New York, NY - (July 9, 2007)
by Jessie Nagel

This month, in July, the re-branded "3 Headed Monster" package will be launched on the air. The team at INTERspectacular developed the fully realized signature character, including its three distinct characters, as well as its voices. They also developed the complete graphic design package to accompany it, including logos, bumpers, lower thirds, etc. INTERspectacular completed all of the animation, using desktop software packages Flash and Adobe AfterEffects. In addition to the visual aspects of the package, INTERspectacular created the sound design and Foley, while DJ Wally created a signature musical sting. Finally, it was INTERspectacular's Michael Uman and Luis Blanco who completed the voices of the three "heads."

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Nina Simone Remixed & Reimagined
Reviewed by Properly Chilled

So what is there to say about an album of remixes of Nina Simone songs? You can either say you love it or hate it I imagine. There's no question that devotees of her work embrace it as religious doctrine, so any form of remix is likely tantamount to sacrilege. For those (among which I must count myself) who have never really gotten into her work or don't know all that much about her, this remix album is interesting in the least.
Her songs aren't the ones we've all been pummelled with, basically since birth, like so many other classic R&B and soul singers. She represents the b-side of all the played out radio "classics" and if you're asking me, that's a good thing to be.

Having heard a few of these kinds of projects now, where "classics" and "standards" are remixed by modern electronic artists, DJ's and producers I can say there are few surprises here. If you've enjoyed similar undertakings like Verve Remixed, Motown Remixed or even Big Band Remixed & Reinvented, you won't be disappointed here. In kind, if you've been serially disappointed by those mentioned titles, you'll be disappointed by this one.

The mixes here take Simone's original style and move it into funky breaks, triphop, and house territory but few standout.

Francois K. delivers a nice version of "Here Comes The Sun" that can easily be called "safe", as it models itself on the well established "chillout house" style that came to define the "Ibiza sound" for many. All the same, it was the first song to wake my ears up (and it's 6).

One of the most enjoyable mixes is the Organica remix of "Westwind". It's got a sound that sits somewhere between current Thievery Corporation and Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada (sitting a lot closer to Ocote though...a lot closer).

The thing that causes most of these mixes to fail is their inability to work in tandem with the emotion of Nina Simone's voice. It's hard to fault the remixers though, because most are probably used to pulling together instrumental tracks.

DJ Wally delivers what is probably the best overall performance in his remix of "My Man's Gone Now". The music has a dusty old jazz sound to it, with a subtly shuffled, mellow breakbeat making a bridge between the music and Simone's voice. This one takes the gold.

On an emotional flipside to DJ Wally's dusky jazz is Nickodemus' more uplifting, soulful work with "O-O-H Child". Nickodemus certainly knows how to throw down a deep groove because he does it without just slamming your ears with a 4/4 beat and an overly obvious bass line. This one takes the silver.

DJ Logic takes bronze with his mix of "Obeah Woman" which is founded on a funky, hip-hop influenced beat and a smooth, smooth groove. Instead of trying to outshine Nina's voice with his own skills, DJ Logic actually seats himself in the back and lets Simone do the driving, which is altogether appropriate in the context of the project.

Unlike Nina Simone's own lasting legacy, I don't think anyone will remember this album next year, but there are some really nice tracks that should stay in your playlist well into the year to come.
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Monday, November 13, 2006
   
Nina Simone: My Man's Gone Now (DJ Wally Remix)
RCA/Legacy (Urb Magazine Review)

Between remix discs from Verve and Blue Note and Felix da Housecat's hit dancefloor treatment of

Nina Simone's "Sinnerman," the idea of slipping beats and synth lines underneath dusty jazz sides is

far from novel or fresh. That said, RCA's recent excavation of Simone's seven years with the label

(Remixed and Reimagined) is tasteful and, at times, quite enticing. DJ Wally's trip-hop-ish take on

"My Man's Gone Now" is one highlight (available as a single download at iTunes if you're strapped

for cash)––mashed potato drums that go one-two, one-two, thick, rubber band basslines, and the

occasional horn cameo. Also featured in the Broadway production of Porgy and Bess.
Reviewer: Andrew Parks
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Mrs. Miller's House (Urb Magazine Review) 4 out of 5 stars ****_


This is a theatrical, moody journey that feels cinematic and large on atmosphere and experience.At times , we are (seriously!) listening to a song from the phantom of the opera being remixed and chopped up like a dance track.Then we are in a vast exotic expanse where jungle sounds permeate and echo in our headphones. Cut to "something in those trees", a standout filled with horns , a creepy organ progression,some scratching and a rapper's laid-back flow that melds into the omnious mood- a bit like the feeling you get when watching a Alfred Hitchcock classic thriller or listening to Kid Koala and Autechre and the Avalanches in tandem. This time you really have no idea what is around the corner - a scream, a hip-hop verse or a pleasing, eerie violin. It's a bit like finding random objects on the road. If you can handle the unpredictablility or embrace the strange nuances and keep an open mind, you'll have yourself a mind-bending good time.


Cherrie Moon. ----- URB Magazine (Nov. 2006)

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Mrs. Miller's House (Okayplayer Review)


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Mrs. Mliller's House - Reviewed by "Remix Magazine"

A renowned sonic scrutinizer with eight albums of hip-hop absurdity to his credit since 1997.Dj Wally accompanied here by Dj Willie Ross, follows the leads of such charming nutters as Kid Koala and Coldcut, using the sampler as a mental bulletin board to match cranky beats with barmy sounds in expression of their surrealist mindset. Mrs. Miller's House lacks a cohesive center, but that doesn't detract one iota from the delight that emanates from its 30 goofy tracks. Sure,the pervasively brown artwork recalls a child's vision of ghouls and goblins, and spoken-word snippets ("I did wicked things in my life!") hint at dismemberment and debauchery, but this is more comedic than fright filled. The bumping beats are mid-tempo to a fault, but their taste in samples makes this a freak-tastic ride. Sampling ABBA ("Mama Mia") and 70's blues rockers Free ("Mr.Big"), as well as orchestral instruments, ghostly cries, heavy breathing, jazzy upright bass riffs and more spoken-word silliness (from "a two-horned eagle" to "the spirits of the dead"), Mrs. Miller's House is pure monster mash.

Reviewed by:

Ken Micallef

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DJ Wally/DJ Willie Ross - Mrs. Millers House www.ign.com reviewed by Spence D.

December 12, 2006 (IGN RATING : 9.5 out of 10 "Incredible")

- Appropriately released at the beginning of October, so as to be ripe on the minds of all macabre oriented individuals and provide perfect sonic accompaniment to the festivities of All Hallow's Eve, Mrs. Miller's House is a tour de force of instrumental madness.

As befitting the haunted house inspiration of the album's driving thematics (the titular Mrs. Miller was actually a neighborhood figure during Wally's youth, a strange old woman who lived in a strange old house) the album is rife with dark, Stygian beats that worm their way slowly under your skin. Working mostly with down-tempo grooves and swirling aural mysticism, Wally and Willie have concocted an album that will either conjure up horrific nightmares or at the very least work as a soundtrack to already existing ones.

While broken down into 30 tracks on the CD cover, the album really flows like one giant symphonic piece with shifting moods and atmospheric changes that reverberate with back masked vocal snippets, rippling synth wurgles, assorted sound FX, noise, and eerie ambient shuffles. It's one of those albums that you can put on and let play over and over and over and over again, discovering new little audible nuances with each repeated listen. It's also one of those albums that can be delved into with maximum attention or be allowed to drift in the background as textural enhancement.

Keep in mind, however, that this is a thoroughly immersive experience, tailored to those who enjoy letting music ebb and flow over them in languidly mesmerizing waves. This is not wiki-wiki infested turntablist showboating, nor is it hip-hop instrumental interference. This is a fully realized chunk of haunting aural ephemera running the gamut from detached bells and floating scientific narration ("Pergatory Blues") to cricket enhancement and spooky ghost story backlash ("The Ancient Evil") to broken glass and klezmer inflected romping ("Serated") and guitar slash and saxophone dismemberment ("Restless Slumber").

As a nightmare inducing experience Mrs. Miller's House is a wild ride indeed, one teeming with chills, thrills, and hypnotic soniference galore. What the album does is continue to showcase the compositional skills of the DJ, firmly placing Wally and Willie Ross in the same league as Shadow, RJD2, Danger Mouse, and The Wax Tailor.

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"Mrs. Miller's House" Reviewed by Re-Up Magazine Nov. 2006

Let's be honest. Supposedly Mrs. Miller is a collaboration between DJ Wally and DJ Willie Ross, but I'm pretty sure Krush and Shadow each took a hit of acid, watched People Under the Stairs and then geeked out on a laptop for 16 hours. Dropped just in time for Halloween, Mrs. Miller's House is a little beat candy for your sack, full of tricks and treats. It is one of a chosen few; a theme album that actually works, largely due to its intricate web of samples. DJ Wally's infatuation with sampling is evident and goddamn ingenious. The instrumental arsenal of this project is eclectic to say the least. Epic horns, organic folk guitar, a shamisen, Yiddish clarinet. It's Fiddler on the Roof meets Jack the Ripper. They have an uncanny knack for choosing samples that would sound cheerful in their proper context, however their application here is so perverse it's eery.<br>
More than once this album inspired me to nod not only my head, but my entire torso. I almost fell down in the shower. This shit bangs. Originally a hip-hop head who's been spinnin wax for over 20 years, DJ Wally knows how to drop a fat beat. DJ Willie Ross' drum&bass leanings have schooled him proper in the art of hitting you in the face. They also manage to slide in some downtempo tracks that are just soothing enough to lure you back into the rocks. This album is a natural extension. It draws on the inherent darkness of the genre and runs with it like a bat out of hell. If I had a haunted house I would put this album on repeat and watch people shit themselves. For now I'll just enjoy it in the privacy of my own home. But not without first shutting the windows and locking the doors.     DJDS

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This is a weird little album with some surprisingly upbeat songs incongruently designated by titles like "Land of the Dead," "Don't Look in the Attic," "Kane's Alien Trainwreck," and "the Ancient Evil." Just under 45 minutes long, this concept album is packed with some pretty good beats and a diverse sound somewhere along the lines of MF Doom or DJ Spooky. While clearly catchy, what's less clear is the concept behind this output. Dark, ambient sounds drift over stripped-down tinny beats, jazz rhythms, and horror movie samples for an up-tempo but discordantly morbid mix of beats, bass and cuts. But maybe the meaning behind the album's secondary. As The Agriculture's website claims, this is "roof music" – "music for the urban sunrise" – and tries only to deliver good grooves without the elitism of an esoteric artistic statement. Sounds good to me. Check the vibe at  www.theagriculture.com.

- James Sandham

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Mrs Millers House Review by Cyclic Defrost

DJ Wally aka Keef Destefano has been a NYC beat maker since the early 90s. His earliest records were creaking trip hop which earnt him some recognition in Europe through inclusion on MoWax--s Headz 2 compilation. Back then it was clear he had a keen ear for samples and odd atmospheres, and along with The Prunes probably should have gotten more recognition than he did. From the start he would play with double tempos and quickly moved into producing and mixing drum & bass as well as his deeply stoned hip hop. With NYC--s illbient scene petering out and diversifying towards the end of the 90s - like most of the interesting producers of that era he has ended up on DJ Olive--s The Agriculture label. Mrs Millers House is probably his eleventh or twelfth album and arrives just in time for the US to celebrate Halloween. A little reminiscent of Jack Dangers-- Tino moniker and his Halloween series, DJ Wally has a lot of fun with the horror movie concept basing it around a freaky house and owner (Mrs Miller) from his childhood in Queens. The 30 short tracks all run together with suitably dusty mid 90s beats, well chosen samples and moods. In many ways it feels like a well structured and cleverly mixed mixtape dredged up from 1996 - a reminscent journey back in time - more than anything groundbreaking or genre-smashing.

Sebastian Chan