CC:DISCO!, aka Courtney Clarke, is not only Australia's golden child of house and disco, she also shares her uplifting tracks and mixes all over the world.
She has played Glastonbury, Into The Woods, Love International, Sonar, PITCH and Strawberry Fields to name just a few, and will be featuring at Falls Festival over New Years this year alongside Arctic Monkeys, CHVRCHES, Peggy Gou and so many more."Funnily enough, Falls is the first festival I went to. I was 16 or 15 years old, and I was an absolute terror," Courtney says.
"If you told me at that point that I would be playing there, I would have told you to get f...ed or something. I have played there once before, but this time I'll be doing the full club arena."
CC:DISCO! began playing music, namely drums, in Catholic masses as a way to get out of class, before beginning a radio career at the age of 15 where she became a Melbourne Friday night institution.
Her first clubbing experience occurred at uni where Itch-E and Scratch-E's 'Sweetness And Light' exploded her 17-year-old mind. She DJd on radio for years, before shifting to the live setting and hasn't looked back. "I always wanted to be in radio. When I was ten, that's what I said when people asked me.
"I never thought music would be a full-time career. It's an amazing job to have. Music was my outlet for everything that was bad in the world. Music was always the funnest thing for me."
CC:DISCO! mixes are instantly uplifting and cheerful, as she creates a dreamlike space you never want to leave. She curated her first compilation album 'First Light Volume 1' in February 2018, collaborating with Australian artists, followed up by Volume 2 in 2021 featuring international artists.
Both collections playlists are reminiscent of her live sets – you are invited in, go on a magical journey and come out wanting more. We can only hope she will play some of 'First Light' in her Falls set.
"Ooh maybe. There are quite a few belters on there so potentially. There was one artist that was on both editions, Manuel Darkhorse, and both those tracks never fail. They're just perfect for the dancefloor."
CC:DISCO! controls the atmosphere of the room with sensitivity and skill, something she attributes to her 14 years of DJing experience. "It's definitely a little bit of both. You can't just rock up and play music if everyone's looking at you like someone's died.
"You might change it up a little bit, and that comes from experience. Playing for so long has really given me a scope on music, so I can change the genre if I want to, I don't strictly have to play disco.
"I don't play songs to please the crowd. If I do play a big hit sometimes it's because the crowd's been really good, it's not to try to get them to dance more.
"It's about creating those moments as well as watching and listening to a crowd, because at the end of the day, you want people to smile, you want people to be happy. It's a two-way street."
CC:DISCO! doesn't allow herself to be limited genre-wise, playing tracks like No Doubt's 'Hella Good', an homage to the most played record of her teens, and even played Savage Garden's 'I Want You' to close a set one time.
"I stand by it, it's a great track. I play relatively happy music so throwing in a pop track here and there isn't out of the question. Disco was essentially happy pop music back in the day, so I'm just continuing that through the ages."
Clearly that's working for CC:DISCO! as she was chosen to play at Glastonbury in 2019 and Love International in 2021. "Glastonbury was crazy. There are so many stages, I was convinced that I would play to five people. I played three spots and all three were absolutely ramped, I was shocked.
"Playing Love International in Croatia was a dream. There are no time restrictions, music goes until 6am. It blew my mind, and playing there on the beach stage ticked a big box."
What are in CC:DISCO!'s sights for 2023? "I used to live in Mexico, and it has a very special place in my heart, so I definitely want to play there. That's my aim for next year, Mexico."
If you can, get to Falls and experience CC:DISCO! before she jets off to the other side of the world again.
Falls Festival 2022-2023 Dates
29-31 Dec - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne)31 Dec to 1-2 Jan - North Byron Parklands (Northern Rivers)
7-8 Jan - Fremantle Park (Fremantle)
Falls Festival 2022-2023 Line-up
Arctic MonkeysLil Nas X
Peggy Gou
CHVRCHES
Jamie xx
Aminé
Ocean Alley
Camelphat
Spacey Jane
DMA'S
G Flip
PinkPantheress
Rico Nasty
Amyl And The Sniffers
Mall Grab
Ben Böhmer (live)
DJ Seinfeld
Genesis Owusu
TSHA
CC:Disco!
Young Franco
Anna Lunoe
Luude
Lastlings
May-A
Choomba
The Vanns
King Stingray
Peach PRC
Beddy Rays
Jean Dawson
Telenova
Biscits
Barry Can't Swim
Floodlights
Elkka
Wongo
Yng Martyr
1300
Moktar
Magdalena Bay
Dameeeela
Ebony Boadu
Elsy Wameyo
Rona.
Juno Mamba
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