Jocelyn Si and Jack Martin of Walt Disco Tell the Story of Change Behind New Album, The Warping

Scottish post-punk queer band Walt Disco has a truly unmistakable sound and a compelling story to match, and we're ready to say that their new sophomore album, The Warping, is an instant classic.

The album is out today, June 14, featuring 12 retro-inspired tracks ranging from dreamy and tender to bombastic glam rock as it follows the group's own changes as human beings and artists over the last couple of years. Backed by a bigger and more orchestral sound, these songs tackle everything from gender dysphoria and burnout to the power of finding togetherness and connection, with absolutely zero skips in between. We had the pleasure of speaking with vocalist Jocelyn Si and drummer Jack Martin to dive right into the album and learn more about its story in the interview below.

Sweety High: What does the album title The Warping mean to you? Why did that title track feel like the perfect summation of this group of songs?

Jocelyn Si: The term "Warping" is a severe but also quite bubbly way to describe change. It feels like a good word to describe our change as a band, as people, of the music that we make.

Jack Martin: The main theme of this album is change, and this felt like an effective term that shows the whimsy and also fear surrounding change.

Jocelyn: The track "The Warping" focuses on personal changes, sonic changes, changes of gender expression and that of our career. It feels like the natural progression from Unlearning.

(Photo credit: Izzy Leach)

 

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SH: What do you feel are the overarching themes of the album? What kind of feel do you hope fans take away from it?

Jocelyn and Jack: Change, growth, a gaining of perspective of your life and the people and things in it. This album focuses on endings a lot, too.

Jocelyn: It's basically the development of our frontal lobes on an album.

 

SH: How would you describe the album's sound? Production-wise, how did you go about bringing these tracks to life?

Jocelyn: It's definitely different to anything we've done before. We wanted to use the studio to its fullest potential and take what we've learned about songcraft and world-building. We still have the attitude of building songs up through demos and getting the electronics and synths and drum machines on point. But we decided we also wanted to convey the drama and arrangement of these tracks with more organic elements and more '70s styles of production, such as orchestration, big live drums and vocal harmonies.

 

SH: How do you feel that these songs represent where you all are in life right now?

Jack: It feels like these songs will stay relevant to how we feel for longer, as they're about bigger-picture issues and concerns in our lives.

Jocelyn: Even though some of them now are a couple years old, they continue to feel even more relevant than they did at first. They don't focus on specific events in our lives as much as they do lasting emotions and worries, the kind people hold on to for long periods of time.

(Photo credit: Izzy Leach)

 

Also read about: Jana Diab Shares the Cycle of Hurt and Healing That Inspired New Single, 'Escape Plan'

 

SH: What are your favorite songs on the album? Why?

Jack: "Seed/Gnomes"—I'm particularly proud of the vocal melodies and the lyrical content on this track. The melodrama of the narrative feels very well conveyed. I think we did a good job of doing our subject justice here. I also love how the song developed instrumentally. In some ways it's our biggest-sounding song yet, and I love the orchestral introduction that introduces the track and our album.

Jocelyn: "Come Undone"—I think as a band who likes to make kind of left-field music to an extent, it's sometimes hard to not get in your own head about creating bangers/singles. Here, we found a way to do that, which is making dancey sort of groovy-glammy Bowie-esque tracks like that. I'm glad that with this we've managed to sound unique and have a really good lyric throughout. It's not cliché or full of filler. I'm also proud we had a struggle with the production of it, as we took a while to find what the key parts in the pre-chorus should be. Among adding extra percussion like cowbells and tambourines, we really love the finished song, and we've been having a great time playing it live and seeing people's reactions. It seems to be a song that people can love, that we love and I love.

 

SH: How do you think you've evolved as artists since Unlearning?

Jocelyn: We've figured out how to get all of our personalities out onto tracks in a more cohesive way. Whether it's from the writing, everyone coming up with their own parts, or if only a couple of us wrote it, everyone gets their mark on a song. Not in a peacekeeping way, in a much more organic "we are this band" way, that shows the sound we make is the culmination of all of our input.

 

SH: Is there anything else we should know about the album?

Jocelyn and Jack: It'll be your fave album of the year x

 

For more of the stories behind our favorite new music, click HERE to read our interview with Taylor Felt on her Dead Flowers EP.