Purple Disco Machine Cuts Listeners One-Way Ticket to ‘Paradise’ on Third Studio Album
The German soul-stoker pairs his nu-disco spunk with high-profile collaborators, including Nile Rodgers and Metronomy.
“Welcome to paradise,” proclaims a vocal sample at the outro of Paradise opener, “W.T.P” While the idyllic place or state of being that provides the namesake for Purple Disco Machine’s third studio album looks a little different for everyone, across the LP’s 15 tracks, it’s clear that the German producer’s paradise is wherever the nu-disco is playing.
Glitzy, galvanizing, and often quite hooky (see “Honey Boy” with Benjamin Ingrosso, featuring the ever-cool Nile Rodgers and Jamaican dancehall singer Shenseea), Paradise puts Purple Disco Machine’s well-heeled fusion of nu-disco, funk, and electro on a stylistically cohesive display. This continuity is no coincidence. The Grammy Award winner leaned heavily on a Minimoog (for basslines) and the Roland JX-8P, using both on nearly every song on the album.
Paradise plays fluidly and with a vitality heartened by its A-list collaborators. “I only wanted to work with people I admire,” Purple Disco Machine said of the project’s diverse and accomplished guestlist, which includes Metronomy, Chromeo, Kungs, The Magician, and Duke Dumont, among others. The most unconventional feature comes from German poet Friedrich Liechtenstein, whose spoken words on Paradise finale, “Die Maschine,” further dynamize an LP that goes retro but feels fresh.
Paradise is out now via Sony Music. Buy it on Beatport.
