Purple Corporation features two musicians, Miles Donnelly and Matt Williams, along with some other talented individuals that we have met at the University of Chicago.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Miles Donnelly on guitar, vocals , trumpet, French horn and production Matt Williams on bass, and production Featuring Jakob Leventhal and Winter Donnelly on vocals

For starters, what bands were you part of prior to this project? How long has this project been around?

Prior to this project Miles studied classical music composition and performance at Juilliard. He began with French horn and switched focus to composition in his last year during which he wrote a requiem for orchestra. Matt Williams played with Coconut Email, an indie rock band, and has produced for numerous up-and-coming rappers. Both members were and are involved in Jakob Leventhal’s band with which they play gigs throughout Chicago. They also play on the University of Chicago campus with a group called Blue Maroon. They play various charity events and parties. This project began during the summer of 2018 when Matt and Miles first teamed up to make Mind Phonics, an album about journeying through the mind.

What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

The main theme of Atomic Bionic Sonic Chronic is breaking out of monotony. Through storytelling and musicianship, the album attempts to put forth something new and never seen or heard before. However, music is essentially a collection of sonic patterns which inherently repeat. The double edged sword of repetition and novelty is what gives the album its punch.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean, The Beatles, and Miles Davis are a few artists that inspire Purple Corp. This handful that we have chosen gives an idea of the breadth of styles we infuse into our music.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Seeing Unknown Mortal Orchestra in concert was compelling. Their concert really had ‘the works’ with lasers and showmanship to the max. We were blown away by this spectacle and on walking out of the venue began scheming on how we would be able to take the stage

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc.

Hydration is key before a show. We also believe ‘you look good you feel good’ so if we can put forth a compelling visual spectacle on stage the music will naturally follow. Gotta eat a good meal before to have the fuel to keep the energy up the whole time.

What has been the biggest highlight of your music career so far?

The biggest highlight of our career so far was creating Mind Phonics, our first album. In making this project we realized that we could bring together disparate musical backgrounds and inspirations to create a truly new and contemporary sound. We continue forging this novel path with Atomic Bionic Sonic Chronic...it is really like nothing you have heard before

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

We have heard tales about the Eagles perfecting the art of the after-show party so they would probably be a wild band to tour with. It would also be a pleasure to tour with BADBADNOTGOOD to take advantage of their musicianship and collaborate on some tunes.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

A key aspect of our projects is matching up visual and sonic media. We work with contemporary artists such as Christian Schumann, Michael Bevilacqua, and Louis Granet to reflect our music in the visual dimension.