Phonica mix 135 comes in hot from one of the slickest names making waves at the moment.
Wallace – the enigmatic alias of UK producer Jimmy Wallace – continues to assert himself as a quietly formidable force in underground house music. Since his 2023 breakthrough Ripples EP on Rhythm Section International, packed with sway-inducing grooves like “Whirl,” “Pump Up The Volume” and “Cenotes,” he’s maintained a remarkable creative and club presence. In 2024, he followed up with Papertrip on RS, a magnet for DJs and dancefloors alike, and later the Tanzanite EP on On Loop, where “Red Velvet” and “M’bira” earned serious praise for their visceral propulsion.
Wallace’s latest chapter includes a headline slot at Panorama Bar, alongside touring Japan, and support from tastemakers like Moxie, Gilles Peterson, Hunee and Bradley Zero – the latter reportedly playing “four or five Wallace tracks per set” across the past year. Stop-start grooves, pumping electro and acid licks, interwoven with percussive breakdowns and bursts of raw energy, define his DJ sets— for this mix: a cerebral yet unrelenting fusion of house, electro, acid and more, made for physical, late-night immersion.
We had a quick chat with Wallace about what he has coming up:
Hey Wallace, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us about your mix and what the idea behind it was?
Thank you for having me. There wasn’t a real plan to this recording, I just amassed a folder of digs, ripped some recent purchases & let the music guide it. I like cooking mixes up in ableton & approaching them with techniques I’ve picked up on the programme over the years & creating some special edits for the occasion. Trying to nail a flow is always the greatest challenge of any mix/dj set in my opinion. Those recordings where you seemingly lose track of individual songs & let the entire thing wash over you like a silk sheet are the ones I’ve always been most drawn to.
What are your preferred methods for finding new music—do you still enjoy digging around in dusty crates, or do you prefer to buy online?
I prefer not to limit myself to a single way of searching. Bandcamp, discogs, a local record shop, youtube, beatport, mixes etc.. having a variety of sources opens you up to discovering a much wider variety of music. That said there’s an undeniable magic to finding THAT record in a shop; your back hurting, fingers covered in dust, dehydrated & then suddenly out of nowhere the thing you’ve been eagerly awaiting appears, your reward for the graft, a moment you’ll never forget.
What are five records you couldn’t live without? In terms of influences?
Carl Craig – More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art
Had this on today in the kitchen. At Les, Televised Green Smoke, Goodbye World… Carl is probably my favourite producer of all time. His music a perfectly balanced emotive rollercoaster somehow dark, uplifting, hopeful, futuristic, nostalgic all at once. Revolutionary art indeed.
Levon Vincent – Levon Vincent
Another of my perpetual favourites. Levon’s first album is pure artistry, so ballsy & unique, no one has & will ever sound like him.. the mark of a true artist.
Mathew Jonson – Fabric 84
One of the kings of live electronic performance. I keep coming back to this recording of his from Fabric’s 15th Birthday, the only mix in the series to be recorded live at the club. Was really glad to catch Mathew at Glastonbury this year, the best thing I saw on the farm over the weekend. The way Mathew breathes life into his music is complete magic & a constant source of inspiration.
Susumu Yokota – Acid Mt.Fuji = 赤富士
Powerful, precise, pioneering, thought-provoking ambient acid techno from a prolific master of the scene. The classic Japanese boxes (808, 909, 303) put to work here with stunning poise; a sparse, mysterious, transcendental love letter to Japan’s most famous landmark.
Sheila Chandra – Quiet!
A mesmerising album of drones & Sheila’s beautiful voice, which interweave & allow you to zone in & out throughout the course of the record. In her own words ” I made my writing debut at 19, on my second solo record, Quiet! I was starting to find my identity as a solo artist and I came up with the concept of 10 lyric-less soundscapes that layer the voice as an instrument – effectively creating a vocal playground for myself.” Sheila’s career was tragically cut short after suffering burning mouth syndrome in 2009 but her work lives on & she continues to work as a vocal coach & writer.
What has been one of your most memorable sets over your career?
Magnetic Fields in the Rajasthan desert last December was certainly up there. One of those rare times when all the elements combine & everyone in the room comes one. Moments like that are what I live for.
What do you have up your sleeve for 2025?
I’m just finishing a remix for an Irish band this week, then some more focused studio time over the autumn season to work on new music. Beyond that always grateful to have shows to look forward to like the great Come Bye festival in Wales next weekend & returning to Edinburgh the city where it all began for me towards the end of the year.
Thanks Wallace! 🙂
