Massimiliano Pagliara was born in Tricase (Lecce) in the deep south of Italy. Already as a child he listened to diverse types of music: rap, classical, reggae, dub and 60s rock’n’roll. Coming from this small village, he and his friends created a small musical world for themselves, spending a lot of time every day playing records in his basement and at private parties.

Upon moving to Milan in 1997, Massi embarked on an academic career and eventually earned his diploma in theatre, dance and choreography at the Civica Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi in 2001. While discovering the fashionable and alternative club scene of the city, his imagination was captured by experimental electronic music such as Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada, Autechre and Mira Calix. Naturally these avant-garde sounds eventually found their way into Massi’s original body of work.

After finishing school he ventured to Europe's underground capital Berlin, where he continued his studies in contemporary dance, but also dived into the city’s explosive techno nightlife, particularly the renowned OstGut club. Massi’s interest in electronic music found its peak in 2003 when he finally began to pursue DJing with a passion. Ever since he’s been spinning records across the world as well as some of the most popular underground venues/parties in Germany – among them Tape Club, Tresor, ://about blank, Cocktail D’Amore, Homopatik, Wilde Renate and of course Berghain / Panorama Bar, where he holds a residency since 2015. Meanwhile he has also earned a residency at the legendary Robert Johnson in Offenbach (since 2009, as well as at Basement in New York (since 20024) and Romantica in Stuttgart (since 2022).

Massi describes his style as an eclectic mix of house, disco, electro and techno – one may call it current-yet-classic. DJing has since led to production. These days Massi lets his obsession with analog synths run wild – usually he’s holed up in his apartment studio, working on his latest productions. 2011 saw the release of his debut album Focus For Infinity (on Live At Robert Johnson), followed by his sophomore LP With One Another in 2014. February 2017 saw his debut release on Ostgut Ton with the EP Time And Again. Since then, Massi has worked on various EPs, remixes, singles, all culminating in the late 2018 release of his third full-length solo album, titled Feel Live. February 2020 saw his debut on Munich’s label Permanent Vacation with his new EP Nothing Stays In One Place For Long, in 2021 he added the third part of his Uncanny Valley label trilogy with the EP Connection Lost Pt. 3. His latest album See You In Paradise releases in October 2022, once again with Permanent Vacation, well acclaimed worldwide and earning the German Records Critics Award. Following from 2023, on his own imprint Funnuvojere, he released a new EP-collaboration “For You” together with Chris Cruse under their moniker “Couple Looking”, a single “All The VCOs You Can Eat”, as well as another solo EP, “Hooking Up” (October 2024).

Massi has been collaborating with luminaries around town such as gui.tar, Snax, Daniel Wang, Lemercier & The Lala By, Discodromo as well as other international artists. This led to several side projects over the last decade, such as [sic!] with the two members of gui.tar, The Rimshooters with the Brazilian DJ and producer Rotciv, Egyptian Nipples with the multi-instrumentalist Jules Etienne, Banana Moon with Luigi Di Venere, Couple Looking with Chris Cruse to name just a few.

There’s an ongoing lust for dialogue when it comes to Massimiliano Pagliara – be it through his collaborations and solo productions, during his DJ sets, with his own music label Funnuvojere Records or on a personal level. The world of dance, movement and communication is deeply rooted in Massi’s life – when you know how to move yourself, you easily know how to move others.