Interview: Cosmic Disco

We take inspiration from festivals and European night clubs to make the party an immersive experience – we want to transport guests to another world

Cosmic Disco have been throwing the biggest and best disco nights in the Steel City for over a year now, we sent Leo Burrell to explore their world of giant kaleidoscopes and disco balls ahead of their Winter Carnival on Friday February 3rd with Joey Negro.

Hey Cosmic Disco! How you doing?

Yeah great thanks, we’re prepping hard for the Joey Negro event on Friday, we’ve got people working on the installations round the clock! It’s pretty tiring but for sure will be worth it, ticket sales have gone a bit mental and we’re down to the last 10% online.

First off do you wanna let people who might be new to you a bit more about Cosmic Disco and what you’re about?

We are a music events community focused on installations and decoration – with a lot of love for disco music. We take inspiration from festivals and European night clubs to make the party an immersive experience – we want to transport guests to another world whilst making the environment as friendly and care free as possible.

You really do push the boat out – a giant disco ball, a bespoke light up dance-floor, the notorious giant face…They really add that something special. Who’s the mastermind behind all this? It must take a lot of work!

We have a really big team of creatives, designers and engineers  who get involved sporadically and are at the core of Cosmic Disco. A long term collaborator who’s worth a big mention is Poile Art  (take a bow, Jack Poole). We’re so grateful to have such a big team – it’s great bouncing ideas around because you always get an innovative answer back! It’s a lot of work to get stuff going but seeing it all in action when it’s finished it makes it all worth it.

If you had an unlimited budget, what would you build?

If only! I’ve always had a fascination with the sea so maybe an underwater venue with the walls made of glass or perspex? It’d be incredible but the smoking area would be a logistical nightmare!

What are you planning on building in the future?

Ooh, good question! We’ve been exploring building a moving elephant’s head inspired by the Les Machines de l’île in Nantes (if you ever get the chance to go – it’s incredible). We’re looking into different types of actuation and also a water cannon for the trunk… It’s a bit of a way off but gotta think big! Also we’ve still got a lot of love for the design which originally got us going – the geodesic dome. It’d be amazing to build a massive steel one!

Your lineups are pretty on point too…Dimitri from Paris, Nightmares on Wax, John Morales and Late Nite Tuff Guy… they don’t come much bigger when it comes to disco! 

Yeah we kind of hit the roof with Dimitri from Paris but booking NYC legend John Morales was so special, he’s amazingly down to earth for someone with so much history – he even walked through Sheffield from his hotel to the venue! This Friday we’ve got Joey Negro playing at our Winter Carnival, he’s another disco-house pioneer that’s been on the list for a long time.

We hear you’re planning on building a walk-through Kaleidoscope for the Winter Carnival…Without giving too much away, tell us more!

We’ve commissioned Poile Art to build a 7.5m walk-through Kaleidoscope – it’s gonna be part of the new chill out area down in the basement at Theatre Delicatessen on the Moor, perfect for that mid-night adventure with your mates when you fancy a break from the carnage upstairs. Our pals Saul’s Sessions are hosting room 2, be sure to check them out!

You had Kink and Romare’s live sets at your Cosmic Carnival with Nice Like Rice at Hope Works in June. Is live music an avenue you’re keen to explore?

Yeah for sure, we’re planning a day party in June with Nice Like Rice & Pretty Pretty Good that will definitely involve live music- we can’t give away too much on this just yet but it will be absolutely lit!

Lastly who’s on your dream wish-list for future bookings?

Big ones on our list are Motor City Drum Ensemble and Floating Points (who we can’t seem to catch even though Sheffield seems to be his favourite city to play in). I’ve actually been tailing Italian producer Riccio for some time, he doesn’t have an agent or manager so have been speaking to him direct but he’s not gigging at the moment – definitely one for the future. Also… DJ Harvey!

Nice chatting Cosmic Disco! See you on Friday

Thanks Exposed!

The Cosmic Disco Winter Carnival with Joey Negro hits Theatre Delicatessen this Friday February 3rd. Tickets available here.