NEW MUSIC: SOFT CELL & PET SHOP BOYS | PURPLE ZONE + VIDEO PREMIERE
’80s synthpop standard-bearers Soft Cell are back with a new song and video for “Purple Zone,” which they recorded in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys. As you might have heard, Soft Cell is releasing their first new album in 20 years, "Happiness Not Included." Pulsating and highly chantable, “Purple Zone” follows already released singles “Bruises On All My Illusions,” “Heart Like Chernobyl,” and the album’s title track. According to a press release, Pet Shop Boys were initially going to remix “Purple Zone” after watching Soft Cell perform the song on tour last year. Instead, the two electro-pop acts decided to team up and record a collaboration. “Working with the Pet Shop Boys was a pleasure, and this track is the perfect combination of them and us,” Soft Cell’s Marc Almond said in a statement. The adorable video, directed by Yassa Khan, stars the bands as servers in a pub and an ice cream truck, meditating upon the difficulty of life in the modern world. The video cuts between the performers and a cross-section of unique individuals. We see beauty in both the young and the aging populace, all grappling with various forms of identity and self-expression at different stages of life. It’s a lovely commentary on the passage of time: one commonality the generations all share is a love of food, drink, and public ritual: a refreshing street cone or a draught of Guinness at a pub. With “Purple Zone,” Soft Cell has located the sweet spot of compromise: a catchy anthem mixed with good old-fashioned crone wisdom that can only be achieved by genuinely living an adventurous life.
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