There is nothing half-hearted about Disco Shrine. The LA-based dance-pop artist and DJ has built her world on contradiction in the best possible way: hard-hitting yet dreamy, camp yet emotionally honest, playful yet deeply intentional. Her sound, a bold collision of hardstyle and mall-pop, feels like the soundtrack to a neon-lit fever dream, while her presence carries the kind of unapologetic energy that turns underground admiration into genuine cultural momentum.
Now, with her new single “Heart Eyez,” Disco Shrine leans into the delicious chaos of infatuation. The track captures that dizzy, all-consuming moment when a crush takes over your entire operating system, a soft-glitched, lovestruck rush that feels equally sweet, surreal, and club-ready. Channelling the spirit of pop disruptors like Kesha and PinkPantheress, “Heart Eyez” offers another sharp glimpse into an artist who is not interested in playing by anyone else’s rules.
But Disco Shrine’s story runs deeper than aesthetic or attitude. Since her debut single “Up in the Air,” which drew from her Persian-American identity and immigrant experience, she has been crafting a world that is as personal as it is playful. Her 2021 EP xoxo, disco introduced Persian Barbie, an alter ego that marked a creative rebirth and helped spark Barbie Rave, a celebration of queer empowerment, freedom, and community. Across music, performance, and nightlife, Disco Shrine has continued to carve out spaces that feel joyful, defiant, and entirely her own.
In our conversation, she opens up about the real-life spark behind “Heart Eyez,” the making of her “soft-glitched pop” sound, the influence of Kesha and PinkPantheress, and why rebellion, humour, and vulnerability all belong in the same room. She also reflects on identity, club culture, fan connection, and the bigger universe she is building as she gears up for a packed 2026.
For Disco Shrine, pop is not about perfection. It is about energy, release, connection, and the freedom to be fully yourself, loud, messy, emotional, and all in. And with “Heart Eyez,” she proves once again that she is creating far more than songs. She is building a world.
How’s your year going so far? What’s been the best moment of 2026 up to now?
I released a new track, “Boom Boom,” in the first week of 2026, and in that same week, it hit 100k streams, which is the fastest I’ve ever had a song reach 100k. At the same time, I had a video go viral that Kesha replied to. Being blessed by Kesha just felt like an amazing way to kick off the year.
Before we get into “Heart Eyez,” how did the name Disco Shrine come about? What does it mean to you?
Disco Shrine came to me in the middle of the night during a session. The vibe is basically: let’s party, but make it a religious experience.
If you had to describe “Disco Shrine” in one sentence to someone who’s never heard your music, what would you say?
Cunty, campy dance-pop that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
“Heart Eyez” captures that moment when a crush takes over your operating system. What was the real-life spark behind this song?
I found a hottie mcbody and became obsessed. It felt very innocent and very high-school-crush vibes. You know when you have a school crush and all you can do is draw hearts in your notebook around their name, and you become googly-eyed whenever they’re around? I felt like “Heart Eyez” was the perfect way to describe that feeling.
You’ve described it as “soft-glitched pop.” What does “soft-glitched” mean sonically, and how did you build that texture in the production?
Soft-glitched pop, to me, is when the music is really hard-hitting, but the sharp edges are softened by this girly, glitchy, ethereal overcoat. I love playing with the mix of something that’s super dirty and dark-sounding, layered with an ethereal synth or airy vocal chops.
The track nods to Kesha and PinkPantheress in spirit. What did you want to borrow from that world: attitude, melody, lyric directness, chaos?
We loveeee a messy pop star, and Kesha has always been that diva. I relate to that because I don’t feel like I’m the cookie-cutter, quintessential pop star. I’m a little messy, a little experimental. I don’t do things the way I’m supposed to. I do them my own way. I feel like both Kesha and PinkPantheress have paved the way for a new type of pop star that I really relate to.
As an artist and DJ, how do you decide whether a song should feel like a pop confession, a club weapon, or both?
As a DJ, I’m always thinking about what’s going to pop off in the club. Your job is to get people to shake ass, so that’s usually a top priority when I’m in the studio. I love a drop, a singalong chorus, and a hard bass. Anything that’s easy to play as a DJ, but also easy for people to have fun and dance to with their friends. As an artist, though, sometimes you get to the studio and you’re in a sad mood, and anything above 130 BPM isn’t the vibe. I give myself grace on those days to make more emotional, pop-confession-type music. Even though a girl loves to shake ass on the dance floor, she needs to have space to cry sometimes too.
You’re known for a collision of hardstyle and mall-pop. Where did that hybrid come from, and what’s the trick to making it feel cohesive instead of chaotic?
I’m a Valley girl, raised in the San Fernando Valley {818 forever <3}, so malls were my stomping ground growing up. Sherman Oaks Galleria, Northridge Mall, Topanga Mall. RIP to Westfield Promenade, where I had my first kiss. They’re bulldozing it for the new Rams stadium. Anyway… mall-pop. That mall-rat, girly-diva energy of running around under fluorescent lights with your girlfriends, going store to store, is such a singular girlhood experience. It goes back to that soft-vs.-hard dichotomy again. Putting a Valley girl twist over a hard beat… it shouldn’t go together, but it does.
“Heart Eyez” is lovestruck, but there’s also that slightly glitchy, unreal feeling. Is the song celebrating infatuation, warning us about it, or both?
I’m a lover girl… a jump-in-all-the-way kind of girl. Because even if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll learn something or, at least in my case, get inspo for a new song. So I’d say it’s an enabler anthem more than a warning.
Your journey began with “Up in the Air,” rooted in your Persian-American identity and immigrant experience. How does that part of your story still show up in your music today?
I feel like the reason a lot of my music is so unhinged and playful because Iranian women are not allowed to be this way in Iran. I would literally be put in jail for the type of music I make. So, for me, it’s kind of a form of rebellion. If I’m in America with all this freedom and opportunity that so many women in Iran don’t have, I better make the most of it. And my version of that is dyeing my hair blonde and shaking my ass on stage every night.
When did you realise you could be fully yourself culturally, visually, and sonically, without smoothing the edges for anyone?
When I wrote “Disco Daddy.” It’s my comfort song, my hype-up song, and my confidence-boosting alter ego that I channel when I’m on stage. It was the first track I released in this new era, and it really helped set the tone for where I’m at artistically right now. I feel like I’m the most “me” I’ve ever been. I guess all it took was thousands of people yelling “DADDY” at me on stage, which is something I make every crowd do at my shows.
How do you balance humour, camp, and power in your visuals without losing emotional honesty in the music?
Humour is actually a really fun way to be vulnerable. It’s disarming. It lets you get your point across without making things too heavy. Luckily for me, I’m naturally really funny, so it comes pretty easily. At the end of the day, the only way to be emotionally honest is to be yourself, whether that’s writing slow ballads or, in my case, satirical, campy songs about being illegally blonde.
Barbie Rave became a celebration of queer empowerment and community. What gap were you trying to fill when you created it?
Because I had coined myself Persian Barbie when I released my first EP, Barbie Rave originally just felt like a fun way to tour and play music. But it quickly became more. After touring across the US and playing in so many cities, meeting so many girls, gays, and theys, and seeing the community that formed in those spaces, I realized how powerful those vibes are. Those clubs felt safe, joyful, and freeing compared to past club experiences. That’s exactly the type of environment I want to create at my own shows.
What does a perfect night feel like from the booth? What tells you the room is truly yours?
I basically just yell at the audience and give them commands until they start listening. “Put your hands up… Jump… Let me hear you make some noise… 3, 2, 1, LET’S GO.” Sometimes crowds just need a little push to realize it’s okay to let go and have fun.
What’s the most meaningful fan interaction you’ve had that confirmed you’re building more than just songs, you’re building a world?
I’ve had a lot of wow moments over the last year. Playing shows and meeting fans on tour is always the most rewarding. I did my first UK/Euro tour last year, and it made me realize how transcendent music is across cultures and languages. A really funny but special moment was when I played my first show in Paris at Cabaret Sauvage. Instead of calling me Daddy, the crowd started calling me Papa, and it became this really cute inside joke between me and the Parisians in the crowd. I still get comments on social media calling me “Disco Papa,” and I instantly know they were at the Paris show. It’s little connections like that that feel so special and transcendent. The community aspect of music is what always drew me to it. So being the one cultivating that community now is really rewarding and honestly pretty fucking cool.
People say you’re poised for a Y2K pop moment. What does “Y2K” mean to you beyond aesthetics? What values or energy are you bringing forward?
Y2K is really in the zeitgeist right now, with Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, and nostalgia aesthetics popping off. I think recession-core has brought it back in a big way, which makes me sooo happy because Y2K everything is my jam. Let’s be real. It was the best era, and nothing will ever compete. It’s fun, carefree, doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it still has a strong identity. That feels really aligned with who I am as an artist.
If your upcoming project (due later this year) is a bigger universe, what themes connect it to “Heart Eyez”?
The digital, glitchy, ethereal feeling of “Heart Eyez” will definitely be a continued pattern.
What can you tell us about the direction of your 2026 releases: bigger, darker, sweeter, harder, more personal?
Bigger. Faster. Harder. Cuntier.
As dance music keeps evolving, what rules are you intentionally breaking next?
All of them. Every single one. Rules are made to be broken. That’s how change happens.
What’s your non-negotiable in the studio, one thing you must have to make a Disco Shrine record feel complete?
Vocal chops, autotune, and poppers. Prrrrrr.
Quickfire:
● Your biggest crush “tell”? I literally get googly heart eyez.
● An artist you’re obsessed with right now? My girl Ninajirachi.
● The most “Disco Shrine” emoji combo? 😍 ✨ 💕 😈
● A song that always works on the dancefloor? “Like a G6”
● One thing you want listeners to feel the first time they hear “Heart Eyez”? Warm and fuzzy.
Images by Andrew Butte
