On This Day in Dance Music History: Disclosure and Sam Smith Released "Latch"

Disclosure's breakout single still holds up today.

Author:: Nick Yopko
Publish date:: Oct 8, 2019

On October 8th, 2012, Disclosure, the eighteen and twenty-one-year-old brothers from Surrey, England, joined forces with Sam Smith for the release of their track "Latch."

With Smith's soulful vocals on top of Howard and Guy Lawrence's infectious, garage-inspired sound, the track became a mainstay on the radio and DJ sets worldwide.

In addition to widespread critical success, the track is also considered the tune that helped Smith break into stardom. After their inclusion on "Latch," he would begin an award-winning career and become an A-list pop star.

Billboard interviewed the duo back in 2014 and learned about their intentions for the tune to step outside the traditional EDM sound. While speaking with the publication, Howard had this to say:

"We're trying to bring class and soul into the songwriting ... using jazz chords that have emotion instead of boring, stabby EDM triads. You can play "Latch" in a massive nightclub or cover it in a jazz ensemble."

"Latch" would later be featured on the Lawrence brothers' debut album Settle, released in May of 2013. The album was a critical success and would help earn the brothers a Grammy Awards nomination.