⏱ 2 min read
The fragmentation after ‘Disco Sucks’. Funk, soul-pop, and proto-electronic music filling the vacuum.

What Post-Disco sounds like

Disco stripped back after the 1979 backlash. Drum machines and synths in place of strings, dubbed out mixes with echo on the vocal and long instrumental passages. Minimal, strange and soulful, the missing link between Studio 54 and early house.

What you would see

Paradise Garage and the Loft, where DJs played to mixed, mostly Black and gay crowds. Plain T shirts and sneakers instead of sequins, a huge sound system, dancing until noon.

Where and when

Post-Disco took shape around 1979 in New York City, USA. Tracks usually run at 100 to 125 BPM.

Family tree

It grew out of Disco and Funk. It led to Boogie, Italo Disco, Chicago House and Nu-Disco.

Artists to start with

Peech Boys, Arthur Russell and Kashif.

Labels that carried it

Prelude Records (United States, 1976), West End Records (United States, 1976), SAM Records (United States, 1976) and SOLAR Records (United States, 1978).

One track to hear

Peech Boys, Don’t Make Me Wait (1982). It is an official upload, and you can play it on this genre’s card in the Dance Music Timeline.

Where it stands in 2026

The root of house, mined for edits.

Want to hear how it connects to its neighbours? Plan a mix from here with Tempo Bridge, or see where it sits among 127 genres on the timeline.

From the booth

Post-disco is the quiet hinge between disco and house. At 100 to 125 BPM it sits a little lower and looser than classic disco, and it grew from Disco and Funk before feeding Boogie, Italo Disco, Chicago House and Nu-Disco.

I love it for warm up sets, because it has the soul of disco without the full orchestra, which leaves room for the night to grow. Listen for space: drum machines instead of strings, echo on the vocal, long instrumental stretches. Those dubbed out passages are perfect for mixing. If you are new to it, try following a post-disco record with an early house track. You will hear the family resemblance straight away.

Sources

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Matthew Clement plays house and disco in Seoul under the name Clement, and has been behind the decks here for more than two decades. By day he teaches business and marketing communication at a university...