Name: Mister Wallace
Occupation: Rapper, DJ, producer
Nationality: American
Recent release: Mr Wallace teams up with Chrissy for "It's Time To Dance", out now via Maximum Airtime.
Recommendations: "Hi Cotton" by Blu Bone; KV8 | Cut The Music by DJ Delish

[Read our Chrissy interview]

If you enjoyed this Mister Wallace interview and would like to stay up to date with their music and current live dates, visit them on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.



What made it appealing to you to DJ yourself? What was it that you wanted to express and what, did you feel, did you have to add artistically?

Communicating through music was something I learned at home and something I’ve practice since my teens; making mixtapes for the girls I liked in middle school.

Love has always been at the root of my expression. I’ve always loved to make people smile and dance and once I learned I could do that for folks in clubs and like, it was love at first sight.

Which other DJs were important for your development and what did you learn from them?

Derrick Carter taught me the importance of story telling through lyric, beat and style. Shaun J Wright has been instrumental in my development as a DJ showing me the different ways to blend and mix as well as helping me with equipment and confidence. My Banjee Report collective members embraced me as a storyteller in all forms and gave me space to refine my craft.

I am infinitely inspire by aCeb00mbaP, N.O., and Hijo Prodigo

What does a great DJ add to the clubbing experience?

All the great DJs I know bring a sense of fun, freedom, and fearlessness to mixing and in turn the club experience. No matter the genre they are enjoying what they bring to the club and the club in turns loves the shared vibrations.

Being aware of your audience and yourself is crucial to any shared experience.
 
Do you think that DJing creates a new form that can take on the qualities of a composition in its own right? Is this something you strive for?

The best mixes for me are when two or more songs, loops, or samples are played in tandem to create a new sound in its own right.

I think of all American Music and how it has been an alchemy of sounds and rhythms from different parts of the diaspora and beyond.

Creating new sounds or signature sounds is the essential to my mix.

When digging for music to play at your sets, what do you listen for?   

I’m often looking for invoking lyrics, nostalgic or new melodies, moody sounds, crazy drums and heavy bass.

I love music that sets a scene for me. If I can feel the rave, or the roof top lounge in the music I’m instantly drawn to how I can mix it up.

How would you describe the experience of DJing, physically and mentally? Do you listen – and DJ - with your eyes open or closed?

DJing for me has always been in the body. Whether it is the push of the fader, the tap of cue, or the stomp in the feet it takes the body and the bodies understanding of time to play and mix for the club. Some of my favorite DJs are amazing dancers.  

How does the decision making process work during a gig with regards to the inclusion of key records, the next transition and where you want the set to go? How far do you tend to plan ahead during a set?

I can plan months in advance if I have the notice for a gig. I’m always looking for the songs for THEE moment. If the event is themed in genre or style I’ll definitely go back to previous sets but digging for me is intuitive and I allow music to find me.

Sets have a beginning middle and end but the party goes on. I transition to move me, my audience, and the story to completion.

When you're DJing, does it actually feel like you're inventing something on the spot – or are you inventively re-arranging patterns from preparations, practise or previous performances?

Both. Having signature mixes can define your sets from others but Im not having fun if I’m not allowing myself the freedom to play in real-time.

Describe how the presence of audiences/dancers influences your mixing. How do you engage with them?

I love to see people dance. It is the reason I play for crowds and it is what I’m here to inspire.

Movement, freedom, expression and love of the beat in your heart.
 
Online DJ mixes, created in the studio as a solitary event, have become ubiquitous. From your experience with the format, how does the experience and the way you DJ when you subtract the audience?

I can resonate with the audiences I’ve moved and the audiences I’ve been a part of when I’m alone making mixes.

The beat is in my heart and I carry it everywhere I go.
 
Technology has continually taken on more steps of DJing, producing and other "creative" tasks. From your point of view, where does "technology" end and "creativity" begin? Especially in the light of advances in AI, where do you see the role of humans in DJing versus that of technology?

I think humans will always have a part in the creative process because humans are the creative process. Our use of technology is merely another use of our own ingenuity and that technology has changed and will continue to change with time.

As long as we remain, we will be the root and the rewards of the creative process.

Collaboration is a key part of almost every aspect of music making, but it is stil rare in DJing. Do you have an idea why this is? Tell me about your own views on back-to-back DJing, interactions with live musicians or other forms of turning DJing into a more collective process.

I learned to play with others so back to back is natural to me.

I think DJing remains mostly a solo act because it takes time to express yourself in this format and sharing that narrative is hard when you have a solid point of view.

DJing requires empathy, focus, time management, patience, and vision, among others. Are you finding that the way you play influences the way your life your life and vice versa?

DJing has given me access to people's joy, their ecstasy, and their pain. I hold so much gratitude for the life DJing has offered me. I’ve been to places I never thought I would to play for people I would never have met otherwise.

That access is a gift I’ll always cherish and representing my culture and my home is a gift of its own.

Do you feel as though DJIng is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
 
Yes but coffee is cool, too.

Let's imagine you lost all your music for one night and all there is left at the venue is a crate of records containing a random selection of music. How would you approach this set?  

Tell a story and have fun.