The release of a new Wallace record is quickly becoming an event, in the way that few records are these days. It’s wild just how quickly Wallace — Jimmy Wallace — has imposed himself and his sound on the scene, without the slightest compromise to what’s trending. A year ago Rhythm Section International described him as a “behind the scenes phenomenon” while predicting that Ripples might lead to full blown “WALLACE-MANIA.” (Emphasis most definitely in the original.) That was tongue-in-cheek but uncannily predicted the ascent of one of the least likely producers to crash the party.

On Tanzanite, Wallace revisits or perhaps revises some of the moods of Ripples, particularly the rough-hewn edges and sizzling percussion of “Whirl” or “Room 1.” There has always been a bareknuckle beat to Wallace’s tracks — “Papertrip” has parts that sound like Lennon and Ono pounding on old phone books and stomping on picnic tables. The common element in Wallace’s tracks is the drive. Wallace’s tracks are constantly rushing to get somewhere, you don’t know where and he doesn’t either but he’s in a hurry to get there. That driving sound carries the three eclectic and sometimes eccentric tracks of Tanzanite.

There’s a thematic split between the two sides that will likely appeal to two different types of DJs. The A Side features the dusty rhythms and scrap percussion of the title track and the basement bar cantina stomp of “M’bira,” brightened by what sounds like a gated xylophone or maybe even a toy. A note connects the title track and “M’bira” to time spent in Africa as a wee Wallace — “Tanzanite” is the name of a rare gemstone found only in one small mine in Tanzania. If you fuck with drums, you’ll fuck with this all day long.

On the B Side, “Red Velvet” (a tribute, one imagines, to the delicious southern cake) suborns everything to the groove. It’s sleek music for nightclubs, but with a slightly sinister element lurking. It puts your teeth on edge as machines growl and even sort of laugh in an unnerving way. “Violet” is a riot of sound and fury, built around a fragment of a guitar riff and a melody as sweet as a weepy New Romantics ballad about a brief but intense love affair.

⚪️ Tanzanite Tracklisting

Wallace: Tanzanite (On Loop / 12" Vinyl + Digital)
1. Tanzanite (04:58)
2. M’bira (06:06)
3. Red Velvet (05:28)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement

This record was submitted as a promo.

⚪️ Previous Coverage

⚪️   Cover Story: Reggie Dokes: The Searcher (2023)
⚪️   New Music: Papertrip: Wallace drops a killer EP on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section International (2024)
⚪️   New Music: Hidden Spheres – You Are Not Your Body (2022)

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