"There's a lot of temptation in the industry. But like you say, we've always been focused. We're very ambitious. We've always had a goal in mind of where we needed to get to, and in order to get to that point, you've got to be consistent. You've got to work hard. Otherwise, it just won't happen. "
As the sun sets over Ibiza, the electrifying atmosphere at Ibiza Rocks is palpable. The crowd eagerly awaits the dynamic duo, Switch Disco, to take the stage for their second year of residency. Today marks the halfway point of their summer season, a milestone that has flown by for Nikos and Dan, the masterminds behind Switch Disco. I had the pleasure of sitting down with them, reminiscing about our shared past as DJs in Zante, and delving into their journey from those early days to becoming platinum-selling artists with pop sensation Ella Henderson. With their relentless drive and passion, Switch Disco has navigated the twists and turns of the music industry, emerging as one of the top mashup duos. Now, they're poised and ready to conquer the global stage, with an expansive tour, fresh new releases, and an exciting headline show planned in London.
Alice: Switch Disco, Nikos, Dan, thank you so much for having me here from RTL Today. You guys are about to go on stage for your residency at Ibiza Rocks. How do you feel about that?
Dan: Today is the exact halfway point of the summer and it's flying. It's gone really quick. We're really happy, it's our second year here, and we can't wait to get back on stage.
Nikos: Exactly what he said.
A: We were just having a lovely discussion about the time we were all working the same season in Zante, many moons ago. Is that how you guys met? How did you form ‘Switch Disco’?
N: We met through mutual friends back in 2010. Dan came out to do a season in Zante in 2011, and then we just became friends. We realised that we have a similar way of DJing, making edits and remixes, so a few years after that we formed Switch Disco!
A: It's a crazy party world doing a season abroad. There's a lot of after parties. I don't remember you guys being at those much. You seemed to have such a real focus and drive back then, from what I remember. There must be a lot of temptation, especially now you’re travelling all over the world. How do you manage that?
N: We don't. (Laughs)
D: We definitely don't go to any after parties at all. No, to be honest, you're right. There's a lot of temptation in the industry. But like you say, we've always been focused. We're very ambitious. We've always had a goal in mind of where we needed to get to, and in order to get to that point, you've got to be consistent. You've got to work hard. Otherwise, it just won't happen.
A: Did you know back then, obviously working seven nights a week at Zeros (in Zante), that this is where you wanted to be right now? Did you have these goals in mind?
N: Yeah, one hundred percent. I think we've always dreamed of having our own residencies and flying around the world, playing shows. We wanted to DJ in big places, meet new people. The reaction we get from the crowds is what keeps us going, I think. You mentioned seven nights a week, everyone back then used to work all season without days off. Dan and I, when we did it, it gave us a good foundation. It’s good that this has come a little bit later, now that we have a bit of experience, because if I was 18 again, and I was doing this... (Laughs). Now, we're trying to be sensible, we're trying to sleep a bit, eat well if we can.
A: Tour life, eh! When Covid hit, I noticed that you guys started doing a lot of online mashup videos on social media. You quickly got the label of the ‘number one mashup duo’. As a DJ, I have loads of your mashups, I know lots of other DJs play them out a lot too. Was Covid a big part of that trajectory, where you moved towards something different?
D: Yeah for sure, in a twisted kind of way, Covid worked really well for us. Having said that, it was also the darkest moments in our lives and our career, professionally and personally. We were able to then take what we were doing to a small audience for years, and expand to a worldwide audience, concentrating on our brand. Suddenly we were doing two streams a week for a couple of hours. It was just doing what we've been doing for so many years, but presenting it in a way to people that they would understand, and visually see what we were doing.
A: Moving on to your production then, your first single, ‘Everything’ was featured on Love Island, and then you've had some amazing singles with Ella Henderson, such as ‘React’ and your more recent release ‘Under the Sun’. React just went platinum, is that right?
D: Yeah, React went platinum in the UK earlier this year, and it just did the same in Hungary. We played a show out there last Saturday, and they presented us with a platinum disc out in that country! So it's now platinum in two countries. Which is pretty wild, to be honest.
A: That's amazing. And in terms of that as a career milestone, and also the recent BRIT Award nomination, how does that feel?
N: I'm still not sure about how that feels! It was one of those experiences where you're in it, it's happening and you're like ‘Am I really here? Is this happening?’ I can't even remember a lot of the shows. It was crazy just to be there, and the after party as well, which I also don’t remember much of!
A: Nikos, many years ago you gave me some really great advice. I’d just moved to London, as a new DJ, and you told me to get out there and network and talk to people. Knowing what you know now, many years on, what would your advice be to aspiring producers and DJ's wanting to break into the industry?
D: It sounds really cliché, but consistency really is key, and you've got to be obsessive about it. Aside from our family and our close friends, work comes first all the time. You've just got to learn your craft, you've got to know everything about it, that's just the technical side of things, then when you get in a position when you've made contacts, you can actually deliver. You need to build up experience, playing to different crowds, you've got to get amongst it. Nothing can really teach you that, apart from playing to crowds.
N: From my side, my advice hasn't changed!
D: Just work as hard as you can for as long as you can. Be nice to people. Get your face known. And yeah, just be a good person.
A: Yeah, be kind! Okay, so if you could collaborate with anybody in the world, living or dead, music wise, obviously, who would it be?
Both: Avicii.
A: Perfect answer. Okay, can you tell me the best moment you've ever had on stage?
D: That's very difficult. We've had so many in the last few years. I think for me personally, one of my favourite times was actually here at Ibiza Rocks. And my best friends from home, who I've known since I was like 11 years old, they came out to see us. And there were a few guys on the balcony in tears and like they were on stage with us. We also played in Australia last year, my sister lives out there. That was the first time she ever got to see us perform, she came down to the place that we were playing with like 50 of her friends. Nikos’ family was there as well, his extended family. So for me that was a particularly special one, because she's such a big supporter. We're really close.
N: Exactly the same. I think it was the closing here last year for me. My brother was here, a lot of close friends were too. Like Dan just said, without repeating the same thing, for us it's hard to understand what's going on because we live in the moment and we're always, especially me, always looking to the future. But when you see it through someone else's eyes that loves you, it becomes real. So yeah, those are the moments.
A: What's the worst moment you remember on stage?
D: On the same tour, for me, this is one of my most recent ones, I think we were in Brisbane, we'd finished our show, there was another DJ going on after us. For some reason I thought it'd be a great idea to take what I thought was our USB out, but it was actually his. He was like a minute into his intro, and I stopped the music completely. Luckily, he took it really well, he just took it back off me and started again, but for me, that's one of the worst moments.
A: I'd really love to know what is your kind of wild card song that you play if you want to turn a set around, or the one song that you love to play the most.
N: I'm not gonna say VengaBoys, Dan, don't worry. Hard question, because there's so much music out there, and as a DJ, you'll understand, it's all about what happens on the day, and what the crowd is reacting to, in front of you, it can't be one song that you play at every gig. There are certain gems, but for us, it's mostly edits and remixes of some classic stuff, disco, or things that could work for everyone.
A: Very last question, what's coming up for you over the next few months? What's happening after the summer season? Have you got any new releases out? Where can we see you?
N: We just announced our first London headline show later this year, it's going to be after the summer, which we're very excited about. It's going to be the first time that we're putting something like that together for our fans, and then we're going to be touring again. We're looking to go outside of the UK, but there's not much we can say just yet!
D: When it comes to touring, we've got a few things that we can't announce just yet, as Nikos just said. Musically, every time we're back in the UK at the moment, we're doing sessions, we're in with the best writers, producers and artists. We've got a huge catalogue of work that we're working on at the minute. Lots of releases to come, which we're really excited for people to hear. So yeah, it's exciting. We've got a lot to come!
Pre-save Switch Disco's new single here.
