CamelPhat Vienna: the house duo from Liverpool and their journey from the record shop to the big stages

You might not know the name, but you definitely have the song in your head: that thick, rumbling bass, the hypnotic loop that poured out of every club, every car radio and every festival tent in the summer of 2017. That was "Cola". Behind it are two men from Liverpool who call themselves CamelPhat. If you are searching for CamelPhat Vienna, you probably want to know who is actually on stage and whether the evening is worth it. The remarkable thing: Dave Whelan told BBC Radio 1 presenter Danny Howard that the track came together in two or three hours, after a last-minute chance encounter with Elderbrook in the studio. A studio idea created almost in passing, which later received a Grammy nomination.

Anyone who thinks a calculated pop machine is behind the summer hit is wrong. CamelPhat are two record collectors who spent years in the underground before almost accidentally producing one of the biggest house tracks of the decade. This article explains how it happened, what a live set from the two of them is like and how to find a show in Vienna without falling for invented promises.

CamelPhat Vienna: what the house duo is all about

CamelPhat Vienna refers to a performance by the British house duo in the Austrian capital. Expect a DJ and producer set with the typical dark, bass-heavy sound the two are known for. For specific dates, venues and tickets, it is best to check directly through the official channels.

An important note, because a lot gets mixed up online: rely exclusively on confirmed sources for dates, venues and ticket prices, not on hearsay or dubious resellers. Those who live in Vienna or are visiting the city can most easily keep track of the concert and festival summer through a central overview. It is worth checking the concerts section, the festivals section and the continuously updated events calendar. There you can immediately see what is actually scheduled in the city.

Why does Vienna work for a set like this? Electronic music lives from the evening, from movement, from a large crowd holding the groove together. This is not a theatre performance with fixed seating, but dance music that only unfolds its effect when it gets dark and the bass carries across the grounds. A CamelPhat set belongs exactly in that time slot.

Who are CamelPhat? Two record shop nerds from Liverpool

Behind CamelPhat are Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, two DJs from Liverpool. They know each other from the local club scene and have made the long journey from the local record shop to the world stage.

CamelPhat are an English DJ and producer duo consisting of Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, founded in 2006 in Liverpool. They met in the most fitting way imaginable for two vinyl obsessives. The pair met in 2006 at Liverpool's 3B Records, where Di Scala was working as a doorman and noticed that Whelan was buying similar records to him. One kept reaching for the same records as the other, and a friendship grew from that.

What many people do not know: Di Scala had already lived a very different musical life before CamelPhat. The two had very different paths behind them up to that point, with Di Scala having already had chart success with Ultrabeat and Rezonance Q, while Whelan was building his Jubilee club brand. So before the elegant, dark house came along, his world revolved around considerably harder and faster sounds.

Telling of the pair's attitude is the early period under the name CamelPhat. As CamelPhat they initially wore wrestling masks to conceal their identity, because they wanted people to judge the music and not themselves. There was also a small trick with their origin. In 2008 they photographed themselves in wrestling masks, called themselves CamelPhat, set up a SoundCloud profile with Milan as their location, released a few tracks, and immediately tastemakers like Pete Tong and Annie Mac jumped on them. The two Liverpudlians pretended to be from Italy so that nobody would project prejudices about their origins onto the tracks. Suddenly people around the world were judging them not by their idea of a dolled-up Liverpool audience, but by what came out of the speakers. They officially carried the band name CamelPhat from 2010, when the first recordings under that name appeared on their own label.

"Cola": the accidental hit that changed everything

"Cola" came about almost incidentally in a studio session in 2017 and within a few months became one of the most defining house tracks of the decade. The journey from underground tip to Grammy nomination happened remarkably quickly.

The story begins with an encounter in the studio. The vocal on the track comes from Elderbrook, who happened to drop by almost by chance. CamelPhat invited Elderbrook to a session in London in February; he was one of several singers they brought into the studio during a three-day recording phase before they returned to Liverpool. From this brief session, without anyone suspecting it, a worldwide hit was born. That the two themselves did not believe in it was something they later made no secret of: Mike Di Scala told Skiddle that they did not think much of "Cola" and it took four months to get the track signed, but after that it shot through the roof.

Radio gave it the first big push. The track debuted in June 2017 on Danny Howard's show as BBC Radio 1's Hottest Record in the World. From there things moved quickly. The song played on repeat in Ibiza, climbed the charts and stayed there. It reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs in November 2017, giving the collaboration their first US number one hit. In the UK the single held on in the charts for a notably long time.

The real turning point came with awards season. The single was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 2018 Grammy Awards. For an underground dance track that was originally only meant to fill clubs, that is unusual. And the numbers keep growing to this day. As of August 2025, "Cola" has achieved triple platinum in the UK, with over two billion streams across all audio platforms worldwide.

Musically, the success is explained precisely by its stubbornness. "Cola" is a dance track at 122 beats per minute with influences from Chicago house. That is remarkable, because the track swam against the current. At a time when crossover dance, especially in the US, was often slowing down to around 100 beats per minute or less, "Cola" drives forward at classic house tempo close to 120. And it did not break through via marketing, but via the dance floor. While most records in the upper chart regions relied heavily on streaming, "Cola" gained its momentum almost exclusively through dance floors around the world.

From the underground to Wembley

After "Cola", CamelPhat managed the balancing act that most fail at: reaching the very top without losing their credibility in the club scene. Two albums, big stages and Ibiza residencies followed.

The debut album came in 2020. Carried by the success of the debut album "Dark Matter" from 2020 and of course "Cola", the most-played song on the island in 2017, the two took their time and shaped their second album "Spiritual Milk" into their most defining work. Along the way the duo reached dimensions that were barely imaginable for two DJs from the north of England. CamelPhat became international stars virtually overnight, swapping shows in Liverpool for Las Vegas, touring the country with "Dark Matter" and ending the tour with a headline slot at Wembley Stadium.

Rather than being swept away by pop success, they retreated deeper into club culture. The Ibiza residencies illustrate this well. In the summer of 2022 CamelPhat started their residency at Ushuaïa, together with fellow north-west duo Solardo, before moving to Pacha in 2023. Whelan explained the move by saying that their increasingly techno-leaning sound was hard to put across early in the evening, but came into its own at Pacha late at night.

Also remarkable is who they are now working with. Their second album "Spiritual Milk" appears on their label When Stars Align with guests including London Grammar, Jake Bugg, Noel Gallagher, Kölsch and Ali Love. Indie songwriters, rock frontmen, techno acts: CamelPhat bring in voices from very different corners and bend them into their own dark sound. They have continuously developed their sound and have become one of the best-selling acts in the history of Beatport. They are keen to emphasise that they have not lost touch with their roots. The Liverpool duo has built on one of the biggest crossover dance hits of the modern era without losing an ounce of credibility, and despite billions of streams remains more connected to real dance floors than ever.

What you can expect from a CamelPhat set

A CamelPhat set is not a greatest hits playback, but a DJ set that builds over time. Expect dark, driving house and techno textures rather than continuous sing-along choruses.

The two do not see themselves as a pop act but as DJs who come from dance music, and that is exactly what shapes their performances. They are now even mentioned in the same breath as acts like Four Tet and The Chemical Brothers. With their Pacha residency, worldwide tours and their biggest project to date, the album "Spiritual Milk", CamelPhat stand alongside acts like Four Tet and The Chemical Brothers, crafting live experiences as bold and expansive as their music.

In practical terms: come with the expectation of a continuous flow, not a song-by-song concert. The energy grows over the playing time, and the best moment is usually not the beginning but the second half of the set, when the crowd has warmed up. Comfortable shoes are more useful than a good seat, because standing and dancing is the order of the day here. Anyone expecting "Cola" and nothing else should be prepared for the live set to often go deeper and harder, with long transitions that only unfold their effect after several minutes.

How to find a CamelPhat show in Vienna

The safest overview of dates, tickets and supporting acts is available through official ticket outlets and a reliable events calendar. Plan the evening with a little buffer and the visit will be relaxed.

A few general tips that help for any open air event or club night in Vienna: travel by public transport, as parking around major events is difficult. Bring a light jacket to outdoor events, as it gets noticeably cooler after midnight. And buy tickets exclusively through official ticket outlets, not through shady secondary sellers. Which electronic nights are actually coming up in the city can be found in one place in the concerts section and the festivals section.

If you want to make a full weekend of it, it is worth looking at the cultural surroundings of the city. Vienna is not just club nights, but also theatre and cabaret, such as Harry G with HoamStories at Theater im Park or classical drama at the Burgtheater. This makes it easy to combine electronic concerts and theatre evenings in one weekend. You can keep track of the complete summer calendar in the events calendar.

Frequently asked questions about CamelPhat Vienna

When and where do CamelPhat play in Vienna?

Specific dates and venues change and should always be checked through official ticket pages. The most reliable overview of whether and when a show is coming up in the city is available through the events calendar and the concerts section. Do not rely on unofficial information or resellers.

What should I expect musically?

A DJ and producer set with the dark, bass-heavy house and techno sound the two are famous for. "Cola" may appear, but the set lives from the build over the entire playing time. Anyone who enjoys the typical tension of electronic sets will be well catered for here.

Who is actually behind CamelPhat?

Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, two DJs from Liverpool who met in a record shop and wore wrestling masks in the early days so that they would be judged solely on their music. From this underground attitude grew one of the biggest house acts of recent years.

Why is "Cola" so important for the duo?

The track came together in just a few hours, aired in 2017 as the Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1, received a Grammy nomination in 2018 and now has over two billion streams. It turned CamelPhat from an underground tip into an international name.

Is the evening worth it if I am not a hardcore clubber?

Yes, definitely. An electronic evening has a lower barrier to entry than many people think: you can enjoy the atmosphere without needing to know every track. If you have a taste for hypnotic grooves and a sound that builds slowly, you will enjoy the show.

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