Massano, who hails from the periphery of Liverpool’s burgeoning electronic music scene, broke into the business through the usage of his record label, “Eternity Sounds,” which served as a platform for emerging underground musicians from across the world to advance their careers.
Massano‘s meteoric rise as a musician keeps picking up speed thanks to his driving yet mesmerizing modern melodic techno sound; Mind Against gave him early backing during their Cercle concert at the Centro Ceremonial Otom in Mexico.
Following this quick industry endorsement, Massano has established himself as the definition of “one to watch” in the media, releasing music on labels like Afterlife, Oddity, Running Clouds, and his own imprint “Eternity Sounds” while accumulating significant support from some of the top names in the scene.
We had the chance to sit down with him for a special interview where we discuss the past, present, and future of his music and his path as an artist.
Hi Massano, nice to e-meet you. Let’s start from the beginning. When and why have you started to produce music? And why underground/techno?
I started to produce music 4 years ago whilst I was in university (studying marketing) just as a hobby because I found a real love for discovering new music and felt that I wanted to be able to produce music like the tracks I loved. Techno because I love this music to listen to in all moments of my life, along with the community and branding that comes with the techno scene.
Your debut was on Eternity Sound but the real international recognition happened on Running Cloud with The Feeling. Could you tell me more about the track, how it has born, and did you expect such success?
This track came about after just a random jamming session in the studio, I did not go in with any ideas, it was just a moment of pure creativity where all the right ideas just flowed. Usually, tracks take me 1-2 days to finish but The Feeling only took me 4 hours, everything just went right that day and I had ‘the feeling’ from the moment I even first saved the project file that I had something special in the works. Having said that, I never expected the track to reach the heights it has done, and it’s amazing to see that every month it somehow seems to grow bigger than the last, seeming to have a rebirth every summer at the clubs and festivals around the world.
You started to gain traction with your music in 2020, a strange year for electronic music because of the pandemic, the difficulties to play for a crowd, etc. How was your experience with that?
For me, it was really strange because I never released music before the times of the pandemic, so I didn’t really have anything to compare it to releasing music before. But then what was even more strange was that because I grew a lot throughout covid, not having any gigs, I went from having no gigs before or during the pandemic to suddenly having 2 gigs every weekend after covid.
The Feeling was one of those tracks everyone immediately recognized during Tale Of Us set and, correct us if we are wrong, you basically become part of the Afterlife family. How was and how is the experience, you’re playing several Afterlife stages around the world.
Afterlife is an amazing brand that I am honored to be a part of. It has global recognition and is full of hugely talented artists. There is a real family vibe with the label too with lots of unique but like-minded artists who are always happy to help and support each other where possible. The Afterlife events are always special as it brings this family of artists, staff, and fans together.
Your tracks have a very distinct sound. Have you looked for it or is it just born? Basically, what’s your creative process? Are you an analog or digital guy?
This kind of just came naturally, I have a specific taste with sounds and always prefer to design my own rather than relying on sounds designed by other people. My creative process is that I prefer to jam with ideas as if I was performing the tracks live before starting the arrangement, that way I can create all the sounds I need for the project before thinking about the structure. I am very much a digital guy, I have tried analog and it sounds great but for me, I did not like the limitations it came with and how you can easily lose time with it resolving issues.
A lot of people identify your music style as melodic techno or emotional techno. Do you agree? How do you describe it and it has always been this kind of music you produced.
Yes, I agree but I think I have developed my own style of melodic techno, combining emotional, high energy, and aggressive moments for tracks that translate well when listening in the clubs and at home. I have always liked producing this loud, in-your-face, and aggressive style but when I first started to produce, I made slightly heavier faster techno.
You recently released your spin of Human Aura for Yubik. How the remix was born and, does it seem a bit more melodic and kind of progressive compared to your previous production?
This remix was born because I loved the label Radikon and was keen to do a remix for them, then they came to me with this track of Yubik and I loved the futuristic style vocal and felt I could do something huge with it by combining it with some crazy peak time leads, and from this idea came the track which I was really pleased with when finished.
You’re scheduled to play alongside Tale Of Us at Masseria del Turco in Apulia. You’ll probably have already played when you got these questions so, how was it? Probably a different experience from the usual festival stages
This gig was incredible, the crowd has so much energy throughout, and the production was amazing as always with these guys!
What we can expect from Massano in the future? Is new music lined up?
You can expect more music from me very soon, I am always in the studio in my spare time. I have my new label launching soon with some new tracks from me & some friends + I am working on some huge collaborations I can’t wait to share.
