THE RISE AND FALL, AND RISE OF DISCO

To quote Rick James, “Cocaine is one hell of a drug”. Disco, the spinning mirror ball of rhythm and blues, had the whole world dancing in the 1970s. The flares were wide, the bass-lines bumped, and the floors lit up. With infamous guests such as Rick James, Michael Jackson and Andy Warhol, the center of Disco was Studio 54 and the drug of choice, cocaine. Courtsey of our friends at Network Awesome, you can see what it was really like, with rare videos of Michael Jackson (with purple suit and afro) and the Grease Opening Party. 

Studio 54, located in Manhattan, changed many hands before (and after) it became the hotbed of A-list fashion, drugs, and dancing of legend. Brian Correia explains in his supporting article for Network Awesome, the nightclub did little to dispel the rumors of rampant sex and drug use on the premises: The waiters ran around shirtless in short shorts and the décor of the club (including a moon man with a blatant coke spoon) reflected the druggy scene. “It was the only club where you could have sex,” according to Prince Egon von Furstenberg 3. Even the Chief of Staff at the time, Hamilton Jordan, was accused of snorting blow in the club."

Thanks to our parents and a long list of movie throwbacks, most of us now groan at the word “Disco”, with instant visions of a cheesy John Travolta or the cringe inducing sounds of the Bee Gees.

"Disco is dead!" Back in the early 80s when people were shouting that with reckless abandon it may have been true, but some of you already know that Disco is in fact back, and has been for a while. Popular music is cyclical, and what was lame yesterday will be fashionable tomorrow.

Today, Disco is back, as Stuart Waterman: “The disco I’m talking about is less about throwing hectic Travolta-style shapes and more about slinky, slow-burning, often psychedelic numbers which build gradually to pulsating, synth-festooned climaxes you almost don’t notice arrive.” 

Waterman explains that Nu-Disco is one of the fastest growing genres of electronic music out there right now: 

“While Hercules & Love Affair brought nu-disco to the attention of many, there’s probably a danger that the artsy air Antony Hegarty brought to the project might have deterred those who like their club music to actually feel like, you know, fun. That’s where the influence of late 70s / early 80s italo disco becomes a welcome element – after all, much of it heavily influenced what we now know as house music anyway.”

So where to next for Nu Disco? Staying true to it's roots Nu Disco has some of the most genuinely danceable music out there right now. Acts like Wolf & Lamb, Slow Blow, Tensnake, Friendly Fires, Cut Copy and Mitzi are jsut some of the artists feeling the Nu-Disco vibe.

So, Nu Disco! Here it is...
who are your favourite Nu-Disco artists?

Listen to Slow Blow

Listen Tensnake on Pulse

Listen to Wolf & lamb on Pulse

Listen to Nu Disco on Pulse