Biography of Horse Meat Disco
Vauxhall as the home base
Horse Meat Disco is a British DJ collective formed by James Hillard, Jim Stanton, Luke Howard, and Severino Panzetta. Their story began on New Year's Day 2004 at The Eagle, in Vauxhall, South London, where a Sunday session conceived from queer culture ended up becoming an international institution. From that local base, the project helped bring disco back to the center of the club conversation, not as a nostalgic exercise, but as a living form of community, musical hedonism, and deep selection.
Love, dance, and emotional archive
The Horse Meat Disco sound combines classic disco, boogie, soul, funk, proto-house, and house with an open philosophy: rescuing dancefloor gems, connecting generations, and maintaining the inclusive energy of the clubs where disco was born and mutated. Their sessions are known for a broad reading of the genre, from luminous vocals and 70s grooves to edits, rarities, and New York-rooted house. That sensibility led them to release the Horse Meat Disco compilation series on Strut, to integrate into the Glitterbox universe, and to become a benchmark for audiences who understand the dancefloor as a refuge and celebration.
From the club to their own album
After years as selectors and cultural agitators, the quartet took a creative leap with Love and Dancing, their first artist album for Glitterbox Recordings and Defected, released in 2020. The album brought together collaborators such as Amy Douglas, Kathy Sledge, N'Dea Davenport, Fiorious, Dames Brown, and The Phenomenal Handclap Band, with the close production and direction of Luke Solomon. Songs like Let's Go Dancing, Jump Into The Light, Falling Deep In Love, and Message To The People translated the spirit of their night into a studio language, with original instrumentation and a contemporary look at disco.
Global presence and residency culture
Horse Meat Disco maintains its Sunday residency at The Eagle London and has developed residencies in Berlin and New York, in addition to a constant international agenda. Their relationship with Glastonbury and NYC Downlow positioned them as one of the visible forces of LGBTQ+ club culture at major festivals, while their appearances in spaces like Hï Ibiza, Amnesia Ibiza, KOKO, Love International, Defected Croatia, and Boiler Room reinforce their global reach. In 2022 they signed Back To Mine: Horse Meat Disco and in 2025 they presented the compilation Disco & Boogie From Brazil Vol.1 together with Mr Bongo, extending their role as archaeologists, producers, and ambassadors of dance music with a disco soul.
