Last year we spoke to DJ/Producer, Massimiliano Pagliara about setting up his own label, Funnuvojere Records, his forthcoming album and his lack of knowledge regarding all things Mariah. The blatant disrespect, daaahling!
This month he returns with a new project, hooking up with Berlin-based DJ & friend, Chris Cruse, to form Couple Looking. Dropping their new For You EP earlier this month, the four tracks are squelchy, funky and a bit fried. Definitely a vibe for summer days at the beach and nights on a dark dancefloor. The pair play with genres, tempos and mysterious messages – we see you, Track #3 ‘For K+‘.
Loverboy speaks to Massi & Chris about the new EP and how this couple came to be…
Hey Massimiliano, news has just dropped about your next project, Couple Looking! How would you describe this new venture?
MASSI: Yes, that’s right. This project has been cooking for a while and I am super happy that it is finally out. Chris and I have been best friends for a long time and we had lots of adventures. It was just a matter of time for us to get together in the studio and work on some beats. That time finally came and I am very proud to release this on Funnuvojere.
Were you considering a project away from your own name before or are you doing this solely because of doing it with Chris?
MASSI: I did lots of collaborations in the past and I am always open for new ones, especially with dear and talented friends like Chris. We have a strong musical connection and we have also been sharing the decks several times.
I think that working with someone else in the studio is always a big challenge and you can learn a lot out of this. It’s a very enriching experience.
How did the two of you meet? When did you decide to work together? How did you come up with the name Couple Looking?
MASSI: We met in Berlin a while ago, through mutual friends, but we really bonded after my first visit in LA, back in 2015. Back in 2019 we played our first b2b at Is Burning, in Amsterdam. While at the airport, waiting for our flight, we took some cute selfies to promote the event on our social medias. Chris had this brilliant idea to upload one of these pictures on his Grindr profile and our dear friend Brian who was traveling with us, came up with the name for the profile: Couple Looking. And I was like: this is such a great name! We need to do a project using this and release a record. And here we go, 4 years later, the record is out.
Can you tell us a little about Chris and his work too?
MASSI: Chris is a wonderful and joyful person, as well as an amazing DJ and talented producer. He lived in LA for many years, where he used to do the legendary queer party “Spotlight”, where I had the chance to play several times and always had a blast. He now lives in Berlin and focusing more on his dj-producer career.
What do you both have in common that you are bringing to the project and what are your individual characteristics that will create the new fusion of styles?
CHRIS: We both like our music psychedelic and funky, with lots of cosmic vibes, melodies and deep grooves. I think the parties where we met and played at over the last years (like Cocktail d’Amore in Berlin, Panorama Bar, or Spotlight in Los Angeles) also really helped inform our respective sounds. Massi is a genius with melodies. He’s also a synth wizard, and really knows how to turn every one of his machines out. I’m very groove-centric and love to jam, but I also like to experiment with arrangement later on for maximum punch. We would start each session with an inside joke or reference (“There’s another side of you…” for instance), laugh our asses off, and then start jamming.
From the titles of the songs, I get the vibe there was an overall concept when thinking of the EP. Tell us more. ‘For the remote’? Haha…
CHRIS: I mean, there’s so many things a couple might be looking for — besides the obvious — so we had a bit of fun with it.
Really feeling ‘For A Snack’ right now. Love the darker energy it has. Can you tell us more about it?
CHRIS: This was the first track we wrote together, and features me saying a lot of naughty things through a vocoder. It was during the pandemic, and we kept imagining a hot and sweaty place, with a lot of fog and bodies pressed against us. Massi debuted it at the first Snax party back, and it went off. It’s kind of the perfect place for this track.
Then to contrast with that darkness, next we have,‘For K+’ with a summery, beach vibe going on. How did this track come to be?
CHRIS: This one started with a cute sample and that smooth bassline. Then I played the piano bit, and we were like ok we’re on a beach in outer space. But I like that the track winds up and builds — the second half is quite a funky workout, and gives the track both a daytime and nighttime vibe.
This EP is dropping on your own label Funnuvojere. How have things been going at the label since we spoke last year?
MASSI: It’s been a little slow and difficult and the pandemic definitely didn’t help much. Running a label these days is tough, especially if you like to press vinyl. Sales are very low and it’s sometimes hard to keep the motivation. Yet, I didn’t want to give up and I am always trying to improve things as much as I can. In fact, I have also started doing some merch and will release new music of mine as well from now on.
Since we last spoke you have dropped your solo album! How was that experience? Tell us some exciting moments that have come from releasing it.
MASSI: I am very happy with the outcome. The feedback has been very strong and I have been touring no-stop worldwide ever since. I was also very happy to receive the “German Records Critics Award” as the best album of 2022. The album release party at Panorama Bar, was one for the books: I played an hybrid dj-live set, and two of the musicians that contributed for the album, Loket (Saxophone) and Snax (Keyboards), joined me. I have never experienced that kind of magic in that room… I still get goose bumps to think about!
It is customary for us to ask everyone their favourite Mariah Carey track but we remember you are not a fan. Tell us a song that we might not expect to be on your Most Played and why you like it.
CHRIS: I’m a little more into Mariah than Massi! “Always Be My Baby” is actually a karaoke go-to for me — but deep down the track is also about how two people keep coming back to each other. Perfect reminder for any couple on the prowl.
Couple Looking’s For You EP is out now on Funnuvojere Records.
