Disclosure
Two brothers from Reigate, a room above their father’s auction house and “Latch” with Sam Smith: how Disclosure took house music to No. 1 in the UK.
- Brothers Guy (born 25 May 1991) and Howard Lawrence (born 11 May 1994), from Reigate, Surrey.
- “Latch” (2012), with Sam Smith, was their first UK hit, reaching No. 11.
- Settle (2013) and Caracal (2015) both debuted at No. 1 in the UK.
Disclosure are the Lawrence brothers, Guy and Howard, from Reigate in Surrey. They started out uploading tracks to Myspace from a room above their father’s auction house. Three years after their first single, they had a debut album at No. 1 in the UK and a run of vocal house singles in the UK top 20.
A room above the auction house
Both parents were musicians; their father later became a professional auctioneer. Guy started playing drums at three, Howard the bass at eight. The brothers made music above the auction house and put it online, describing their style as “electronic house music with a pop structure”. That phrase still sums them up.
First releases
The debut single, “Offline Dexterity”, came out on 29 August 2010. In January 2011 they signed to the new PMR Records, which released “Carnival” / “I Love… That You Know” on 13 June 2011. “Tenderly” / “Flow”, in January 2012, earned their first serious national radio support, and The Face EP followed on Greco-Roman in June 2012.
“Latch”, “White Noise” and Settle
In October 2012 came “Latch”, with Sam Smith on vocals. It reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart and was their first hit. “White Noise”, with AlunaGeorge, went to No. 2, and “You & Me”, with Eliza Doolittle, to No. 10.
The debut album, Settle, came out on PMR on 3 June 2013 and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1. It was nominated for Best Dance/Electronica Album at the 2014 Grammys. The same year the brothers launched Method Records.
Caracal, a break and Energy
Caracal, released on 25 September 2015 by PMR and Island, gave them a second consecutive UK No. 1 album and another Grammy nomination. Its guests included Sam Smith, Lorde, Gregory Porter, The Weeknd and Miguel; “Holding On”, “Omen” and “Jaded” were among the singles.
In February 2017 they announced a hiatus. They came back with the Ecstasy EP on 28 February 2020, then the album Energy on 28 August 2020, again nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Its single “My High”, with Aminé and Slowthai, was up for Best Dance Recording at the 2021 ceremony, alongside Jayda G’s “Both of Us”; Kaytranada won with “10%”.
Alchemy and the Grammy run
Alchemy followed on 14 July 2023, two days after it was announced. The nominations kept coming: “Higher Than Ever Before” at the 2024 Grammys, “She’s Gone, Dance On” in 2025 and “No Cap”, with Anderson .Paak, in 2026.
Disclosure’s records work as pop songs and as DJ tools: shuffled drums, chopped vocals, big choruses. For more vocal UK house from the same years, read the story of “I Got U” by Duke Dumont.
FAQ
Who are Disclosure?
Brothers Guy Lawrence (born 25 May 1991) and Howard Lawrence (born 11 May 1994), from Reigate in Surrey, England.
Who sings on Latch?
Sam Smith. Released in October 2012, “Latch” reached No. 11 in the UK and was Disclosure’s first hit.
What was Disclosure’s first album?
Settle, released on 3 June 2013 on PMR Records. It debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
