On their way around the world with Sigala, we got Switch Disco to tell us about their early days as two DJs passionate about bringing their beautiful craft to the ears of the world, their upcoming residency at the Ibiza Rocks tour, and, of course, their latest single “REACT,” featuring Ella Henderson, that’s making the rounds on the radio right now.
It is so lovely getting to chat with you guys about your latest smash single, “REACT.” Switch Disco has been at the forefront of British dance music since 2021, how did this song advance that for you?
Thanks for having us! Very kind of you to say we are at the forefront, but we feel like we have a long way to go until we reach that point!
Releasing “REACT” has been huge for us on so many levels. To have the opportunity to use such an iconic sample from Robert Miles in the first place, was an honor in itself. Couple that with having Ella Henderson’s incredible vocals as well, and it’s honestly a position we thought we’d never be in.
What separates Switch Disco from other DJs and producers out there when it comes to making club music?
Our club sets are solely made up of mashups/edits that aren’t available in the mainstream. With music being so accessible to everyone now, we want to produce and play productions that are only possible to hear if you come and see us DJ live!
It’s been almost ten years since you guys became a duo, how’s it going so far?
It finally feels like the results of those 10 years of work are coming to fruition. Things have accelerated quickly for us since 2021, and we are happy with where we are at right now – but still have the exact same ambition and drive as we did when we started this project. We are always looking upwards.
Do you trade off your strengths and weaknesses?
This is most definitely the biggest advantage of being in a duo. We are actually very different as individuals and, luckily for us, our characteristics complement each other for the best. Nikos is impulsive, thinks 3 steps ahead at all times, and always demands the most efficient workflow possible. Dan is calculated, methodical, and meticulous. However, what we both share, is an insatiable desire to succeed and progress.
This combination inevitably results in the most successful outcome – even if we have hour-long heated discussions before we reach a decision!
What’s the story behind Switch Disco?
In short, Switch Disco was created over 10 years ago – just to put a name to the mashups that were being created. We had both been resident DJs for years but wanted more so started to put our faces to the brand and focus on building us following through social media, with the aim to become touring DJs. As that started to happen, we were then signed to Relentless Records at Sony UK as artists, just as covid hit.
During the pandemic, we turned all of our attention to our social media content and our audience grew drastically, which, alongside the years of work we had done up to that point, enabled us to fill our diary with international DJ bookings.
3 years on from being locked down, we have just released our second single, become Top 40 artists and looking forward to a huge summer of shows, including our headline residency at Ibiza Rocks…. It’s all a bit mad!
What was it like having your debut work 2021’s “Everything” become so successful? Did any of you predict it?
To have a debut single do as well as it did is pretty rare, but we owe a lot of that success to our label, Relentless. Although we came up with the concept of the song, we were then fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work with an amazing team of producers and engineers to realize our vision. The team was then able to get the finished product into enough ears and people seemed to like it!
Apart from being one of the most beloved voices in dance music, why was Ella Henderson the right person for the track?
With “Children” being such an iconic dance music instrumental, we knew we had to have a vocal that was strong enough to compliment it. As soon as we heard Ella’s version, written by her and Maegan Cottone, we knew she had absolutely nailed it.
What was it like working with Henderson on the track?
We feel very privileged. She is a superstar and it really is an honor to have her name alongside ours in the song credits.
I hear there’s a Sigala tour on the horizon for Switch Disco. What’s the anticipation like at this point?
Sigala is an extremely talented artist, that we have both admired for years. We play so many of his productions in our DJ sets and he is certainly someone we look up to as an artist. Supporting him on tour was actually something we talked about a year ago, as one of the aims we wanted to achieve, so when we were asked we had no hesitation in accepting. We are actually doing this interview on the way to the London date of his tour having done Manchester earlier this week – which was awesome. Looking forward to the same this evening!
You’ve also announced a summer 2023 residency at Ibiza Rocks. What can fans expect?
You can expect two best mates with massive smiles on their faces, playing Ibiza Anthems in a way nobody has heard before! We are about to live a dream every DJ has and cannot wait to get started.