A true force of nature, Brother Wallace was born to make music that ignites pure joy, even in the darkest of moments. Since getting his start playing piano in church at 11-years-old, the Georgia-bred artist has followed his lifelong passion down an extraordinary path that spans from sharing the stage with gospel legend Kirk Franklin to performing at historic venues like Madison Square Garden. Over the past few years, he’s teamed up with The Heavy guitarist Dan Taylor in dreaming up a body of work built on his electrifying brand of soul music—all while continuing his longtime job as a K-12 music teacher. Newly signed to ATO Records, Wallace is now set to release a one-of-a-kind album revealing the life-affirming impact of his timeless yet daring artistry.

Raised in the tiny rural town of West Point, Wallace started singing in church as a small child and began his formal training in piano at just six-years-old. By the time he was 14, he’d landed the role of director for his church’s 100-member choir, and soon moved on to penning original songs for the choir to sing. After studying psychology in college, Wallace carved out a singular career at the intersection of music and education, serving as a band director and choral director for a number of schools while releasing a series of gospel albums spotlighting his phenomenal vocal talents.

After a chance meeting with The Heavy over a decade ago, Wallace forged a particularly strong musical bond with Taylor. Struck by the sheer emotional power of Wallace’s songwriting—as well as the boldness and clarity of his artistic vision—Taylor began working on songs remotely with Wallace in an endeavor he now refers to as “believing in each other and making something essential just for our own entertainment.” As they explored their most audacious musical impulses, that collaboration eventually paved the way for Electric Love, Wallace’s forthcoming ATO debut. In assembling the 13-song album, Wallace showed the full expanse of his transcendent musicality and mined inspiration from a potent mix of influences (e.g., Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Southern soul icon Johnnie Taylor). “I grew up listening to a lot of R&B, blues, gospel, a little bit of pop,” he says. “My older brother was sort of my musical guru, and he was constantly playing me records by artists like Prince and Parliament-Funkadelic—definitely a lot deeper than what most kids my age were listening to.”

Produced and co-written by Taylor and recorded at Real World Studios in England (the famed facility founded by pop luminary Peter Gabriel), Electric Love brings Wallace’s soul-soothing voice to songs like its rhapsodic lead single “Who’s That”—a perfect snapshot of the album’s larger-than-life yet fantastically gritty sound. With its groove-driven fusion of R&B and uptempo soul, the immensely catchy track unfolds in hard-hitting drums, high-octane horns, and hypnotic guitar riffs as Wallace inhabits the role of an unwitting character who’s caught his woman out on the town with another man. “I wanted to tell the story of a heartbreak without making it a sad song,” says Wallace. “The stance it’s taking is more like, ‘I’m all right, I’m not hurt—I caught you and now I’m moving on.’ There’s something almost triumphant about it.”

Whether he’s delivering a slow-burning ballad or a high-energy anthem, Wallace repeatedly proves his commitment to crafting songs that transform pain into triumph. And while Electric Love radiates an irrepressible hope, he never shies away from delving into the most difficult emotions—ultimately embracing a radical open-heartedness that’s closely tied to his mission of helping others to reconnect with their humanity. “From what I’ve observed from the people around me, especially through working with kids, I know how easy it can be to cut yourself off from feeling anything,” he says. “We’ve become so accustomed to looking at the world through the lens of Instagram or TikTok or whatever else, and it’s made it so we don’t have to actually experience real life. The main thing I wanted to do with this album was tell stories that resonate with people on a deep level, to be as real and authentic as possible, and to always let the music lead the way.”