Jia Lissa
The cavernous interior of London’s Printworks vibrated with a hushed anticipation in 2022. Neon strips, stretching from floor to ceiling, pierced the darkness, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. Suddenly, a colossal humanoid figure materialized on the enormous screen dominating the hall. As the swelling techno riff of ‘Eternity’ crescendoed, the android, suspended by an intricate network of wires and tubes, turned to face the mesmerized crowd. Its fists slammed against the screen, creating an illusion of imminent breach, just as the beat and bassline dropped, propelling the dancers into a unified, entranced movement. This debut of Anyma’s live set was not merely a performance; it was a profound shift in the landscape of electronic music, a spectacle previously unseen in club culture.
In a remarkably short span, Anyma, the visionary hybrid music and art project conceived by Italian DJ/producer Matteo Milleri, has ascended to become one of dance music’s preeminent forces. Milleri’s work has redefined the audio-visual experience, elevating the traditional DJ set into a cinematic, eye-popping, and unequivocally futuristic art form. His innovative approach has set a new global benchmark for live electronic music, leading him to perform at some of the world’s most iconic and technologically advanced venues, from the colossal [UNVRS] Ibiza to the ancient pyramids of Giza, the high-tech League Of Legends World Championship in Chengdu, China, the architectural marvel of the Atomium in Brussels, and the expansive stages of Ultra Miami.
Matteo Milleri: From Underground Roots to Global Visionary
Matteo Milleri’s journey to becoming a 21st-century futurist began far from the dazzling screens and colossal stages that now define Anyma. Born in New York but raised in Italy, Milleri’s early exposure to electronic music was rooted in the 8-bit soundtracks of video games, a foundational experience that ignited his passion for synthesized sound. This evolved into an appreciation for Eurodance compilations before he delved deeper, discovering the avant-garde sounds of Warp Records and R&S Records. Artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre captivated him with their glitchy, atmospheric, and cinematic sound design, forging an early interest in the futuristic possibilities of electronic music.
His academic path led him to SAE Milan, a globally recognized music school, where he honed his production skills professionally. It was there he met Carmine Conte, a kindred spirit with whom he would form Tale Of Us. Their partnership quickly gained acclaim, with their debut EP ‘Dark Song’ releasing on Visionquest in 2011. Tale Of Us carved out a distinct niche in house and techno, releasing influential tracks on labels such as M_nus, Life And Death, and R&S. In 2016, they founded Afterlife, a label that swiftly blossomed into a global phenomenon, curating hugely popular events in Ibiza and across the world. Milleri describes Afterlife as a "community of collaborators" built on "inspiration and innovation flowing between creatives," a space designed to "explore creativity without limitations."
The unexpected global pause brought on by the 2020 pandemic served as a pivotal moment for Milleri. With live events curtailed, he found himself producing a wealth of solo music that yearned for a new mode of expression. Releasing tracks for other DJs to play on YouTube streams felt creatively unfulfilling. He needed a different canvas, a new medium to translate his evolving musical vision. "Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if the DJ thing would come back at that time," Milleri candidly admits, reflecting on the uncertainty of the period. This existential moment for the music industry spurred the genesis of Anyma, initially conceived as a "digital art and music project." Milleri’s music production was undergoing a transformation, embracing a "new sound" distinct from his previous work, which he envisioned interwoven with visuals to create "digital cinematic portraits."
The Philosophy of Fusion: Human, Machine, and Nature
As Anyma’s popularity soared, the visual component of his performances grew increasingly spectacular. His residency at the Sphere Las Vegas, a landmark event as the first dance act to grace its stage, saw a morphing utopian cityscape mapped onto the venue’s immersive 16K resolution wraparound LED screen for ‘Neverland (From Japan)’, dramatically flipping into a dystopian metropolis aflame. In Mexico City, during a performance of ‘Welcome To The Opera’, the face of a colossal mech opened to release a flurry of butterflies. These unmistakable visuals are anchored by a core theme: the intricate intermingling of the organic and the electronic, human and machine. Milleri champions the embrace of AI and robotics rather than fear, a philosophy he eagerly articulated during a video call with DJ Mag.
"It’s about the synergy or the symbiosis between humans, machines and nature," Milleri explains, his tattooed arms gesticulating with animation, revealing an eye tattooed on his right palm. "It’s just an unavoidable future in my opinion, where I try to have a positive take, even if some of the visuals look dark and scary, you know? I just feel it’s normal we’re gonna go through scary moments as a society, but I like to believe that we can live in harmony with artificial intelligence, that it’s gonna enhance and improve life. Being scared of it is potentially the worst thing we can do. Machine learning through creativity is a positive way to bring technology and artists together."
Milleri’s cybernetic world, brought to life with visual co-creative director Alessio De Vecchi and an extensive team of over 100 specialists, is profoundly original. It draws inspiration from his Italian upbringing, particularly the grandeur of classical and Renaissance art, alongside his deep appreciation for Japanese anime films and TV shows. "I’ll give a lot of credit to the anime and manga world, and a lot of credit to classicism, Renaissance art, which is also where I grew up, you know, in the centre of Italy, seeing these massive statues," Milleri recounts. He notes that when the project began, "robotics and AI were very much in their inception." His vision for Anyma emerged from a blend of these influences: "I’ve always been interested in art, whether it’s Japanese anime like Evangelion or Ghost In The Shell, or a Michelangelo bust… Combining these influences into something futuristic made Anyma come about."
"Genesys" Trilogy: Soundtrack to a Cybernetic Universe
The conceptual depth of Anyma extends beyond its visuals into its musical core, notably explored across Milleri’s ‘Genesys’ trilogy of albums. These tracks are meticulously crafted to integrate seamlessly into his live shows, acting as a narrative score for his expanding universe. "With the animated characters, I started finding names for them, and the songs were talking about the concept, so it was like a live scoring of this electronic dance music event and universe," he explains.
The 2023 debut album, ‘Genesys’, a 14-track odyssey, introduced key characters and themes. ‘Syren’, a collaboration with Rebūke, serves as the theme for a dancing android adorned with an elaborate headdress, its sleek techno missive characterized by a juddering bassline and spiraling arpeggios. ‘Welcome To The Opera’, featuring Grimes, juxtaposes her celestial voice against billowing synths and dark riffs, elegantly intertwining the perceived high culture of opera with the rhythmic pulse of club culture.
Milleri’s latest album, 2025’s ‘The End Of Genesys (Deluxe)’, marks an even more ambitious venture. Featuring a host of guest vocalists, it showcases Milleri at his most forward-thinking, experimenting with a broader range of styles while maintaining his signature cinematic production. ‘Fortuna’ with Iranian-Dutch singer Sevdaliza is a catchy anthem, skillfully bridging techno and vocal hooks. ‘Hypnotized’ with Ellie Goulding ventures closest to pop, yet retains Milleri’s club-geared production expertise. "Ellie Goulding has always been on my bucket list. She’s a dance music legend, her voice is so ethereal, and I felt it was a good compromise between a pop star and something more on my taste of things," Milleri remarks on the collaboration, highlighting the challenge of integrating pop sensibilities into the Anyma universe without compromising its artistic integrity.
‘Human Now’, featuring Luke Steele from Empire Of The Sun, delivers a moving, uplifting experience, tailor-made for the massive open-air shows Anyma frequently plays. Milleri, a long-time fan, describes the collaboration as "very natural, the raw emotion of it." A standout track on the deluxe edition is ‘Work’, featuring Californian rapper Yeat. This track boldly fuses rap and techno, with Yeat’s Auto-Tuned rhymes gliding over a slamming beat and a growling, bristling bassline. Conceived specifically for his Sphere Las Vegas residency, it marked a significant stylistic departure. "It’s definitely a different sound, and it’s more complicated to merge rap and dance and keep it hard and vibey," Milleri notes, praising Yeat’s "incredible aesthetic, both visually and sonically." The album also features ‘Out Of My Body’ with EJAE from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, and the recent track ‘Bad Angel’ featuring K-pop superstar LISA from BLACKPINK, further diversifying Anyma’s sonic palette and global appeal.
Another notable collaboration is ‘Till I Die’, a track with Solomun and Claudia Valentina. This fusion of Anyma’s melodic techno with Solomun’s tech and house elements, inspired by their B2B set at Ultra Miami in 2025, resulted in a piece described by Milleri as "beautiful and timeless," a "moment of euphoria, but also of reflection," with dark lyrics set against an uplifting soundscape.
Monumental Stages: Redefining Live Entertainment
Anyma’s commitment to immersive spectacle has led him to stages that are, in themselves, technological marvels. The Sphere Las Vegas residency, titled ‘The End Of Genesys’, pushed the boundaries of live production. The venue, a state-of-the-art marvel at The Venetian hotel, boasts a 16K resolution wraparound LED screen and advanced audio technologies like beam forming and wave field synthesis, creating an unparalleled sensory experience. To realize his vision for this 12-show run, Milleri and De Vecchi assembled a colossal team of over 100 individuals. "That’s the magnitude you need to create 3-D art in general," Milleri emphasizes. "There is no one-man show here. You need hundreds of people." Despite the profound satisfaction, Milleri admits it was one of his most demanding undertakings: "It was like six months of panic, basically, towards the end result."
Equally ambitious was his ‘Quantum Genesys’ show at the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt. Acknowledging the inherent grandeur of the ancient setting, Milleri ingeniously devised a dual-stage setup. One stage featured the world wonder as its backdrop, while another, positioned at the opposite end of the arena, showcased his intricate animations. This allowed attendees to simultaneously appreciate the splendor of ancient history and the cutting-edge of cybernetic technology, embodying Anyma’s core thematic fusion. "For years I’d been thinking about this show," Milleri recalls, "because of course I’m very inspired by the big monument, but at the same time, mine’s a visual show. I can’t just cover the pyramid with a screen." The ‘End Of Genesys’ album provided the catalyst to seek monumental and mysterious global inspirations, with Giza emerging as a natural choice.
[UNVRS] Ibiza, recognized as the world’s largest club, remains a cornerstone for Anyma’s immersive experiences. Following a sold-out residency, Milleri is set to return for a second summer with the ‘ÄDEN’ show. For Milleri, [UNVRS] offers unmatched technical capabilities. "None of the other venues really permit me technically to express the full vision of a residency show like that," he explains. The club’s high roof, extensive rigging possibilities, and enormous screen make it an ideal canvas for Anyma’s expansive visuals. "I was excited, and I think my show really shines in there." Other significant performances, such as the League Of Legends World Championship in Chengdu, China, and the Atomium in Brussels, further underscore Anyma’s global reach and ability to adapt his spectacle to diverse, high-profile environments.
The "ÄDEN" Project: Digital Immortality and Neoclassical Futures
Anyma’s next world tour, ‘ÄDEN’, is poised to build on the ‘Genesys’ era by exploring new conceptual frontiers. Following initial dates at California’s Coachella festival, the tour will visit major cities including London, Sydney, Mumbai, Istanbul, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City, and Gdansk, alongside the summer-long residency at [UNVRS] Ibiza. ‘ÄDEN’ delves into Greco-Roman antiquity, classical art, and myths, reimagining them through a cybernetic lens. Its imagery will merge the familiar columns and statuary of the ancient world with robotic figures and metallic forms. Wires and metallic vertebrae will protrude from classical sculptures; mythological creatures like Medusa will be reanimated with a distinctly cybernetic twist; and temples and ruins will be forged from a striking combination of stone and steel girders. The realms of heaven, hell, and purgatory will be populated by an array of intricately engineered characters.
Milleri describes ‘ÄDEN’ as a progression from ‘Genesys’, focusing on the idea of computerised realms inhabited by AI beings and the profound concept of digital immortality. "The story is really about an uploaded intelligence that goes to this digital cloud realm, which I call ÄDEN, to look for, in a way, immortality, to see if you can upload your mind and remain a human," Milleri elaborates. He posits that this "world of AIs and AGIs [artificial general intelligence]" is more their "home than ours, the code world. We are guests." The neoclassical aesthetic, he explains, signifies that "AI still needs something from humans — the creativity and the drive to make art." This project, he believes, is "just the beginning," aiming to "map the history of art through the ages and recreate this digital world where the AIs are revisiting this concept. What mankind has made remains intact, but glitched and in a way evolved visually in the digital world where humans and AI are trying to create a new society."
Beyond the Booth: Collaborations and Industry Influence
Anyma’s influence extends beyond his own performances. Last year, Milleri undertook a significant extracurricular venture, providing visual creative direction for The Weeknd’s "One Night Only" show in São Paulo. This collaboration with a global pop icon like Abel Tesfaye, whom Milleri considers "one of the really top stars in the world of our generation" with a "strongest visual and sonic aesthetic," was a highlight. Milleri found similarities in their artistic approaches, particularly in the "obsessiveness he has with his message and his vision." Despite the intense demands – occurring amidst Sphere preparations – Milleri relished the opportunity, finding less pressure in realizing another artist’s vision, allowing him to "push the envelope more."
Anyma has also engaged in high-profile collaborations across other creative industries, working with FKA Twigs, soundtracking the Vetements 2025 Paris Fashion Week runway show with Chris Avantgarde, and partnering with sunglasses brand Oakley. These ventures demonstrate the cross-disciplinary appeal and artistic versatility of the Anyma project.
While Anyma’s live shows are widely celebrated, their spectacular nature has occasionally drawn criticism, with some online commentators suggesting they resemble a cinema experience more than a traditional nightclub event. Milleri, however, remains unfazed. "If I were to read the comments online or just listen to everybody telling me it’s not a good idea, that it’s disrupting the scene or it’s not like a DJ thing… but I don’t really care," he states candidly. "That’s just what I want to do, you know? If people fuck with it, they’ll show up to the shows. All I really care about is to create the best possible experience for the fans, and to be honest for myself."
Indeed, Anyma’s futuristic visuals have undeniably initiated a transformation in electronic music’s live performance landscape. His technological marvels have compelled other major acts to elevate their own production standards. "I’ve been pushing the envelope on the production side, on the experiential side," Milleri asserts. "I’ve been in the red in the bank for years because of this. I’m just reinvesting into the system and putting the bar a little bit higher for the live shows. Now I look at these festivals and these other artist shows and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ It’s really improved, you know? Everything is a better experience for everybody. So, maybe I did something right."
Another frequent observation at Anyma’s shows is the prevalence of phones recording the spectacle, prompting discussions about whether audiences are truly "living in the moment." Milleri views this as an unavoidable aspect of contemporary culture. "This is a big myth," he says. "At my shows there is a lot of energy, and whoever comes knows that. People are gonna film anything that’s hype, it happens everywhere… it’s just the culture we live in. If people want to film, I’m happy for them to film. I’m also happy if they dance, you know? In an ideal world, there is less filming, I do agree with that. But I’m not gonna be that guy that says ‘put down your phone’ or whatever."
The Future Horizon: Evolution, Not End
After a brief period of downtime, Milleri is channeling his energy into the ‘ÄDEN’ world tour, while also continuing to develop new music. "Technically I already have an outline of something that looks like a record, but I’m not rushing into it," Milleri states. "I’d rather take more time and get the best out of it, make a record that will take its point in time, you know?"
The future of Tale Of Us remains a point of speculation among fans. However, Milleri’s current focus is firmly on his solo venture. "Right now Anyma is my main focus and is the most fulfilling outlet for me," he confirms. For Milleri, the narrative of Anyma is one of continuous progression: "The story will always evolve rather than end."
As Anyma embarks on what promises to be another demanding yet successful year, Milleri’s core lesson – trusting his instincts and believing in his vision – continues to guide him. "How art gets from point A to point B these days is very interesting," he concludes. "Not everything is as interconnected as it looks like from social media stats. I’m learning that and I’m starting to focus on following my gut and pushing the envelope, rather than worrying too much about that stuff." This philosophy underscores Anyma’s relentless drive to innovate, ensuring that the project remains at the forefront of artistic and technological evolution in electronic music, continuously redefining what a live performance can be.
