Disciples on Their Ministry of Sound Debut, “I Got You” Hotline, and More [Q&A]
2020 has been a tough year all around, but the platinum-selling UK trio Disciples has not let that slow them down. Not only did they drop "Only the Gods / Better on My Own," the massive collaborative double-single release with Hot Natured's Lee Foss and Anabel Englund, but they also can now celebrate their debut on the iconic Ministry of Sound, "I Got You.'
"I Got You" is one of those tracks that warms you from the inside out, combining bright piano chords and dynamic drums for the ultimate feel-good record and a much-needed dose of positivity in our lives. It also features the signature vocals of the trio's very own Duvall and Luke Mac. With everything going on in the world, Disciples came up with the most thoughtful and creative way to reach their fans during a time when we've never felt more separated from our fellow humans. They created the "I Got You" Hotline, which connects you with the trio and fellow artists such as Gorgon City and Becky Hill, among others.
EDM.com spoke with Duvall, one-third of Disciples, about the group's latest single, the inception of the "I Got You" Hotline, and more.
EDM.com: Congratulations on your new single “I Got You.” Growing up in London, the Ministry of Sound is truly an iconic figure in the music scene. How does it feel to be released on the label?
Duvall: It feels amazing to be releasing on Ministry of Sound. I've loved the label for as long as I can remember, and the club. Actually, one of my first performances was at that club, so to be able to be a part of the label now is such a great thing.
EDM.com: We love the idea behind the “I Got You" Hotline. We all need a soundbox we can vent to sometimes. Can you explain how you came up with it?
Duvall: I was online and I was listening to the news and I was just frustrated that we were complaining, but not doing much about it. Even though our industry has been hit the hardest with our own government not really doing much to support us at all, I thought at least I have a voice to help other people who are in a less fortunate position than I am. So I've created a hotline with my management and said, "Look, I want to not just give advice to people. I want them to be able to call in and vent." Also, we want to give prizes to people just to help them through this lockdown situation, and to just get through 2020 in general. So yeah, "I Got You, The Hotline" was born a few weeks ago.
EDM.com: How many calls have you received?
Duvall: So, we've probably got about 90 calls that I've got to go through.
EDM.com: Keeping anonymity of course what has been the most touching message you’ve received and also what has been the wildest message you’ve received.
Duvall: One I've heard was a guy who's not having the greatest time and suffers from mental health issues. So we were conscious not to give too much advice because we're not professionals, but at the same time, we could offer some relief. So I just ended up telling him a few jokes that happened during our touring circuit, which lightened the mood a bit for him, and also we sent him a care package, which consists of many different items to help him get through what's happening at the moment. From a stress ball to a "you can do it" book, to Coca-Cola bottle sweets, to a bottle opener, to a lighter, to a mask, everything. That was probably the stand out for us.
EDM.com: The track is really vibrant and uplifting. With everything going on in the world, how have you and Gavin and Luke been staying positive?
Duvall: I'm not going to lie, it's hard to say positive, but easy to stay creative. So we've been in the studio remotely quite a bit with each other, going over old records, and that has actually made us feel positive. When you're on tour or when you're doing your normal circuit or promotion, you end up leaving a lot of songs behind. So what we've been able to do is we connected with each other and reconnected with ourselves through the old music we made.
We've been working on some of the old records, which are now going to become new records. I think they're going to be our next few singles, which is quite amazing.
EDM.com: The music industry has been making some major adjustments this last year. Have you noticed the mandated time off shifting any trends in the sound coming out or do you have any projections on to what’s going to become the next big shift?
Duvall: Yeah, I think it's more positive, uplifting records. Not just in the name of house music and EDM, but across all genres. I think what I'm seeing is an injection of incredible songs written by brilliant people who care about lyrics, who care about melodies, who care about song structure. I'm noticing, especially on the radio in the UK, a lot of the records that are getting playlisted are the records that have some sort of energy in the musicianship. So it's quite incredible to see a turn, especially on the radio here, where we have a lot more inspirational and uplifting music, as well as music that is a form of escapism. So stuff that's quite easy listening and you don't have to think too deeply on it. I'm seeing that trend a lot more and obviously with the birth of a TikTok. It's helping these guys who make, I don't want to call it throwaway music, but they're making "fun music" rise to the top.
EDM.com: This year you also released two massive tracks with Annibel Englund and one featuring Lee Foss. How was it working with the Hot Natured members as previous fans?
Duvall: That was insane for us because I don't know if you know but Disciples was born based on Hot Nature. We all have a love for Hot Nature for Lee Foss, James Jones, especially, and then Annibel England on the vocal of course. We worked with her about six years ago, but the song never came to light. We ended up getting busy with touring and we just had a big single come out. So the second track on that EP, "Better On My Own," was a song that we recorded six years ago with Anibel England and we completely forgot about it. So we contacted her and said, "Look, we want to put this up, but we also have this other song that's been written by a few friends of mine called "Only The Gods," which I think your vocal would be perfect for it. Do you mind vocalizing for it and let us hear how it sounds." She sent it back within a few days. It sounded incredible. We were like, okay, let's go.
EDM.com: Obviously, touring is not happening right now, but last year you were traveling with David Guetta! Since we’re all longing to invasion ourselves back out at the show, do you have any fun tour stories you share so we can imagine we were there?
Duvall: Cast your mind back to 2017, we were doing a festival tour. I think we did like six of the nine biggest festivals in the UK and it got to the sixth festival, the last one, and I thought, right, 20,000 people in the crowd this time, I'm going to go nuts on stage. It had many pyrotechnics and lights and smoke. It was so smoky, I couldn't even see the microphone. What happened was I ended up running onto the stage, jumping up and down, just got there in time for one of our big songs, the biggest drop. I ended up jumping. And then I, I didn't land and I was like what's going on. I had jumped off the stage and not even realize the time it took for me to hit the ground.
You would never imagine how long that felt. It felt like it was in the air for 10 seconds. Anyways, I hit the ground and you hear the "Oooo" in the crowd and I jumped back up and everyone goes," Yeahhh!" That's probably one of the biggest moments from a few years ago.
EDM.com: Dream of a perfect world and live music has come back in full force. What are your first festival stops and first venue stops when you get back out on the road?
Duvall: Dreamworld, perfect world would be Coachella for sure. I haven't done Coachella as an act or as an audience member. That has to be the number one for me. As a group, I'd say we played Glastonbury a few years ago, but just in a small tent. I'd love to play a bigger stage in Glastonbury when it comes back.
EDM.com: Finally, what should fans expect next from you guys?
Duvall: So just before you go on the call with me I was finalizing the next single, which is kind of like a funk dance banger which features the vocals of a new talent who signed to my management company. She's also signed to Island herself. That's one record. We have a collaboration with the legendary Dennis Ferrer coming out. It feels like it's gonna be a big club record. So we're probably going to release that in the new year. Then we're going to I think we're going to collaborate more actually. We took socials just to see who people would want to see us collab with, and they said the likes of MK and Gorgon City and, and people like that.
So we're probably gonna reach out and do some collaborative projects, but this train doesn't stop. We're going to keep moving. You're going to hear a lot more releases with us next year. Normally we release like one or two singles a year and just focus on building those singles. I think this time because we've had time to work on music, 2021 is going to see probably four or five, six releases from us. Definitely.
You can stream "I Got You" below and across all platforms here. To chat with the trio call +447950957020.
FOLLOW DISCIPLES:
Facebook: facebook.com/disciplesldn
Instagram: instagram.com/disciples
Twitter: twitter.com/disciples
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3g5UEjx
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