Massimo Pupillo
Bass Player
Massimo Pupillo is a bass player, multi-instrumentalist , composer and improviser. Mostly known for being one of the founding members of Zu, with whom he has released more than 15 albums and played more than 2000 shows around the world (EU, Uk, USA, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Algeria, etc.)
He has also kept a very open and multidisciplanry approach that led him to work with some of the most acclaimed figures in today's world of arts: Romeo Castellucci, Chiara Guidi ( Societas Raffaello Sanzio ), Berlin-based american coreographer Meg Stuart, french Opera dance etoile Marie-Agnes Gillot, Yaman Okur, performance and contemporary dance group Dewey Dell, etc. He has collaborated live and on record with avant-garde musicians and composers such as Terry Riley, 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 worked in studio with canadian soprano-superstar and orchestra conductor, Barbara Hannigan.
Working with Katia Labeque he has had the huge honour of an album artwork 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 of all times, Deutsche Grammophon. Also with Katia Labeque he has presented a special project at Paris' Philarmonie in 2016, working, between others, with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Bryce and Aaron Dessner (The National).
In the world of electric music he has collaborated with some of the most important names in the international scene, such as Mike Patton, Stephen O' Malley ( Sunn O)) ,Thurston Moore, Jim O' Rourke (Sonic Youth), Guy Picciotto & Joe Lally (Fugazi), The Ex, Gabe Serbian (The Locust), Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt) , FM Einheit ( Einsturzende Neubauten) , Buzz Osbourne (Melvins) Damo Suzuki (CAN) , Mick Harris (Napalm Death, Scorn), Mark Greenway ( Napalm Death), Dälek, Gordon Sharp ( Cindytalk & This Mortal Coil), etc. In free-improvised music he worked with Peter Brotzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Paal Nilssen Love, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Lukas Ligeti, Gianni Gebbia, Chris Corsano, Tony Buck ( The Necks and Swans), Mette Rasmussen, Han Bennink, Lasse Marhaug, etc..
In the experimental music scene he has collaborated with Oren Ambarchi, David Tibet (Current 93), Thighpaulsandra (Coil) , Christina Vantzou, Daniel O'Sullivan, etc... Between Zu, solo work and collaborations, Massimo has released more than 70 albums and played the astounding number of more than 3000 shows all over the world.
In 2020 his first solo LP The Black Iron Prison came out on Subsound Records