Massimo Pupillo played with FM Einheit during the Meakusma festival 2017. The next day he was so generous to spend some time together. Late in the evening we found an empty little dark venue to have a talk. We coudn't nearly see each other, but what a talk! Tonight I would like sharing it with you.
@ photo made by Caroline Lessire
Playlist :
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 1
Zu & Mats Gustafsson : Bring The War Back Home (How To raise An Ox)
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 2 + Zu : Jhator : A Sky Burial
Gronge : Città Assediata (A Claudio Villa)
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 3
FM Einheit & Massimo Pupillo : live Meakusma 2017 extract 1
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 4
FM Einheit & Massimo Pupillo : live Meakusma 2017 extract 2
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 5
Becoming Animal (Massimo Pupillo / Gordon Sharp (This Mortal Coil / Cindytalk)) : Meshes of Light (A Distant Hand Lifted)
Massimo Pupillo : interview part 6
Massimo Pupillo is a bass player, composer, improviser,
originally from Rome, Italy .
After a lot of trials and errors , he founded the trio ZU in 1997.
Zu released 15 albums ( and lots of singles and compilations) on
international labels like Ipecac Recordings, House Of
Mythology, Atavistic etc
Released more than 50 albums in collaboration with some
atonishing musicians from all over the world.
More than 2000 concerts in Europe & Eastern Europe, Russia,
USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, Africa, Mexico and South America,
in different contexts like rock, jazz, contemporary music
festivals, theatre performance.
With Zu he collaborates live and in studio with some of the best
musicians of the rock & avantgarde scene , like Mike Patton,
The Melvins, Nobukazu Takemura, Damo Suzuki, Dalek , Mats
Gustafsson, Peter Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, Rob Wright
(NoMeansNo), Eugene Chadbourne , etc..
In 2009 he wrote the O.S.T. for the feature movies "Nel Nome
Del Male " and for “ 20 Cigarette”.
Both soundtracks were refused by the productions and that was
the end of this very promising career.
The album “Igneo” (2002) was engineered at Chicago’s
Electrical Audio by Steve Albini, (engineer for Nirvana, PJ
Harvey, Pixies, Page & Plant, and many more... ).
Tours with bands as Faith No More, The Melvins, Fantomas,
The Ex, Lightning Bolt, Ruins, Dalek, Nomeansno, The Thing,
etc...
Cd “Radiale” (2004) was recorded by Bob Weston, also known
as bass player in Shellac.
Beyond Zu , Massimo Pupillo also played with:
- Original Silence (w/ Thurston Moore, Jim O' Rourke, Mats
Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen- Love, Terrie Ex ), 3 cds on Smalltown
Supersound
- Chöd , w/ Bobby Previte & Gianluca Petrella.
- B For Bang, w/ Katia Labeque, Victoria Mullova, Giovanni
Sollima, Nicola Tescari , David Chalmin, Meg, Nadeah Miranda,
Marque Gilmore. Cd out on KML.
- OffOnOff w/ Paal Nilssen-Love and Terrie Ex, 2 cds on
Smalltown Superjazz
- Dimension X w/ Chris Corsano (Bjork) and David Chalmin
(B For Bang) Cd KML
-Hairy Bones w/ Peter Brotzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Paal
Nilssen-Love (cd Okka Disk)
- Ardecore, revisiting traditional songs from Rome , 2 cds on Il
Manifesto Dischi
- Black Engine, w/ Zu , Eraldo Bernocchi , Mick Harris (
Napalm Death, Scorn, Painkiller ) & FM Einheit ( Einsturzende
Neubauten) Cd out on Wallace Rec .
- 7K Oaks w/ Alfred 23 Hart, Luca Venitucci and Fabrizio
Spera- 2 cds on Die Schachtel.
- Still Life With Commercials w/Geoff Farina ( Karate ) &
Michael Zerang -Cd From Scratch
-The Williamsburg Sonatas w/ Lukas Ligeti & Gianni
Gebbia - Cd Wallace
- Dogon ( w/ Okapi & Maurizio Martusciello) - 2 cds on
Wallace & Stereosupremo.
- Jusi In The Winehouse , w/ Zeno De Rossi, Simone
Massaron, Giorgio Pacorig .. Cd Longsong
-The Ex & Getatchew Mekuria ( legendary Ethiopian
saxophone player )
- GermanottaYouth experi-techno-grindcore trio. Cds and
singles on various labels-
- Trio w/ Stephen O'Malley & Oren Ambarchi
- Duo w/ Oren Ambarchi
- Duo w/ FM Einheit
- Trio w/ Uchihashi Kazuhisa & Yoshigaki Yasuhiro,
10” vinyl Wallace/Phonometak
- Trio w/ Peter Brotzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love
- Trio w/ Stephen O’ Malley and Lasse Marhaug
Other collaborations with: The Ex, DJ Olive, Mary Oliver,
Walter Wierbos, Nils Petter Molvaer, William Hooker, Otomo
Yoshihide, Guy Picciotto (Fugazi), Michael Vatcher, David Scott
Stone (Melvins), and with the avantgarde theatre company
“Societas Raffaello Sanzio”
Discography
Zu
• 1999 Bromio
• 2000 The Zu Side of the Chadbourne
• 2001 Motorhellington
• 2002 Igneo
• 2003 Live in Helsinki
• 2004 Radiale
• 2005
• The Way of the Animal Power
• How to Raise an Ox
• Zu v/s Dälek (split)
• 2006
• Rai Sanawachi Koe Wo Hassu
• Zu/Iceburn (split)
• 2007
• Identification with the Enemy - A Key to the
Underworld
• 7" Picture Disk
• 2008 Il Teatro degli Orrori + Zu (split)
• 2008 Zu, Damo Suzuki & Xabier Iriondo 10"
• 2009 Carboniferous
• 2011 Axion (Phantomsmasher remix) / Chthonian (James
Plotkin remix) 7"
• 2014 Goodnight Civlization EP ( La Tempesta Dischi / Trost
Records )
• 2014 The Left Hand Path ( Trost Records)
• 2015 Cortar Todo ( Ipecac Recordings )
• 2017 Jhator ( House Of Mythology )
Ardecore
• 2005 Ardecore
• 2007 Chimera
• 2010 San Cadoco
•
Other bands and projects
• 2002 Dogon - "Before And After" (Stereosupremo, Italia &
Amanita Records, France)
• 2003 Dogon - "Who Is Playing In The Shadow Of Whom?"
(Wallace)
• 2004 "The Williamsburg Sonatas" w. Gianni Gebbia-Lukas
Ligeti: CD Wallace
• 2005 Mohammed "Jimmy" Mohammed-"Takkabel" (Terp
Records)
• 2007 B for Bang (w. Katia Labeque, Reeks, Nicola Tescari,
Meg, Nadeah, David Chalmin): "Across the Universe of
Languages" KML
• 2007 Original Silence ( Thurston Moore, Jim O' Rourke, Paal
Nilssen-Love, Terrie Ex, Mats Gustafsson) - "The First
Original Silence" (Smalltown Supersound)
• 2007 Black Engine (Zu & Eraldo Bernocchi) Wallace
• 2008 Original Silence - "The Second Original Silence"
(Smalltown Supersound)
• 2008 "Still Life With Commercials" con Geoff Farina, Michael
Zerang From Scratch CD
• 2008 OffOnOff (con Paal Nilssen Love, Terrie Ex) - "Clash"
CD Smalltown Supersound
• 2008 7K OAKS (con Alfred 23 Harth, Fabrizio Spera, Luca
Venitucci) "7000 Oaks" Die Schachtel CD
• 2008 Dimension X (con David Chalmin, Chris Corsano) -
KML
• 2009 "Hairy Bones" con Peter Brötzmann-Toshinori Kondo-
Paal Nilssen-Love. CD Okka Disk
• 2009 Peter Brotzmann Trio w/ Paal Nilssen Love & Massimo
Pupillo - "Roma" CD
• 2009 OffOnOff (con Paal Nilssen Love, Terrie Ex) - "Slap And
Tickle" CD Smalltown Supersound
• 2009 Offonoff / Jazkamer - Split 10" Gaffer Records ·
GR10SS-03 · 10", Yel · 2009 · France
• 2010 "Raids On The Unspeakable" con Uchihashi Kazuhisa,
Yoshigaki Yasuhiro - 10" Jutland
• 2010 "Jusi in the Wine House " con Zeno De Rossi-Simone
Massaron - Pacho - Giorgio Pacoring - CD Long Song
Records
• 2010 "Evol/Ve" con FM Einheit -CD Offset
• 2010 Hairy Bones - At Fresnes CD - 2010
• 2011 Germanotta Youth - "The Harvesting Of Souls" CD
Wallace
• 2011 7K OAKS (w- Alfred 23 Harth, Fabrizio Spera, Luca
Venitucci) "Entelechy" CD Die Schachtel
• 2011 B For Bang (Katia Labeque, Nicola Tescari, Meg,
Nadeah, David Chalmin): "Rewires The Beatles" CD KML
• 2011 "Obake" - CD Rarenoise
• 2011 Germanotta Youth - "The Final Solution E.P." Wallace
• 2011 Germanotta Youth - "Halloween" 10 " Cheap Satanism
• 2012 "You're Next" w. Lasse Marhaug, Paal Nilssen Love - LP
Bocian Records
• 2012 Peter Brötzmann - Solo + Trio Roma Les Disques Victo ·
2xCD, Album · 2012 · Canada
• 2012 Hairy Bones - Snakelust - Clean Feed · CD, Album · 2012
· Portugal
• 2013 Long Story Short - Trost Records· 5xCD, Compilation +
Box · 2013 · Austria
• 2013 "Love Will Tear Us Apart" w David Tibet (Current 93),
Peter Hook ( Joy Division- New Order) etc..
• 2013 "Schl8hof" - DKV Trio w. Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen-
Love - Lp Trost
• 2015 Frizione LP w. Oren Ambarchi - Subsound Records Split
Series
• 2016 TRIPLE SUN – THE CITY LIES IN RUINS - Consouling Sounds
• 2016 Melt con Brian Chippendale e Mats Gustaffson - Trost Records
• 2016 Laniakea – A Pot of Powdered Nettles - House Of Mythology
• 2016 Aithein by OREN AMBARCHI / STEFANO PILIA / MASSIMO PUPILLO -
Karlrecords
• 2017 Alvin Curran and Massimo Pupillo Live at Cafe Oto, London - OTO