“What if a wormhole back to New York in 1979 opened up, in the place you’d least expect to find it?”. This is the concept behind Detour Discotheque, a series of music events thrown in the most far-flung corners of the world, and the reason I’m heading to the Swiss Alps on a Thursday afternoon with a confusedly packed suitcase of puffa jackets, walking boots, glitter and 70s-inspired jumpsuits.
Andri Wyss/Emanuel Weber
Andri Wyss/Emanuel Weber
As I step off the plane from London to Zurich, I marvel at the ease of my trip so far; this was, however, naively, not fully taking into consideration the “detour” in “Detour Discoteque,” with the ensuing journey involving trains, a car journey and two separate cable cars.
The train trundles away from the city and it seems with each extra mile, the natural surroundings add a dose of exponential “wow” factor. Rolling hills make way for towering, snow-capped mountains and, as we round the final stretch of railway, these hilly giants part to reveal a glistening lake dotted with buffeting boats while paragliders swoop, dip and dive above. It’s easy to see why this is known as the adventure capital of Europe – a year-round natural playground that attracts base-jumping thrill seekers, climbers, cyclists, skiers, ramblers and more.
Eventually, we pull up in Lauterbrunnen, the screen-saver-esque valley village at the foot of our final destination, and what will feel like a farewell to civilization as I know it for the next few days. We board the cable car to Mürren and I’m blown away by the sheer scale of the mountain we’re gliding up as the cars, people and houses below gradually turn into ant-like specs in the distance. Perched precariously on the mountain shelf, it’s easy to see why Mürren is nicknamed “Dorf auf der Mauer” – “the village on the wall” to you and me. The 13th-century Alpine village rose to popularity when Sir Arnold Lunn introduced the first-ever Alpine slalom race here in 1922 and is a Wes Anderson-esque dream if ever you were to imagine one. Still, I wonder, how on earth did the founder of Detour Disco, Jonny Ensall, settle on this remote and sleepy outpost as a location for a festival?
Andri Wyss/Emanuel Weber
Andri Wyss/Emanuel Weber
I caught up with Jonny to get to the bottom of how this unique event first came about – “I’d always DJ-ed and run disco nights in London. And like most people who love disco, I was fascinated by this legendary era in New York history in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when clubs like The Loft, Paradise Garage and Studio 54 were at their peak.” Not yet a fully-fledged concept, it was while travelling for work that Jonny came across what was to be, in his eyes, the perfect inaugural Detour location – an unassuming village hall in the Westfjords of Iceland (naturally). “I chose Iceland for the sheer impossibility of doing it there; Scotland in 2023 for the response from the locals; and now Switzerland for the natural beauty. They’ve all been perfect in their own ways.”
Still unsure whether anyone would make the journey to the Iceland debut, word quickly spread and the party became a sell-out. “I guess the idea just resonated, especially as people were coming out of lockdown. They wanted to explore the world again and to feel that sense of togetherness and community.”