CC:DISCO!

Æ Over 300 Australian and international sonic and visual creatives and composers have stocked the Now or Never lineup, in an expansive and transcendental celebration of digital art and future thinking.

Nestled among the festival’s vibrant and eclectic offerings is a carefully curated ode to dance music, a night of exceptional electronic music talent that will take over, and reinvent the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. Featuring the likes of Âme (live), George FitzGerald, Ayebatonye and dameeeela, the potent lineup is highlighted by acclaimed disco producer, CC:DISCO!

She currently resides in Lisbon, having farewelled Naarm’s nightlife and the beloved studios of PBS. Now, in a homecoming like no other, CC is certain that the night will be a spectacle, paying homage to dance music in an authentic way, while transforming the Royal Exhibition Building.

WORDS BY JACOB MCCORMACK

“It’s nice to be coming home for something like that,” says CC.

“I imagine they’ve got a state-of-the-art team working on the sound as well, just to make the whole experience 10 out of 10.” CC has been shining through the cracks of modern disco music for years now. In 2023, her most significant achievement is not solely confined to playing major festivals like Glastonbury, Oasis, Lost Village, and Kala. Rather, it has manifest in the many ways in which CC remains involved in the global dance music community. The fact that she is not only a DJ, but also a radio host, curator, label head and party promoter.

It’s a seemingly unbreakable connection that was established as a child upon the discovery of disco music.

“Well, technically I was obsessed with this one tape when I was a young kid,” she says. “That was a disco mix tape. It featured Womack and Womack, Rasputin, Amy Stewart, all the hits. I was obsessed with this tape, and then I went into bands and, you know, was into punk music and all that.

“Then I went to the DJ scene, I saw people playing house and techno a lot and I finally dug a bit deeper, and I saw people playing disco and I was like ‘Oh this is what I want and obviously like’.

“For me, I just like the happiness, I really like happy music.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong I go clubbing and I love techno,” she says. “But for me to play music, it has to feel a certain way, and that usually comes from a happy starting point. Inclusive of really big drums and lots of vocals. Everything I play is centered around happy and uplifting music. I do go into other territories, but disco is definitely the foundation for everything.”