Synth jazz splits the night like a rainbow through the cosmos. A skyline of cyber funk and muzak on steroids lies beyond the horizon - let’s go to funk city!
Inspired by western and Japanese groups from the 70's onwards, Stockholm-based Paradise League creates music within the realm of contemporary jazz with a touch of electronic pop. The new album is out. It's about love ♥ #heartstuff
Joel Nyman (tpt), Gabriel Dahl (b), Ludwig Sievert (kb), Linus Fritzson (dr) and Oscar Olsén (g) met in 2014, while studying music in the South of Sweden. They quickly united in the name of jazz fusion and the first four held a weekly session, playing funk jams, fusion hits by the greats, and a few originals. The project lasted for about two years, although with varying musicians (eventually Olsén on guitar).
In 2017 all five members were studying at the Royal College of Music (KMH) in Stockholm. Initially, the band came together as Joel Nyman Paradise. During this period they met drummer Christian Levens, an exchange student from Texas. For various reasons the drummer seat switched between Levens and Fritzson, most notably during a tour in Estonia with Levens on drums. In fall of 2018 this alternative line-up traveled to Texas for three weeks, performing at clubs and schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
As both Nyman and Dahl brought material to the table, the groups repertoire started to take shape. The debut Welcome To Paradise was recorded in April 2018 and released in February the following year. Shortly before the release, Fritzson quit and Finnish drummer Aleksi Ylimäki took his place. With Ylimäki on board the group set out to record their second album Let’s Go To Funk City in April 2019. This record was put on hold, as the band took time to reconsider their artistic vision. A name change to Paradise League took place in mid 2020, followed by the release of LGTFC.
As an exam project in spring of 2021 led by Nyman, the live session album Megaburger was recorded, available for streaming and in video format in 2022. Later that year an exclusive live video of the song Starlight Palace was released; a collab with saxofonist Tomoaki Baba through KMC Japan. This video was recorded simultaneously as their 3rd studio album Heart Stuff, later released in fall of 2023. During the ”Heart Stuff" tour the band performed across the Nordics, most notably at Fasching in Stockholm and at Lobby Myyrmäki outside of Helsinki, introducing the concept ”Paradise League & Friends”.
For most of 2024 the group focused on releasing more live videos, with only a handful of shows (”Heart Stuff” tour pt2). In 2025, Paradise League continues to focus on their YouTube channel and were joined by drummer Jonathan Lundberg for a performance at ”Festival Blue Coast” in Oskarshamn (SE) in April.
