The insatiable six-piece, Walt Disco, have circulated amongst the pulse of the Glasgow music scene for a few years now, and in the past year the rest of the world are just managing to keep up with their peppery tunes. Having just finished the UK leg of their tour, Walt Disco will be playing their gospel to the rest of Europe. Berghain won’t know what hit them.
We caught up with the 20’s take on Blitz Kids, Walt Disco to discuss their new album Unlearning as well as Brian Wilson, Scottish music and much more!
The Indiependent: Hey there! How are you all? What have you been up to?
Walt Disco: We’re all in great spirits! Just rounded off the first leg of our album tour with a headline show in Cardiff, which was incredible. Got a few days off in Glasgow to wash our drawers and then back to it!
The Indiependent: I saw that recently you were in Texas for SXSW, was that one of those moments where you had to sit back and see how far you’ve come?
WD: While we were there we were entirely in the moment, we did 9 shows in less than a week so didn’t have much time to think about anything apart from what was happening next. Once we got back to Glasgow we really felt we’ve accomplished something though and properly ticked a box on the bucket list.
The Indiependent: What’s your favorite thing about going on tour?
WD: Sharing the experience of being in different cities together, playing in different cities, and sleeping in ibis budget bunk beds. Nothing quite like it, and we genuinely mean that. When you’re not touring you miss every part of the tour, the glamorous and the ugly.
The Indiependent: If you could collaborate with any artists, dead or alive, who would it be?
WD: Brian Wilson – he’s a master of arrangements and has an amazing knowledge of texture and soundscapes.
The Indiependent: There are so many bands coming out of Scotland right now, who are some you are excited about?
WD: Humour, Book Klub, Lloyd’s House, The Big Day, Lucia and the Best Boys, Last Boy. All good friends, all incredible musicians.
The Indiependent: Obviously live music has really suffered over the past two years, but now that it’s back it seems to be better than ever, have you seen a shift in gig-goers post-pandemic?
WD: We’ve seen how much live music means to the people coming to our shows and it means the world for us to be bringing that back to people. Having people come up to us after the shows and telling us how much our music and our shows mean to them really is the most encouraging thing in the world for us.
The Indiependent: Could you tell us some of the inspiration behind the new album, Unlearning ?
WD: Due to being under lockdown, we had been quite adaptive in using what we had at our disposal. Without the option of going into a studio or really working with any producers closely, the album went in a more electronic direction. This was also in line with what we were all excited by at the time. We spent day after day working away at the songs and experimenting to make exciting sounds with what we had. Paired with James writing some of their most honest and heartfelt lyrics, we feel it resulted in something pretty unique that we’re all proud of.
The Indiependent: And lastly, what have you got planned for the rest of the year?
WD: We’re playing some festivals which we’re super excited for as it means we get to see some artists we love! We’re supporting Primal Scream and Duran Duran (!!!!), and will be endlessly asking the general population to buy our album (wink).
Words by Margot Macleod
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