Purple Disco Machine

German DJ, producer, and remixer Tino Piontek’s Purple Disco Machine alias regularly achieves club and radio success with its infectious, groove-heavy blend of house, disco, funk, and synth pop. First making an impact on the club world with underground hits like 2013′s “My House,” Purple Disco Machine released the collaboration-heavy full-length Soulmatic in 2017. He hit the mainstream with the 2020 European chart smash “Hypnotized” (with Sophie and the Giants), in addition to remixes for stars like Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, and many others. 2021′s Exotica was another star-studded event, with artists like the Knocks, Elderbrook, Eyelar, and Francesca Lombardo joining Piontek for another dancefloor-filling set. Further collaborations with Kungs and Sophie and the Giants followed.
Piontek was born in Dresden in 1980 and started making music and frequenting clubs as a teenager. In 2005, he started releasing tech-house and electro-house tracks as Stereofreak and the more prolific alias Stereofunk, then established the Purple Disco Machine project in 2009. Incorporating more disco elements than his earlier work, the project released singles on labels like Klang Gymnastik and Gris Musique before 2013′s OFF Recordings-issued “My House” became a club hit. Singles and EPs followed on Nurvous Records, Defected, Kittball, and Spinnin' Deep, as Piontek collaborated with producers like Boris Dlugosch, Aeroplane, and Robosonic, with Aloe Blacc guesting on 2016′s “Counting on Me.” Following the 2017 singles “Body Funk” and “Devil in Me” (featuring Joe Killington and Duane Harden), Purple Disco Machine’s debut album, Soulmatic, was released by Sweat It Out! in 2017, sporting guest appearances by Faithless, Kool Keith, CeeLo Green, and others. “Dished (Male Stripper),” an update of a 1986 Hi-NRG single by Man 2 Man and Man Parrish, was released in 2018. Mixed compilation Discotheque appeared on Glitterbox in April 2019.
Purple Disco Machine’s profile rose when Positiva issued singles such as 2019′s “Body Funk” and 2020′s “In My Arms,” and the producer released well-received remixes for Fatboy Slim, Mark Ronson, Kylie Minogue, and others. “Hypnotized,” a collaboration with Sophie and the Giants, became his first major hit, topping the singles chart in Poland and going triple platinum in Italy, where it reached number two. “Exotica” (with Mind Enterprises), built around a sample of the Italo-disco classic “Void Vision” by Cyber People, followed later in the year, and appeared on the 2021 LP of the same name. Several singles reached the charts across Europe, and the remix album Club Exotica arrived, as well as a deluxe edition of Exotica. Purple Disco Machine released remixes of Diana Ross’ “I Still Believe” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” in 2022, as well as “Wake Up!,” a collaboration with Bosq and Kaleta. “Substitution,” a collaboration with Kungs and Julian Perretta, appeared in 2023 and became another international chart hit. It was followed by a solo single, “Bad Company,” and another song with Sophie and the Giants, “Paradise.” ~ Paul Simpson