Max Porcelli Finds Hope in Smaller Clubs

Max Porcelli’s latest single, “Jaguar”, brings the Italian DJ and producer back to Magnetic Magazine Recordings two years after “Lotus.” Released September 4 as MMR078, the package includes Max’s original and extended mixes alongside my own remix and extended rework. It is a patient, melodic club record from a producer whose career began during Italy’s 1989 house-music boom, and that history becomes especially relevant once Max starts discussing what the country gained and lost across the decades.

His chart presents the records he is selecting now, while the short Q&A gives those choices wider context. Max remembers crossing Italy after hearing about parties by word of mouth, and he identifies L’Arena and Mazoom among the venues where he developed as a DJ.

His assessment of the present is blunt: shared playlists have reduced regional identity, and major venues have closed. Smaller clubs now give him the main reason to feel optimistic about what comes next.

Q: When you think back to getting started in 1989, what was happening in Italian clubs that made you want to become part of that culture?

A: In 1989, house music expanded rapidly across Italy, and it was impossible to ignore. The people were as important as the clubs. I would travel across the country for nights that are now considered historic. There was no social media, so people learned about events by word of mouth, and I kept seeing many of the same faces at each one. That shared community defined Italian club culture during those years.

Q: How much did the part of Italy you came from determine the music you heard and the opportunities you had as a young DJ?

A: Enormously. I grew up between northeastern and central Italy, where many of the country’s best parties and clubs operated and where several DJs remain connected to the house-boom years. I spent those years at L’Arena, Go Bang, La Scala, Il Gatto e La Volpe, Mazoom, Exogroove, Maskara, and Rimbalzello. Living in this area gave me direct access to the people and music that influenced my development as a DJ.

Q: What effect has online music discovery had on regional differences within Italy? Are you still hearing sounds associated with particular cities or local communities?

A: Online discovery has reduced many of the regional differences that once defined Italian electronic music. Listeners across the country now encounter the same playlists and algorithms, so local communities often follow the music platforms promote each month. Smaller crews remain the exception because their identities were formed independently of those systems. That is where I can still hear a connection to a particular place rather than a shared online feed.

Q: Which Italian artists or parties are giving you a reason to feel optimistic about the next few years, and what are they doing well?

A: The Italian club scene is in a difficult position right now. L’Arena, which I mentioned earlier, has been demolished, and regulations and restrictions make it difficult for new communities to develop. I still see reason for optimism in smaller clubs, where dedicated electronic music listeners continue to gather. These are people who attend because they care about the music, rather than because they want to be seen.