Purple Disco Machine — The Lab LA, Los Angeles, 2016

Behind the name Purple Disco Machine is the German producer and DJ Tino Piontek, a craftsman of house music steeped in seventies disco, funk and boogie. This DJ set, filmed for The Lab LA, the American version of the Mixmag Lab, shows him in broad daylight in Los Angeles in 2016, before the mainstream success of tracks such as “Hypnotized.” A groovy, sunlit live recording, the video highlights his signature: round, swaying basslines, vintage keyboard pads, funky guitar lines and disco samples reassembled with relish. For nearly ninety minutes, Piontek raises the heat in small touches, favoring groove and the immediate pleasure of the dancefloor over bombast. The Lab format, shot up close to the DJ, conveys the energy of a club and the rapport with the crowd. An ideal electronic live concert for fans of disco-house and danceable funk, an endearing document on one of the most influential DJs of the 2010s nu-disco wave.