When Christoph Huber from Porgy&Bess told me in the summer of 2023 that Purple is the Color could take over the next season as the Stageband, it felt like a long-cherished wish had finally come true. At the same time, I knew this would be a great challenge for us. The Stageband program gives artists and ensembles the opportunity to play a concert every month at Porgy&Bess for an entire season. We took this commitment seriously – so seriously that we created a unique program for each of the nine concerts. It soon became clear that we would be working on an abundance of new music. And so the urge to document this moment on record grew stronger. But more than that, it was something else I felt pressing inside me: since the release of our last album, Epic, in 2020, so much has happened. Each of us has grown – as musicians and as people. Our band sound has evolved too. Maybe it has shifted from something intentional into something more organic. I can’t quite put my finger on it. But it was obvious that we had something new to say.

In February, we returned to Franz Schaden’s wonderful Wavegarden Studio. And above all, it was the time spent together that made it so special. The recordings were created very intuitively; there was little editing because we understood each other so well – both musically and in terms of arrangements. We wanted to capture the moment, with everything that belongs to it. It wasn’t about abstract perfection but about the energy of the now. There are a few overdubs here and there, and David Furrer played guitar on the titel track „Unbemanntes Raumschiff“ so beautifully that the track took on exactly that melancholy I had been unconsciously searching for.

Why „Unbemanntes Raumschiff“ (Unmanned Spaceship)? There is something about the sound of it that simply fascinates me – it just feels good, intriguing. At the same time, it carries a sense of vastness, of something almost infinite, and also a deep loneliness because no one is on board. And the word spaceship somehow captures the spirit of our times. An era where nations are seized by a kind of space fever. Everyone wants to get out, to get away from here… but where does it all lead? (Simon Raab, July 2025)

“Purple is the Color is a prime example of a working band – a collective that collaborates consistently and continuously, always evolving further. A rare exception in this fast-moving era, where supposedly spectacular projects often seem more in demand than witnessing the stepby- step maturation of a group. My very first jazz record was Keith Jarrett’s Belonging, with his European quartet featuring Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen. Purple is the Color comes very close to this fantastic band.” — Christoph Huber, Porgy&Bess