Nova Scotia electro musician AA Wallace is a bit of an outsider. It’s a status that he is comfortable with, however.
Growing up in Wedgeport, Nova Scotia, a tiny fishing community that lies approximately 25 kms southeast of Yarmouth, Wallace didn’t have the luxury of finding the music he wanted in local record shops in the pre-internet days. And so he resorted to trading tapes with people via snail mail.
“I would have been in my early teens at the height of the grunge movement in the early 90’s. Geographically speaking, I was relatively isolated, and so a lot of the music I was exposed to came from trading tapes with people I had met at camps and various other places,” Wallace says.
The burgeoning music scene in Halifax was especially attractive to Wallace, giving him the confidence and inspiration to start a band while still in high school. After another group of Wallace’s, Sleepless Nights, went their separate ways, he kept busy both as a solo artist and as a sideman for others.
In 2013, Wallace released his critically acclaimed debut, (disambiguation), and would go on to perform at prestigious music festivals like the U.K.’s Great Escape Festival, Toronto’s NXNE, and, closer to home, the Halifax Pop Explosion and the Evolve Festival.
Over the course of the last three years, Wallace’s sound has evolved from minimalist synth-pop songs to the grander visions heard on his latest full-length effort, In Alpha Zones, released earlier this month.
He may serve as a de facto one-man band in the studio, but Wallace is an artist that thrives on collaboration, both live and in the studio.
“With this record, it is the first time I have recorded in a collaborative fashion. I have a lot of musical friends, and thought that if there was something they would be able to contribute, I didn’t hesitate to call them up to see if we could make something work,” Wallace says.
“When it comes to translating these songs live, however, it is a different sort of collaboration. I have always liked the idea of songs being played a little differently live than what you hear on the recording. I feel it adds something a little unique to both of those experiences. Also, when it comes to the live show, I tend to use different musicians that come from a variety of backgrounds, which also helps give the songs a different sound in some respects since they are being played through that particular person’s point of view. At the end of the day, I am trying to keep myself as interested as I am the audience.”
What: A.A. Wallace, special guest to Tupperware Remix Party
When: Friday April 1, 10 p.m.
Where: Tide & Boar Gastropub, 700 Main St., Moncton
Tickets are $15. Advance tickets are available online at tideandboar.com/music