In March 2026, the iconic electro-pop and darkwave masterminds Ladytron arrive reinvigorated with their eighth studio album Paradises, set for release on Nettwerk – the label known for releasing 2008’s ‘Velocifero’ and 2011’s ‘Gravity the Seducer.’ Opening three singles – the cultish, tropical modernity of “I Believe In You,” the techy, kinetic “I See Red,” and darkly euphoric “Kingdom Undersea” – are just a taste of the album’s riches, a slow reveal.

Blazing with colour, ‘Paradises’ is Ladytron at their most sleek, most romantic, most urgent, and most psychic – a luminescent, scratch-built collage of tech primitivism, high-priestess disco, spectral soul, and balearic noir. It’s a beach at the end of the world, filled with premonitions, prayers, and incantations. A lovesick solar journey through metaphysical paradises, fine days, and cruel summers.

At 16 tracks and 73 minutes, ‘Paradises’ is not only their longest album yet, but also Ladytron’s most dance-oriented record since ‘Light & Magic’, and their most significant leap since ‘Witching Hour’. The album was produced by Daniel Hunt and mixed by long-time collaborator and producer Jim Abbiss (Grammy award winner for Adele’s debut album), who believes it’s their best record since ‘Witching Hour’.

Abbiss remarked: “When I heard the demos for ‘Paradises’ I was truly blown away. The variety in songwriting and arrangements reminded me of ‘Witching Hour’, but with its own unique atmosphere, sonics, and attitude that summed up all that I love about the band.” Helen Marnie described working with Jim again: “It was like a homecoming. We just fit. His enthusiasm is contagious, and having that in the room really creates a kind of magic.”

The album was made with a renewed focus and direction, with life providing a timely reminder of purpose and spirit. It is another unique album by a unique band – and a distillation of all they are.

“I wanted to write from that perspective and channel that fun feeling of first working together back in the late ’90s when we had nothing to lose, and a world of possibility stretched out before us.” explains Mira Aroyo.

“‘I See Red’ and ‘A Death in London’ were the first two tracks written, and with the latter especially, it felt like we had the soul of a new record. We then went from zero to the core of an album in a matter of weeks,” says Daniel Hunt.

The majority of ‘Paradises’ was written and recorded in an intensive five-month period from late 2023, with final touches and mix taking place in early 2025 with old friend Abbiss. The recording process took place in Liverpool, São Paulo, Montrose, and at Dean Street Studios in London, where Tony Visconti famously recorded Bowie’s ‘Scary Monsters’.

From the first Liverpool sessions in January 2024, it was clear that the new album was something special.

“We took comfort in familiar surroundings,” said Helen Marnie. “Feeling at ease brings the best out of us, and there was a buzz in the studio about the material that felt new.”

The album’s themes are somehow both more personal and more abstract. In the making of ‘Paradises,’ the group felt unimpeded by external circumstances, and hit their most productive phase in 20 years. That creative sweet spot turned the planned record into their longest yet.

Whereas most of Ladytron’s previous albums drew on material accumulated over time, ‘Paradises’ was written from scratch. This was an intense and rapid process. “Every time I went into the studio, I’d come out after an hour with a new track. I personally hadn’t been anywhere near that productive since the very beginning in Liverpool,” said Hunt.

One of several catalysts for the creative process was new old technology: “We manifested a lost modernity of youthful imagination,” he explained.

It was at this playground in a parallel universe where ‘Paradises’ came together. “The key motivation was fun. Everything became fun again,” said Helen Marnie.

Hunt went on to describe a particular overriding current that shaped the album’s conception: “There’s an itch we never scratched, which is that despite our origins in the DJ world, we never actually made a ‘disco’ record. Albeit, ‘disco’ in our context has a somewhat different meaning.”

Threads of dance music, such as proto-house, early electro, and disco, have woven through all their albums, and just like other facets of the group, come in and out of focus and prominence across their body of work. On ‘Paradises’, one unmistakable characteristic is that side of Ladytron coming to the fore, and creating a canvas for the formation of something new.