Biography
Walt Disco blend lavish, defiant sonic palettes from earlier decades with thoroughly modern assertions of self-empowerment in the songs they create. Beyond the anticipated touchstones of David Bowie, Roxy Music, and Queen, the group absorbed inspiration from other Glaswegian outfits such as Orange Juice, the Associates, and Franz Ferdinand together with forward-thinking creators including St. Vincent and SOPHIE. Even so, the authoritative vocal delivery of Jocelyn Si allowed Walt Disco to move beyond mere replication on their opening 2020 EP, Young Hard and Handsome. Persistent self-reinvention prompted them to layer glitchy electronics onto the glam- and post-punk-colored statements about identity that shape 2022’s Unlearning and to surround the more inward-looking material of 2024’s The Warping with orchestral scope.
The band’s history opened in 2018 when University of Glasgow students Si and guitarist Lewis Carmichael began composing and performing material. Throughout the next year guitarist/keyboardist Finlay McCarthy, drummer Jack Martin, and bassist Charlie Lock rounded out the lineup. In that span the musicians progressed from student-union Battle of the Bands contests to headline slots at hometown clubs and then to support tours alongside Interpol and HMLTD while sharpening both their sound and their appearance, assembled from vintage and secondhand garments into a striking gender-fluid aesthetic.
Walt Disco entered RubberGum, the facility operated by Gang of Four’s Thomas McNeice, to lay down their first singles along with the September 2020 new-romantic-meets-hyperpop debut EP Young Hard and Handsome. Although the COVID-19 global pandemic forced cancellation of live engagements, among them a planned SXSW performance, the members used the interval to explore fresh sonic and visual directions. Released in early 2021, the Young Hard and Handsome Remix EP showcased the expanding role of electronic elements through guest work by BOBBIE and Jessica Winter. The group divided the remainder of the year between road dates and studio sessions, issuing the singles “Macilent,” “Weightless,” and “Selfish Lover,” all of which surfaced on the April 2022 debut album Unlearning. Co-produced by BOBBIE and McNeice, the record highlighted hyperpop tendencies and followed a narrative arc reminiscent of a stage musical. Acclaimed for its originality and feeling, Unlearning reached number eight on the Scottish Albums Chart and number 15 on the U.K. Independent Albums Chart while earning nominations for the Scottish Album of the Year Award and the AIM Independent Album of the Year. Subsequent shared bills with Duran Duran, Primal Scream, and Simple Minds preceded the November release of the Always Sickening EP, which contained reinterpretations of songs first recorded by the Associates, Dusty Springfield, and Aldous Harding.
Early 2024 brought the return of Walt Disco with “Pearl,” the lead single from their second album. Originating in preliminary sessions at the studio of Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, June 2024’s The Warping was tracked across Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, under co-producer Chris McCrory and applied orchestral breadth to the band’s meditations on gender dysphoria and self-discovery.
The band’s history opened in 2018 when University of Glasgow students Si and guitarist Lewis Carmichael began composing and performing material. Throughout the next year guitarist/keyboardist Finlay McCarthy, drummer Jack Martin, and bassist Charlie Lock rounded out the lineup. In that span the musicians progressed from student-union Battle of the Bands contests to headline slots at hometown clubs and then to support tours alongside Interpol and HMLTD while sharpening both their sound and their appearance, assembled from vintage and secondhand garments into a striking gender-fluid aesthetic.
Walt Disco entered RubberGum, the facility operated by Gang of Four’s Thomas McNeice, to lay down their first singles along with the September 2020 new-romantic-meets-hyperpop debut EP Young Hard and Handsome. Although the COVID-19 global pandemic forced cancellation of live engagements, among them a planned SXSW performance, the members used the interval to explore fresh sonic and visual directions. Released in early 2021, the Young Hard and Handsome Remix EP showcased the expanding role of electronic elements through guest work by BOBBIE and Jessica Winter. The group divided the remainder of the year between road dates and studio sessions, issuing the singles “Macilent,” “Weightless,” and “Selfish Lover,” all of which surfaced on the April 2022 debut album Unlearning. Co-produced by BOBBIE and McNeice, the record highlighted hyperpop tendencies and followed a narrative arc reminiscent of a stage musical. Acclaimed for its originality and feeling, Unlearning reached number eight on the Scottish Albums Chart and number 15 on the U.K. Independent Albums Chart while earning nominations for the Scottish Album of the Year Award and the AIM Independent Album of the Year. Subsequent shared bills with Duran Duran, Primal Scream, and Simple Minds preceded the November release of the Always Sickening EP, which contained reinterpretations of songs first recorded by the Associates, Dusty Springfield, and Aldous Harding.
Early 2024 brought the return of Walt Disco with “Pearl,” the lead single from their second album. Originating in preliminary sessions at the studio of Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, June 2024’s The Warping was tracked across Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, under co-producer Chris McCrory and applied orchestral breadth to the band’s meditations on gender dysphoria and self-discovery.
Albums
The Warping
2024
Always Sickening
2022
Unlearning
2022
Young Hard and Handsome Remix EP
2021
Young Hard and Handsome EP
2020
Dancing Shoes Won't Fix My Mind
2019
My Pop Sensibilities
2019
Drowning In Your Velvet Bed
2018
Singles
