer by mapping the parameters of sounds to a MIDI controller, recording long takes, editing out the shit, and keeping the best bits. It’s often the mistakes, where the best bits lie.    

When are you back over the border?

I’m in Edinburgh on Saturday 14 December. I’ll be playing The Bongo Club with Percy Main – a friend from university – who actually runs an amazing sandwich shop called Alby’s. The oldies are back in town.

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Cravings / Concourse is out now via Phantasy; Wallace plays The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 14 Dec