Italian DJ and producer Massimiliano Pagliara continues the rollout of his ambitious ’20 Years Of Massimiliano Pagliara: Selected Unreleased Works’ compilation, a sprawling retrospective celebrating two decades of analogue obsession, late-night experimentation, and Berlin-shaped soul. After moving from Milan to Berlin and gradually shifting from professional dancer and choreographer into a full-time studio life, Pagliara built a sonic universe that moves with feeling, balance, and curiosity. The compilation, due in full on June 3rd via his own Funnuvojere Records, gathers twenty previously unreleased tracks from a prolific period that began when Pagliara acquired his first analogue machines, and it has been rolled out in double-singles that each spotlight a different chapter of his story.
Today’s third double instalment delivers a gentle highlight in ‘Waves Of Desire (Sunset Mix)’, a track that pays homage to Dream House with cosmic tones, infectious drums, and that distinctly Pagliara sense of motion that feels equal parts dance floor and seaside dusk. Built around shimmering pads, weightless arpeggios, and a hypnotic, body-led groove, the Sunset Mix glows rather than peaks, the kind of cut that lingers in your head long after the sun goes down. It is unhurried, immersive, and quietly euphoric, channelling Pagliara’s love for vintage analogue gear and his deep instinct for movement, the same physicality he carried from his earlier life on stage.
The full collection moves effortlessly between intimate home listening and full-blown dance-floor euphoria, packed with Italo grooves, wonky bass-lines, Balearic pads, and standout collaborations with Gatto Fritto, Alinka, Aérea Negrot, Fabrizio Mammarella, and more. Funnuvojere Records remains the perfect home for it, a label Pagliara curates himself with a clear ear for outsider house, Italo flickers, Balearic warmth, and emotive electronic music with a strong human pulse. Twenty years in, Pagliara is still chasing the same thing he was chasing on day one, the quiet magic that happens when machines, memory, and movement meet.
You can now listen to the full premiere of ‘Waves Of Desire (Sunset Mix)’ exclusively on When We Dip while reading the great interview we had with Massimiliano. Enjoy!
WWD: Hello Massimiliano, Welcome to When We Dip 🙂 You describe this anniversary compilation as the most personal music you have ever released. What shifted in your creative process to allow that level of openness after 20 years?
After 20 years, I think the biggest shift wasn’t technical, it was personal. Early on, I was often writing to prove something: that I belonged somewhere and that I could succeed in a certain way. Over time, that pressure faded, and I became more comfortable letting go of how things should sound and focusing instead on what felt honest, what truly felt like me.
Life experience naturally deepens your relationship with your work. You’re no longer just observing emotions, you’ve actually lived through them. It becomes much harder to hide behind abstraction, and I think there’s something more meaningful in being direct.
This compilation felt like the right moment to lean into that. Instead of curating a version of myself, I allowed the music to reflect different chapters of my life, almost like an open journal I’ve been writing every day for the past 20 years.
WWD: Thinking back to your move from Milan to Berlin and your first experiments with analogue machines, how do you hear that early curiosity reflected in these unreleased tracks?
When I listen to these unreleased tracks now, I can clearly hear that early curiosity. There’s a rawness in the way the ideas unfold. They’re less concerned with structure and more focused on texture, sound, and emotion.
In a way, those tracks capture the excitement of experimenting with these new and exotic instruments I was discovering at the time, which ultimately helped shape my sonic aesthetic. And honestly, that curiosity is still very much present in my work today. I remain deeply obsessed with analogue machines, especially vintage ones.
WWD: Your background as a dancer and choreographer is a big part of your story. How does that physical connection to movement continue to shape the way you build rhythm and energy in your productions?
My background in dance still shapes everything I do, even when I’m not consciously thinking about it. When you spend years working with movement and physical training, rhythm becomes something deeply instinctive, something you feel in your body. That changes not only how you build a track, but also how you experience life on a daily basis.
A kick drum isn’t just marking the beat, it has a physical presence. When I’m creating a new track, I always imagine a certain space and atmosphere as I bring all the elements together.
So even though I’m working in the studio, there’s always an imaginary body in motion, and that brings a lot of energy into the music. The same happens when I’m behind the DJ booth. It’s almost impossible for me to stay still. 🙂
WWD: The compilation explores a wide emotional range. Was there a moment in the process where a track surprised you emotionally or revealed something unexpected?
You have to imagine that many of these tracks were very rough, unfinished sketches that had been sitting on old hard drives for years. I revisited and reworked a huge amount of material, around 35 tracks in total, and I was definitely surprised, in a very positive way, by how everything eventually came together.
That’s one of the things I value most about working with sound. It can bypass your usual ways of thinking and lead you somewhere completely unexpected.
WWD: Your sound moves through Italo, disco, techno, and synth pop while still feeling cohesive. How do you maintain a clear identity across such a wide spectrum?
For me, genre has always felt more like a language than a definition. Italo, disco, techno, synth pop, they each have their own vocabulary, but the intention behind how I use them remains consistent.
There are certain elements I naturally gravitate toward, melancholic tones, a sense of movement, a balance between tension and release, analogue hardware, and those things tend to surface regardless of the genre I’m working in.
Over time, I’ve also become less interested in fully “inhabiting” a genre. I simply do whatever feels right without worrying too much about labels. Still, something deeper remains recognizable. The emotional core and the way I build atmosphere continue to connect everything together.
WWD: Collaboration plays a strong role here, with artists like Gatto Fritto, Alinka, and Fabrizio Mammarella. What draws you to certain collaborators, and how do they influence your creative direction?
For me, collaboration is always about an exchange of experience, both personal and technical. You can learn so much from one another, and I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many wonderful artists over the past 20 years.
Artists like Gatto Fritto, Alinka, and Fabrizio Mammarella each bring something very distinct, and that’s exactly what makes collaboration exciting. They challenge my habits. Sometimes it’s through a different sense of rhythm, sometimes through a more direct approach to melody, or simply a different way of making decisions in the studio.
Rather than seeing collaboration as something that adds to my sound, I see it as a way of expanding it. It allows me to explore and experiment with different aesthetics and styles.
WWD: Running your own label Funnuvojere Records has given you a platform for your vision. How has that independence shaped your evolution as an artist?
I started my own label, Funnuvojere Records, to create a community, showcase emerging talent, and more recently, release my own music as well. Naturally, it shifted my role from simply being an artist to also becoming a curator of my own work.
That independence gives me the freedom to release music on my own terms, without having to filter ideas through external expectations or timelines.
At the same time, it can also create more pressure. You’re not just making the music, you’re shaping how it exists in the world, how it’s presented, and dealing with all the administrative aspects that come with running a label. Those responsibilities aren’t always easy and can sometimes even suffocate creativity.
WWD: Your music often lives equally in intimate listening spaces and on the dancefloor. How do you navigate that balance when creating new material?
I don’t really see those two spaces as separate anymore. For me, the most interesting tracks are the ones that can exist in both contexts, on the dancefloor and in a more intimate listening environment.
When I’m creating, I usually start from a feeling rather than a specific function. Sometimes that leads somewhere more introspective, other times somewhere more direct, but I try not to force it either way. I simply follow the flow.
The real challenge is finding a balance where those different energies don’t cancel each other out, but instead support one another, while still feeling like they come from the same mind.
WWD: Having spent two decades in Berlin, how has the city influenced both your sound and your sense of artistic identity?
Spending two decades in Berlin has deeply influenced both my sound and my identity as an artist. When I first arrived around 25 years ago, what immediately struck me was the openness of the scene. There was a real sense of space and time that I had never experienced before, a feeling that I could experiment freely without needing to define myself right away.
That gave me the confidence to explore different directions without feeling locked into a single path. I felt incredibly free to dive in and express myself as openly as possible.
Over the years, I met so many talented and inspiring people who made me realize the importance of authenticity. Berlin helped me strip things back and focus on what truly feels essential in my work.
So the influence of Berlin isn’t just aesthetic. It’s in the mindset, the patience, and the freedom to keep evolving without constantly needing to redefine who I am.
WWD: After 20 years of releasing music, what still excites you most about electronic music culture right now, and where do you see your journey heading next?
What still excites me most is that electronic music culture constantly renews itself. Even after 20 years, there are always new micro-scenes, new events, new ways of working, and new listeners approaching the music without the same reference points.
At the same time, the world has become increasingly chaotic, and I feel that music offers a kind of safe space, a place where people can truly feel free to be themselves.
Music inspires me in countless ways and fuels my everyday life. I honestly can’t imagine my life without it.
As for where things are heading next, I think it’s less about expansion and more about deepening. I’m interested in refining the language I’ve been building over the years, continuing to collaborate, and exploring different formats and contexts, perhaps moving a little beyond clubs and further into film, art, and fashion.
WWD: Thanks a lot for chatting with us 🙂
Thank You When We Dip!
Release Date: May 13, 2026. Buy Here
Massimiliano Pagliara: Instagram / SoundCloud
Funnuvojere Records: Instagram / SoundCloud