FEEL LIVE (2LP) | VINYL RECORD (LP)

"The body never lies. Every dance is a graph of the heart. Nothing is more revealing than movement." These are the words of Martha Graham, one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the 20th century. Massimiliano Pagliara might as well have them tattooed on his chest, close to his heart, being an accomplished dancer, too. He has studied contemporary dance in Milan and Berlin, and went on to dedicate his life to transforming experience into movement, be it musical, physical, or spiritual. Massimilano's message is clear: Don't stand still. Take a chance at endless change, instead. Stemming from Lecce province, an area at the south-eastern-most tip of Italy, Massimilano has been based in Berlin for several years where he's been one of the main forces behind recombining the city's hardboiled techno scene with an often-overlooked sensibility for the soft and the tender. Call it underground disco passion. Massimilano's last album, With One Another (PLAYRJC 032LP, 2014), was about celebrating the joy of human encounters and in parts seemed like a big get-together with like-minded artists and friends. Following it's release, Massimilano dedicated himself to intense traveling and exploring the world anew. The result of these experiences is Feel Live, Massimiliano's third full-length endeavor. It was recorded in several intimate, sometimes improvised studio settings between Los Angeles, Portland, and Massimiliano's homebase in Berlin as well as at airports and on intercontinental flights high up in the sky. Featuring vocals by Private Agenda, Peaking Lights, Kim Anh, and instrumental contributions by Fort Romeau, Tim K, and Jules Etienne, Feel Live is Massimilano's most playful and imaginative work to date. It's as emotional as sensual, as vibrant as the first ray of light after a thunderstorm has cleared the air. Is it awkward or odd to call this record jazzy? Presumptuous to pinpoint it's spatial, almost orchestral qualities? Unfair on the ruling Cosmic powers to highlight it's aspirations of founding a new land of Balearic Harmonia and getting down at a huge fertility rite with electro enthusiasts and house lovers? Not one bit. Feel Live is pure grandeur and elegance. It feels like an eternal movement.