Purple Disco Machine about home and success

The Dresden-based DJ and producer Purple Disco Machine has celebrated great success with his hits "Hypnotized", "Fireworks" and "In The Dark". Last year, for example, he won a Grammy for the remix of the track "About Damn Time" by US singer Lizzo. Now the new album "Paradise" is here - the third from Purple Disco Machine.

Tino Piontek, the DJ's real name, had been thinking about the title for a long time. It then became the concept for the whole album.

"I first thought about what paradise - or my paradises - are," Piontek told the German Press Agency. "One of them is my home in Dresden and, of course, my studio - places where you simply feel comfortable, where you can be who you are." Certain situations, family and home are also part of this. "That's another feeling you have."

The album ultimately became the soundtrack to these feelings and places. He thought about the sound for a long time. The aim: to reinvent himself without losing himself.

As is so often the case, he found inspiration in the music of the 70s and 80s. Piontek collected sounds from old songs that had been with him for a long time. "I then got hold of the synthesizers that were used to create the sounds back then and tried to revive them," he explains.

"I simply invite everyone to my paradise"

The album title ultimately gave rise to another idea: "I simply invite everyone to my paradise." For the first time, a Purple Disco Machine record was created entirely in the Dresden studio that Piontek set up in 2019.

It feels like a second home: there is a lot of wood, golden records and platinum records hang above a cozy sofa in the entrance area, and the Grammy trophy has also found a place. Of course, the record collection is not to be missed.

He has never really warmed to other studios, says Piontek. "I'm much more creative and freer here, I can be myself much more," explains the 44-year-old. You can hear that in the album.

Matt Johnson, keyboardist and producer of the British band Jamiroquai, was the first person Piontek brought to Dresden. Piontek had already worked with Johnson on the last album, and he is now involved in almost every song on "Paradise".

The numerous feature guests also include the British band Metronomy and the Canadian-American duo Chromeo. Sophie and the Giants, with whom the successful hit "Hypnotized" was created, is also back. For the first time, Piontek also brought in a permanent band to provide the album's central theme.

The Dresden native not only made music with his guests, he also played the city guide for them. "Everyone loved it somehow. Many had either no idea or completely different ideas about the city," he says. It was a great experience to bring people into his comfort zone and make music with them there.

In October, Piontek will be embarking on a live tour of Europe with "Paradise", a new project. For the first time, he will be on the road with a mixture of DJ set and band - with the musicians he already worked with for the album.

The 44-year-old prefers the really big shows. "The more people, the better, this intimacy is almost a bit too personal for me," he says. With 200 spectators, you get direct feedback from everyone. "With 80,000 people, it's easy, you see the first four rows - and those are usually the hardcore fans." The rest is then just a sea of people where you can no longer see the personal emotions.

Cancelling Taylor Swift "no big deal at all"

Piontek has already released disco remixes of some of the biggest hits by artists such as Lizzo, Elton John and Britney Spears. However, he turned down one of the world's biggest stars: the management of US pop singer Taylor Swift had asked him for a remix. For Piontek, it was "no big deal" to turn down the request. It was only afterwards that the topic was blown up in the media, says Piontek.

He does not believe that Swift herself even knew about the request. Her label reacted with irritation; no one had ever turned her down, Piontek recalls. But the offer simply came at the wrong time. "I was fully in the album process and didn't want to interrupt it to make some quick money on the side."

"I hope the bubble doesn't burst at some point"

Piontek doesn't trust his success. Many would work long hours towards an appearance at the world-famous Coachella festival, for example, but it almost comes to him. "Sometimes you have a guilty conscience and think: I hope the bubble doesn't burst at some point and people realize that he can't actually do anything."

He is still surprised about his Grammy win to this day. The music prize is considered the highest award in the music world. Similar to the Oscars in the film industry, around 13,000 members of the Recording Academy - representatives of the music industry, including musicians, labels and journalists - decide on the winners.

"That's why I was so surprised. It wasn't a fan vote, but people from the industry who voted for me," says Piontek. He wouldn't have traveled to the award ceremony in Los Angeles if his wife hadn't convinced him. Now he is a member of the jury himself - an honor, says the Dresden native.