Massimo Pupillo - Industrial Slave (IMP160)

*PRE-ORDER* ships September 5th, 2025

Massimo Pupillo - Industrial Slave

Massimo Pupillo's (Zu) new solo album has been ignited by the poem of the same name by Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist, John Trudell. This poem is so important for the concept that it will be heard in full at the beginning of the first track, and then leave space to sound itself.

A sound that describes and depicts a brave new world, a digital panopticon made of digital cages, barcodes , QR codes to access other QR codes, A.I., various passes, and surveillance cameras practically everywhere.

This sound lives today but it’s rooted and stems from 80s and 90s electronic and industrial movement, equally inspired by Spk or Clock DVA, as by Scorn and Techno Animal. Rooted in a world that wasn’t only a musical movement but interwoven with dystopian science fiction, Philip Dick , Robert Anton Wilson, on one side, and tribal voices on the other side.

Massimo Pupillo is mostly known for being a founding member of Zu, with whom he has released 18 albums and played more than 2000 shows around the world. He has also kept a very open and multidisciplinary approach that led him to work with some of the most acclaimed figures in today's world of arts: south african photographer Roger Ballen, actors Malcolm McDowell and Marton Csokas ,director Romeo Castellucci, (of legendary avant garde theatre group Societas Raffaello Sanzio), choreographer Meg Stuart, contemporary dance group Dewey Dell, etc

He has just delivered the soundtrack for Kirill Serebrenikov’s new feature film "Limonov- The Ballad" , premiered at Cannes 2024.
In 2024 he’s also working at an opera featuring members of Alter Ego Ensemble , the most important contemporary music ensemble in Italy.
A new album with soprano Barbara Hannigan and David Chalmin due on Die Schachtel in 2025.

He has collaborated live and on record with avant-garde musicians and composers such as Alvin Curran (founder of Musica Elettronica Viva in 1966), with world-famous piano duo of Katia & Marielle Labeque , with classical music virtuosos such as Viktoria Mullova and Giovanni Sollima. He has also recorded a new album with Canadian soprano and orchestra conductor, Barbara Hannigan. Working with Katia Labeque he has had the honour of an album designed by Storm Thorgerson, founder of Hipgnosis , probably one of the most important designers in rock music. With Katia Labeque, he has played and arranged tracks of an album of Moondog music that was released on the most important classical label ever, Deutsche Grammophon. Also with Katia he presented a special project at Paris' Philharmonie in 2016, working and playing with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Bryce and Aaron Dessner (The National).

In the world of rock music he has collaborated with some of the most important names of the international scene, such as Mike Patton, Thurston Moore, Jim O' Rourke (Sonic Youth), Guy Picciotto & Joe Lally (Fugazi), Buzz Osbourne (Melvins) Damo Suzuki (CAN), etc. In free-improvised music he worked with Peter Brotzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Tony Buck (The Necks/ Swans) etc.. In the experimental music scene he has collaborated with Oren Ambarchi, David Tibet (Current 93), Thighpaulsandra (Coil) , FM Einheit (Einstürzende Neubauten) , Stephen O' Malley (Sunn O)) , Abul Mogard, Mick Harris (Scorn), Gordon Sharp (Cindytalk & This Mortal Coil), and many, many more.

Between Zu, solo and collaborations, he has released more than 90 albums and played 3000 shows all over the world.