Initially established in 2004 at The Eagle, an innocuous gay bar in London’s Vauxhall, Horse Meat Disco has evolved into a powerful force in queer and club culture as a whole, while staying local to its original home, each and every Sunday. Co-founded by James Hillard and Jim Stanton, and encompassing residents Severino and Luke Howards, the crew continue to maintain not only the weekly Sunday party, but a number of residencies in cities across the world, alongside a kaleidoscope of club appearances, festival dates and specially curated mixes.
Taking inspiration from a diverse, counter-cultural history of clubs and DJs, as well as from the sprawling, ever-expanding musical collections of it’s resident crew, the sound of HMD is impossible to place. Nonetheless their style is undeniable, as is a popper-scented air of sheer authenticity. Rooted in hedonism, rhythm, freedom and emotion, a Horse Meat Disco set reinforces everything invigorating about disco, as comfortable as shattering old-school mirror ball cliches as basking in their light.
A typical HMD set blends classics, italo disco, house, oddities and punk funk, to conjure their initial spirit of “a queer party for everyone”, including, but not limited to, “Homos and Heteros, club kids, bears, fashionistas, naturists, guerilla drag queens and ladies who munch.” They have made appearances on every notable club scene in the modern world, as well as those beyond, and have long been a key fixture at festivals including Glastonbury, Bestival and Festival No.6.
The accidental phenomenon of Horse Meat is built on the shared good vibrations and aesthetics of their genre. As testament to the public love for their makeshift, DIY brand, no other disco collective has arrived in their lifespan to attempt to knock them from their beloved perch.
With brand new original music on the skyline as well as a brand new compilation in early 2024 with a scattering of remixes for artists such as Jessie Ware and David Holmes – watch out as HMD have no intention of slowing down with their release schedule!
