We've said it before and we'll say it again, Melbourne music mastermind Tornado Wallace is a force to be reckoned with. Otherwise known as Lewie Day, his life is dedicated to making music and making people move their feet. Lewie does this through his productions and his DJing, not to mention through label management and party planning via the Animals Dancing collective. Someone once thought they saw him take a rest for a second, but later retracted the statement when they realised he was actually just stopping to dust off a record mid-set.Tornado Wallace will soon add Dance Music Ambassador to his CV when he relocates overseas, but before he goes there's a good chance to see him in action this Saturday at Oxford Art Factory for One Night Stand. The music won't stop as Lewie spins records from his collection for the entire night. We caught him for a quick chat about the event, and his international moves ahead.
Tornado Wallace: I'll be moving to Berlin for the sake of changing things up and making myself comfortably uncomfortable for a little while. The label and parties will be business as usual with some cool things planned for both respective branches of the Animals Dancing conglomerate.The final (infamous) C Grade event just happened at The Mercat Basement after a seven year run. Can you tell us what went down in gory detail?
We finished up just after 10am with myself and Otologic playing the full 12 hours together. The crowd was super great and stuck with us for the whole nine yards, with lots of friends and strangers coming up to us and offering congratulations and commiserations. It was hot. Unfathomably so. There is no way to try to describe how hot it was to anyone who wasn't there, save to say that we had umbrellas set up over our records in a vain attempt to salvage them from the condensation-related-rain. C Grade was a lot of fun, but it's time to say goodbye.You've been very restrained with your releases over the past couple of years, in fact it feels like you've been quite carefully and deliberately refining the post-2011 Tornado Wallace vibe. Is that a fair assessment?
I suppose I've made a conscious effort to make sure everything I release has a little something special to it, in my own eyes. Some certain idea which is perhaps a bit unconventional when coupled with another style. Or using some technology in a way that it wasn't originally intended, which isn't really that hard to do, it's just that most of this experimentation ends up sounding like shit. So for ten shitty attempts, I usually end up with about one good idea. This process means that my output is slower and smaller than other producers, but I have a lot of fun doing it and I usually end up proud of the results by the time something's released.In that sense, you and your Melbourne peers have all been developing much more divergent, and distinct musical identities in the few years since the rise of the local deep house and disco scene. How are you feeling about your home city's global influence in 2015?
It seems that the music coming from Melbourne has been increasingly popping up on the global radars over the past couple of years, which is great! I feel really proud of everyone who is doing cool things here and abroad. I don't know if it's influenced anyone else other than ourselves, but the success of friends is a terrific motivator, so I guess it will only get better and better!This Saturday you're bringing an extended set to the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney. How do you prepare for an all-night event like this one? Does your strategy differ from a shorter set?
I find preparing for all-nighters easier than preparing for a short set. I just have to pack all my favourite records - assuming they survived the last C Grade, I've been too nervous to check - and the rest sorts itself out. So long as I have some early jams, some bangers, and some end of night jams then it should all work out A-OKTornado Wallace will be bringing the heat and creating a dancefloor storm at Oxford Art Factory Saturday February 28th. Be at the centre of it. Tickets available here.
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THUMP: The influential Animals Dancing crew is going to be splintering internationally this year. What do you have planned for yourself, the label and the party in the months ahead?
Tornado Wallace: I'll be moving to Berlin for the sake of changing things up and making myself comfortably uncomfortable for a little while. The label and parties will be business as usual with some cool things planned for both respective branches of the Animals Dancing conglomerate.The final (infamous) C Grade event just happened at The Mercat Basement after a seven year run. Can you tell us what went down in gory detail?
We finished up just after 10am with myself and Otologic playing the full 12 hours together. The crowd was super great and stuck with us for the whole nine yards, with lots of friends and strangers coming up to us and offering congratulations and commiserations. It was hot. Unfathomably so. There is no way to try to describe how hot it was to anyone who wasn't there, save to say that we had umbrellas set up over our records in a vain attempt to salvage them from the condensation-related-rain. C Grade was a lot of fun, but it's time to say goodbye.You've been very restrained with your releases over the past couple of years, in fact it feels like you've been quite carefully and deliberately refining the post-2011 Tornado Wallace vibe. Is that a fair assessment?
I suppose I've made a conscious effort to make sure everything I release has a little something special to it, in my own eyes. Some certain idea which is perhaps a bit unconventional when coupled with another style. Or using some technology in a way that it wasn't originally intended, which isn't really that hard to do, it's just that most of this experimentation ends up sounding like shit. So for ten shitty attempts, I usually end up with about one good idea. This process means that my output is slower and smaller than other producers, but I have a lot of fun doing it and I usually end up proud of the results by the time something's released.In that sense, you and your Melbourne peers have all been developing much more divergent, and distinct musical identities in the few years since the rise of the local deep house and disco scene. How are you feeling about your home city's global influence in 2015?
It seems that the music coming from Melbourne has been increasingly popping up on the global radars over the past couple of years, which is great! I feel really proud of everyone who is doing cool things here and abroad. I don't know if it's influenced anyone else other than ourselves, but the success of friends is a terrific motivator, so I guess it will only get better and better!This Saturday you're bringing an extended set to the Oxford Art Factory in Sydney. How do you prepare for an all-night event like this one? Does your strategy differ from a shorter set?
I find preparing for all-nighters easier than preparing for a short set. I just have to pack all my favourite records - assuming they survived the last C Grade, I've been too nervous to check - and the rest sorts itself out. So long as I have some early jams, some bangers, and some end of night jams then it should all work out A-OKTornado Wallace will be bringing the heat and creating a dancefloor storm at Oxford Art Factory Saturday February 28th. Be at the centre of it. Tickets available here.