Tornado Wallace

Review: Although this is Tornado Wallace's Mule Musiq debut, the music contained on it is not brand new - though it is pretty much on known. 'We Are Where We Are' first appeared in 2018 on a Japan-only promo CD. Back then, it was presented as one continuous, 32-minute track. For its' vinyl debut, the decidedly Balearic and psychedelic offering has been split into two parts. Each is hugely atmospheric and evocative, with the Berlin-based Australian offering non-stop, ambient house style suites that layer evocative instrumentation - twinkling pianos, pulsing electronic noises, jazzy guitars, delay-laden synth sounds and so on - and crackling field recordings atop sparse, lo-fi drum machine beats and dubbed-out basslines.

Review: Three years on from the release of his terrifically Balearic and glassy-eyed debut LP on Running Back, Lewis Day AKA Tornado Wallace offers up a sequel of sorts: a fine mini-album that marks his first appearance on JD Twitch's admirable Optimo Music label. The collected cuts still contain some of the Australian producer's sonic hallmarks - those colourful synths and so on - but the overall mood is far more psychedelic, intense and otherworldly than some may expect, with definite nods towards feverish African rhythms, humid ambient techno, raw early '80s new wave cuts and the hallucinatory electronics of early goa trance. It's a definite sonic shift, but one that's hugely successful. In fact, it may well be his most alluring release to date.

Review: Given Gerd Jansen's experience, connections and deep-rooted knowledge of underground dance music culture, it's perhaps unsurprising that he's recruited some top-draw talents to remix Tornado Wallace's fantastic Lonely Planet album. Versatile veteran I:Cube is arguably the star of the show. Not only does he deliver a deliciously saucer-eyed take on "Today" - think spacey, left-of-centre synth-pop fused with dream house aesthetics and lolloping electro beats - but also a slightly more tribal-sounding "Beats" version full of dub delays that's equally as inspired. Elsewhere, Move D provides a darker, thickset deep house version of "Today", while Scandolearic overlord Prins Thomas turns "Trance Encounters" into a bubbling, otherworldly epic rich in bustling acid lines, descending melodies and sun-kissed guitars.