''Paradise Again'' is the debut studio album by Swedish

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) is a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJ Poll 2011, and have been ...

, released on 15 April 2022 through SSA Recording and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. The album features guest appearances from

070 Shake Danielle Balbuena (born June 13, 1997), better known by her stage name 070 Shake, is an American hip hop recording artist. 070 Shake is a part of the musical collective 070, who have released a mixtape together titled ''The 070 Project: Chapter ...

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

Connie Constance Constance Power (born 1995), known professionally as Connie Constance, is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, ''English Rose'', on 21 March 2019. The album is produced by Jim Abbiss, who has also produced material for ...

Jacob Mühlrad Jacob Benjamin Mühlrad (born 9 April 1991) is a Swedish composer. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and National Portrait Gallery in London. Mühlrad is the youngest composer to have gotten a piece performed at The Roya ...

Mapei Mapei S.p.A. () is an Italian limited company founded in 1937 in Milan that manufactures chemical products for the building industry. History Innovation and research The company was founded and originally called ''Materiali Autarchici per ...

Seinabo Sey Seinabo Sey (born 7 October 1990) is a Swedish singer and songwriter best known for her international hit song " Younger". Early life Seinabo Sey was born in Södermalm, Stockholm, on 7 October 1990. She is of both Swedish and Gambian ancestry. ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

and

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

. Four singles were released from the album, with the third single "

Moth to a Flame "Moth to a Flame" is a song by Swedish house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on 22 October 2021 through Republic Records as the third single from the former's debut studio album ' ...

", a collaboration with the Weeknd, peaking at number two on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance/Electronic Songs The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...

chart. To promote the album, Swedish House Mafia embarked on the Paradise Again World Tour and headlined the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

alongside the Weeknd.

Background

In February 2021,

's art director Alexander Wessley and their manager Max Holmstrand shared videos of the supergroup working on new music. One month after the videos were published, the supergroup parted ways with their former record label

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. In April, the supergroup signed with manager Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, hinting at a potential collaboration with his longtime client

. On July 15, Swedish House Mafia announced that they have signed to

and that they intended to release their debut studio album, ''Paradise Again'', later that year. Following the announcement, the supergroup released the album's lead single "

It Gets Better It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * ''It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * ''It!'' (1967 f ...

". On 19 July, the supergroup released the album's second single "Lifetime" with

and

. The album's third single "

" with the Weeknd, was released on 22 October. On 10 February 2022, Swedish House Mafia announced that they have finished recording ''Paradise Again''. On 3 March, the supergroup released the album's fourth single "Redlight" with

, and revealed that ''Paradise Again'' is now scheduled to be released on 15 April. The supergroup revealed the album's tracklist on 7 April. On the same day, they revealed the artwork, stating that each particle in the artwork represents "a minute in the life" of the group, marking it as a timeline from the day the group was formed leading up to the album's release.

Promotion

Swedish House Mafia performed a medley of "It Gets Better" and "Lifetime" on the ''

Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' and on the pre-show at the

2021 MTV Video Music Awards The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja ...

. In October 2021, to celebrate the release of "Moth to a Flame", the supergroup hosted the twentieth episode of the Weeknd's

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show ''

Memento Mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

at an unspecified date. In April, ten days before the festival began, the supergroup were announced to be taking over

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's Sunday spot after he dropped out, while also revealing that they would be headlining the show alongside the Weeknd.

Critical reception

"Paradise Again" received generally positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 67 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ''The Groove Cartel'' commended the album, calling it "a 360° exploration of electronic music". Ali Shutler of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' praised Swedish House Mafia for taking risks "rather than sounding like a vintage group struggling to find their identity" and that the album has the trio "flexing their musical and emotional muscles across 17 brilliant, fearless and often surprising tracks. The kings of dance music are very much back".

Track listing

All tracks are produced by

and Desembra, except where noted. Sample credits *"Don't Go Mad" contains a sample of "Summer Nights", written by

Lonnie Liston Smith Lonnie Liston Smith Jr. (born December 28, 1940) is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with such jazz artists as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of ...

Jr., as performed by

and The Cosmic Echoes. *"Calling On" contains a sample of "In the Garden", written and as performed by

Cassietta George Cassietta George (January 23, 1929 – January 3, 1995) was an American gospel vocalist, and composer for many of the songs sung by The Caravans. George was a member of Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker's The Caravans, the most popular touring gos ...

. *"It Gets Better" contains a sample of "Lightning's Girl", written by

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

, as performed by

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

; and a sample of "One More Time", written by Al Mack, as performed by Divas of Color featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King. *"Redlight" contains an interpolation of " Roxanne", written by

, as performed by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

Personnel

Swedish House Mafia *

Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angell ...

– bass guitar, keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drums, keyboards, programming (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drum programming (4),

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(all tracks) *

Steve Angello Steven Patrik Josefsson Fragogiannis ( el, Στέφεν Πάτρικ Γιόζεφσον Φραγκόγιαννης; born 22 November 1982), better known by his stage name Steve Angello, is a Greek-Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record ...

– bass guitar, keyboards (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drums, programming (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drum programming (4), engineering (all tracks) *

Sebastian Ingrosso Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (; born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is also a member of the Swedish House Mafia, together with friends Axwell and Steve Angello. Career 1999–2007: Career Beginnings Sebastian Ingrosso ent ...

– bass guitar, keyboards (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drums, programming (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13–15, 17); drum programming (4), engineering (all tracks) Additional musicians * Carl Nordström – bass guitar, keyboards (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13–15, 17); drums, programming (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13–15, 17); drum programming (4) * Dice of Nights – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (1) * Killen Manjaro – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (1) * Johannes Klahr – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (2) *

– vocals (9, 16) *

– vocals (9) *

Fred Again Fred John Philip Gibson, (born 19 July 1993) known professionally as Fred Again (stylised as Fred again..) or simply Fred (stylised as FRED), is a British record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ. Early life and educa ...

– bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (10) * Giampaolo Parisi – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (10) * Marco Parisi – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (10) Technical * Jay Reynolds – mastering (1, 10), mixing (1, 7, 10) * Kevin Grainger – mastering (1–3, 7, 11, 13–15, 17), mixing (2, 3, 11, 13–15, 17) * Mike Dean – mastering, mixing (4–6, 8, 9, 12, 16) *

Salem Al Fakir Lars Salem Al Fakir (born 27 October 1981) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He regularly collaborates with Vincent Pontare as the songwriting and production duo Vargas and Lagola. Together, they have worked with many ...

– engineering (1, 16) *

Vincent Pontare Fred Vincent Pontare (born 13 May 1980) is a Swedish songwriter, producer, and singer. He is also known by the mononym Vincent. He regularly collaborates with Salem Al Fakir as songwriting, producer, and duo Vargas & Lagola. Together, they have w ...

– engineering (1, 16) * Carl Nordström – engineering (2, 7, 11, 14–17) * Johannes Klahr – engineering (2) * Todd Cooper – engineering (2) *

– engineering (3) * Shin Kamiyama – engineering (4) * Fred Again – engineering (10) * Parisi – engineering (10) *

Magnus Lidehäll Magnus Lidehäll is a Swedish award winning producer, composer and songwriter. He works close with songwriting duo Vargas & Lagola – with whom he won the composer of the year award at the Swedish Grammy Awards in 2014. Together they have produce ...

– vocal production (2) * Kelvin Krash – vocal production (6) *

Martin Kierszenbaum Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...

– vocal production (13) * Grant Valentine – vocal engineering (13)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2022 debut albums Swedish House Mafia albums Republic Records albums Albums produced by Fred Again Albums produced by Swedish House Mafia