UK synthpop duo Soft Cell link up with fellow pop icons Pet Shop Boys on ‘Purple Zone’, the latest piece of the jigsaw taken from the former’s May 6 release of eagerly anticipated fifth studio album Happiness Not Included.
‘Purple Zone’ is a dream duet for synth-pop connoisseurs as Marc Almond’s ultra-expressive delivery intertwines with Neil Tennant’s wistful yearning, encapsulating the existential questions about the passing of time that are posed throughout the course of the album.
Raising its tempo, Pet Shop Boys also added a hi-NRG sheen that elevates the track’s moody melancholy, with Chris Lowe’s trademark high-drama synths producing a theatrical intensity. On the track, Marc says, “Working with the Pet Shop Boys was a pleasure, and this track is the perfect combination of us and them.”
Listen to ‘Purple Zone’ by Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys on the Shoot Music New Releases playlist on Spotify.
Having closed 2021 with a critically acclaimed sold-out UK tour, Pet Shop Boys attended one of the tour’s London shows, and immediately picked out ‘Purple Zone’ as one of their favourites from the evening.
The two legends of electro-pop initially planned for Pet Shop Boys to remix the song, but their collaboration quickly mutated into a full collaboration. Not only is their collaboration a brand new single release, but this version has also been added to the Happiness Not Included.
Along with the recent single Bruises On All My Illusions and the album title track, ‘Purple Zone’ primes fans as to what to expect from Soft Cell’s first album in twenty years – a distinctive and striking balance between light and shade, hope and despair, the personal and the universal.
It’s been two decades since Soft Cell last released an album, but the influential synth-pop duo still provoke a huge amount of public fascination. News of Happiness Not Included sparked international attention from tastemakers worldwide – in the process igniting a platform for them to add to their previous achievements including 25 million sales, six UK top 10 singles and a BRIT Award.
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