MUMBAI: Glasgow’s WALT DISCO today release brand new single “Pearl” via Lucky Number, their first original music since their 2022 debut album Unlearning.
The dreamlike, eagerly awaited track was written and recorded between Glasgow and its namesake Pearl Street Co-Op in Austin, Texas where the band first worked on the track while at SXSW. “Pearl” is accompanied by a stunning video that sees the band perform inside a music box, shot in Paisley Methodist Central Hall. Next week, the band will embark on a marathon 2 month UK and European tour in support of electronic pop pioneers OMD – full dates below.
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“This song dwells on the homesickness and general disconnect from regular life that can come from being in a touring band.” explains songwriter Jack Martin. “The demands of being a musician can put both literal and figurative distance between you and other people in your life. Your touring bubble starts to feel like the only people you can truly relate to, and this can start to feel quite lonely and alienating. In the chorus of this song, I cast my eye forward in time and consider where the consequences of this lifestyle will leave me, while also accepting that this is the life I’ve chosen and I know it’s what I’m meant to do. The song is built around the keyboard part which I first showed the band on the piano at Pearl Street Coop while we were at SXSW.”
“Pearl” is the band’s first new original music since the release of their critically acclaimed 2022 debut album Unlearning, which picked up nominations for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, AIM Independent Record of the Year and included in Rough Trade’s Albums of the Year.
The Glasgow 5-piece appeared at several festivals in support of the album, including Glastonbury, Latitude and SXSW. After their SXSW performances made BrooklynVegan, Austin Chronicle and Rolling Stone’s ‘best bands of SXSW’ lists, they were immediately booked for Austin City Limits Festival (US), and their first US Headline shows took place in NYC and LA.
Walt Disco also ticked off some bucket list moments; be it opening for both Simple Minds and Duran Duran, as well as Primal Scream’s Screamadelica Tour, or Tilda Swinton calling them her favourite new band. The band’s singer Jocelyn Si narrated the short film Christopher at Sea, about queer identity and self-discovery, which showcased at the Venice Film Festival and Cannes. The band also featured within a Christian Louboutin campaign that sought to challenge the gender binary applied to clothing and footwear as well as performing in Paris at the Louboutin event for Paris Fashion Week.
Walt Disco will support OMD on tour this spring and play Mighty Hoopla festival this summer, with many more headline and festival shows to be announced shortly.
UK + EUROPEAN DATES SUPPORTING OMD:
1/22: Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
1/24: Stockholm, Sweden @ München Brewery
1/25: Gothenburg, Sweden @ Gothenburg Trädgär’n
1/27: Copenhagen, Denmark @ The Grey Hall
1/29: Jena, Germany @ Sparkassen Arena
1/30: Offenbach, Germany @ Stadthalle
2/1: Dusseldorf, Germany @ Mitsubishi Electric Halle
2/2: Hamburg, Germany @ Sporthalle
2/3: Chemnitz, Germany @ Chemnitz
2/6: Gdansk, Poland @ B90
2/7: Warsaw, Poland @ Stodola
2/8: Krakow, Poland @ ICE
2/10: Prague, Czech Republic @ SaSaZu
2/11: Leipzig, Germany @ Haus Auensee
2/12: Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
2/14: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
2/15: Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal
2/16: Paris, France @ La Cigale
2/27: Belfast, UK @ Cirque Royal
2/28: Dublin, Ireland @ 3Olympia Theatre
3/1: Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
3/2: Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
3/3: Liverpool, UK @ M&S Bank Arena
3/5: Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
3/6: Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
3/8: Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
3/9: Newcastle, UK @ O2 City Hall
3/10: Sheffield, UK @ City Hall
3/12: Leicester, UK @ De Montfort Hall
3/13: Nottingham, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
3/15: Wolverhampton, UK @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall
3/16: Swansea, UK @ Swansea Arena
3/17: Southend on Sea, UK @ Southend Cliffs Pavilion
3/19: Bristol, UK @ Bristol Beacon
3/20: Oxford, UK @ New Theatre
3/22: Portsmouth, UK @ Guildhall
3/23: Ipswich, UK @ Regent Theatre
3/26: Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome
3/27: Eastbourne, UK @ Winter Gardens
5/20: Leipzig, Germany @ Wave GotikTreffen
6/2: London, UK @ Mighty Hoopla
Praise for Walt Disco
“ferocious, theatrical glam-goth vocal stylings” – MTV NewNowNext
“Walt Disco came all the way from Glasgow, Scotland, to dazzle a crowd at Cheer Up Charlie’s
with their mix of theatrics and glam-rock.” – Rolling Stone
“A weird, wonderful mix of The Associates, Orange Juice, glam-era Sparks, Bauhaus,
St. Vincent and futuristic dance pop forms the core of their debut album Unlearning” – PASTE
“Deliciously adventurous debut… boldly reimagined new-romanticism for the modern age, addressing the state of current life and times through a queer-centric lens” – The Telegraph 5*
“Over the past couple of years, the Glasgow band have blossomed, growing into their own sonic skin to become one of the most iconic, identifiable new acts on the planet.” – Dork 5*
“There hasn’t been a queer band like them in some time, which is precisely why they are destined for big things.” – Gay Times
“The disregard for following the norm comes from the confidence that what Walt Disco are doing is working” – NME
