Around East Asia in 40 days with Max Durante

Max Durante is a trailblazer in the global techno scene, with a career that began in 1987 in Rome. A cornerstone of the '90s rave movement, Max was instrumental in shaping Italian techno, with his razor-sharp mixing and hard-hitting productions earning him respect across Europe’s top raves and clubs.

His dark, industrial sound, developed with the twins Fabrizio and Marco D’Arcangelo, set the stage for what we now know as industrial techno. FYI: In October 1991, Max and D'Arcangelo threw down one of Italy's most legendary raves—the PLUS 8 RAVE—bringing Plus 8 Records founder Richie Hawtin, Speedy J, Daniel Bell, and Cybersonic on Italian soil for the first time

Over the past two decades, Max has dominated the European scene, bringing his hypnotic, dark, and acid-tinged techno to the forefront. Collaborating with heavyweights like Anthony Rother and Aux 88, Max’s impact is still felt through his work with Sonic Groove and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe.

In addition to his music, he holds the prestigious position of Resident DJ at Tresor Club in Berlin and was the inaugural resident at Berlin's HÖR, where he launched the groundbreaking ‘Dead on Monday’ show, combining eclectic sets with informative talks with artists such as Andrew Jigalin, Britt Kanja, Jeremy Schwarz (The Brvtalist) and Krawai.

Having embarked on a massive 40-day tour across Asia, Max offers us an exclusive, first-hand account of his travels throughout the region, reflecting his ongoing passion for exploring new territories and bringing his dark, hypnotic sound to global audiences.

Before diving into his entries, read what Max personally has to say about this experience: "More than a tour, it was a tattoo on my soul! An incredible trip, where more than exploring the cities, I experienced the people, I received a lot of love! With the organisations, we talked a lot about the techno community and the future, where in addition to performing, I spent time in Mongolia to share knowledge and culture about the techno world. I had the pleasure of participating in a workshop dedicated to techno and advising young DJs on the way forward, the road of passion! Most of the time I enjoyed the people and really enjoyed getting to know and experience their traditions and the respect I received was of the highest level. What an experience; 40 wonderful days, a great success!"

I arrived on June 20 at 5am at Beijing airport where my driver William was waiting for me and took me straight to the Orange Hotel in Beijing. Exhausted from the journey, I called a delivery, ate and went straight to sleep!

What I like when I call for deliveries in China is to receive the food in my room via a robot that I have nicknamed “Little Robot”. I have travelled the world and I must say that only here have I found this service. China is really in the future, it is super technological and here the level of Hyper Reality is really high—there is no comparison.

In the evening, I woke up and met up with my friend Stefan, also a DJ, born in Germany and living in China for more than 10 years.

We had dinner at a typical Chinese restaurant serving barbecued fish and meat and Chinese craft beer and spent a couple of hours together, then I went back to sleep to get rid of jet lag and be in shape for my performance the next day!

I woke up very motivated and ready to perform at Beijing's new techno venue, Pillbox Club. I had a super breakfast and then with my friend Edger, owner of the Abyss and Pillbox. We went on a tour of chaotic Beijing!

We had a great lunch and then went to the 798 Art District, also known as Dashanzi—a group of former military factories that now houses creative spaces, art galleries and many shops displaying new alternative brands. We got lost in the contemporary art and collections of emerging brands and designers throughout the day.

From there we then went to Pillbox, which is located in the same neighbourhood and very close to the 789 art area. We did the sound check and then I went to rest at the hotel before performing.

When I arrived just before performing, many fans were eagerly waiting. I started playing and from the first record I spun the crowd started screaming! It was a long night full of emotions!

Beijing is a city that fascinates me, where a strong energy and grey buildings remind me of Berlin. It’s the city where I performed for the first time last year, and everyone is still talking about it!

I have a big following in China and 21 June was an explosive night! This is the second year I'm performing in China, the first time was at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I was among the first international artists to cross their border. I brought the rave concept to China and it was a resounding success. This year I found out that in a documentary about the Chinese underground techno scene, they mentioned that I was a great inspiration for the Chinese techno community!

I woke up still tired from the big night at Pillbox, had breakfast and my driver William took me to the chaotic and super-crowded Beijing station, from there I took the train that took me directly to my beloved Shanghai! OMG, Chinese trains are super comfortable and super fast!

I arrived in Shanghai, took a cab and met with Marko and his assistant Spring and had dinner together, then we went to the Abyss club to do the sound check.

From there I went to rest at the Movie Hotel, where my room was dedicated to the legendary Kubrick film 'A Clockwork Orange', a cult film that I loved in my childhood.

After resting in the hotel I went to the club—it was full and shortly after I started playing!

It was a night full of energy. A journey where fast grooves and hard beats created moments of pure madness. A few minutes before I finished my performance I went dancing on the dance floor with all my fans it was a magical moment where we shared the true meaning of rave!

After my performance, I stayed in the club talking with my fans. I also met The Asian Vibes collective, and GiiN and his wife Anka. Giin is a good DJ from Mongolia who performed before me that night.

I stayed with great pleasure to talk with Giin and his wife Anka, and with the collective Asian vibes then I went to have breakfast and went to sleep satisfied after the great success.

With the Abyss team I have an extraordinary relationship. I'm in China because of them who invited me last year and organised my first tour in China, and I was one of the first international artists they invited. We spread the seed of techno in China, I was like the battering ram breaking through the door, like a river flooding a city!

I connected Abyss with the Berlin scene like a bridge, we made the connection. We have a good relationship, we love each other and I like the way they take care of their club. It's a close-knit team, and they put a lot of passion into it!

From June 23 I stayed until June 26 in Shanghai where I spent some relaxing days, meeting with many people and exploring the city among art galleries, stores and underground bars.

The underground spirit still exists in China, especially in Shanghai and Beijing; they remind me of Berlin 10 years ago!

I had the chance to meet up with various friends with whom I had a pleasant time and I had the chance for example with my friends from Asian Vibes to have a great dinner l in a beautiful Chinese restaurant, where for the first time in my life, I ate fried frog legs and I must say they are not bad; the taste is very similar to chicken!

Then I ate fish skin (very typical in China) and some very good prawns and soup, then clams and other delicacies. Asian cuisine has always fascinated me and now I had a chance during the tour to appreciate the authentic ones (unlike the “revisited” ones in Europe).

After the restaurant we went around the city, talked a lot about the techno scene and its future. Asian Vibes is a collective composed of Chinese and Japanese individuals—we talked a lot about China and the comparison with Europe…we ended up talking for hours while drinking good wine!

Then from there it was late at night we went to one of the most popular underground bars very much in vogue; Tang! Tang is a bar famous in scene circles as being that "super neat pre-drinks and then after-hours place with beds". Arty installation, some vintage wall decor and design elements, and a seated DJ at the back playing IDM, chill-out, down-beat tunes.

I spent some nice days in Shanghai I also went to an Italian restaurant and I must say I tried the pizza and it was not bad at all, very small but good.

Then I visited many vintage stores and independent brand stores; I bought myself a pair of shoes from a new Chinese brand. That same evening I met Giin and his wife; it was their anniversary, so we went to a wine bar and talked all night about Mongolia and celebrated their special day.

The day after I was really tired and Spring from the Abyss Team sent some delicious noodles to my room and the food arrived in my room obviously thanks to the robot.

The night before I left Shanghai to reach Wuhan, I met my assistant who assisted and followed me for the remaining dates in China! She's a very dear girl named Lychee, also a DJ—very dynamic and very smart.

It was pouring rain that evening, we ate and drank wine while organising and planning the various stops in China. Lychee was crucial because it is not easy to communicate in English in China, and she was a great help and support at a high level!

After planning everything I went to bed very happy to discover new realities and new Chinese cities.

I woke up very calmly as I love to do, had breakfast then at noon I checked out of the hotel. Soon after I left, the hotel my assistant was waiting for me in the cab to get to the station, we left Shanghai to reach our next destination which is Wuhan.

We reached the station as usual it was hyper crowded. We waited our turn and entered the very comfortable and fast train. We then stowed our bags, including my DJ BAG with 23 kg of vinyl—a baby with wheels!

We arrived in Wuhan in the afternoon, it was hot as hell! The first impression of the grey Wuhan was a big city with a big punk attitude. It was like being in a Tim Burton movie!

We took the cab and it started to rain intensely—after all, it was the rainy season.

We arrived at our destination at the MINININI CLUB in Wuhan where the brilliant Mr.Zero, owner of the club, was waiting for us! The club was very small but with a great underground attitude and very punk!

Several plastic skeletons were suspended in the air and I really liked the atmosphere. We did the soundcheck to make sure the turntables were working and that the acoustics were good, with no problems and resonances from low frequencies. After that, we were free because the event was on the 28th, which was the next day.

We walked into a restaurant and Mr. Zero told me this restaurant might not look as decent but here you will eat real traditional Chinese food. It was a typical Chinese inn where people were eating and at the same time smoking.

Mr. Zero ordered and we began to eat. We started drinking original Chinese beer and Mr. Zero, my assistant and I talked about China, techno and the underground for hours. With Mr. Zero there, it was a good feeling right away—we kept talking for hours then went to sleep.

I woke up charged up for the upcoming performance. I took it very easy since it was pouring and in any case, we had plenty of time since we had already done the soundcheck the day before.

I had breakfast and then a leisurely lunch with Mr. Zero. Afterwards went to the city, but a crazy storm started in a few seconds I was completely wet I took a cab and went to the hotel!

In the evening we ate hot pot with typical Wuhan noodles. I must say they were delicious! We were sitting at a small table, the food was super spicy. Mr. Zero took two cold beers and said "Are you ready for tonight?", I replied that I was like a mine ready to explode!

I went to the hotel to rest and calmly prepare my records and mask.

Shortly after midnight, I headed to the club which was a short walk from the hotel. I went inside and the club was already full, many people were wearing masks like me, the atmosphere was somber but very intriguing! Also in Wuhan there were many fans waiting for me and this made me very happy, I found out that actually in all the cities I go to I have followers and this is very important for me because reaching the audience in the underground scene is very difficult!

I started playing and the club started moving like a crazy box! Incredible energy, an explosive night!

Mr.Zero put his heart into it, he is an artist who made paintings for years, then sold his art and created Mininini, a real underground club with an extreme spirit of the Punk concept!

I will return to Wuhan as I promised to Mr. Zero because Wuhan has its reasons, Mr. Zero often writes to me that in Wuhan they still talk about that night and everyone misses me, it's really exciting!

I woke up early because I had to catch the train to Shenzhen; I must have slept maybe three hours! My assistant from her hotel room sent me a text message with a video attached in which, as I said at the beginning, a DJ in a documentary about the Chinese underground was talking about me as inspiration!

I made a post on Instagram talking about my experience in China and the Chinese underground documentary. Then I hurriedly took a shower and got dressed in a few seconds because the cab was waiting for me!

We arrived at Wuhan station and fortunately, it was not as crowded as in Shanghai or Beijing. We took the train and arrived in Shenzhen, and went straight to the hotel!

Time to check into the hotel and I took a shower and we went first to do the soundcheck and soon after we had dinner—I must say I ate very well in Shenzhen!

During dinner, we talked about the Berlin scene and the Chinese scene. Immediately afterwards I went to the hotel to relax and calmly prepare for the night.

After a few hours, around 1am, I headed to the club, the club was full and many fans were waiting for me!

Then Jacob and the whole team asked me, "Are you ready? Today is an important day for us," and they told me the sad story that unfortunately after my event, they would do two more and then they would be forced to close the venue!

The sad news took me by surprise, and they told me we had to "destroy" the club that night (in a manner of speaking).

I will never forget that night, I played hard with hardcore and punk songs, the audience was jumping like horses, we reached an exaggerated level of energy, I think the Why club was the top of the tour!

Too bad the club is now closed they're looking for a new location and I'm sure they'll find it very soon.

But that location was incredible—it seemed to be in an abandoned cyberpunk city, the club seemed to be under a building. To me, it was the most beautiful clubs in China and one of the most brilliant in the world—an irreproducible location; a mixture of brutalism, futurism, and incredible architecture.

We stayed to talk until the end. Zoe, the girl who cures the graphics, gives me the poster which, as you can see, is very powerful.

The whole team was very courteous, close and passionate I received divine hospitality! Thanks to the team for the warm hosting it was amazing!

At the end of my performance the crowd was waiting for me we took a lot of photos, then I had to run because I had to wake up early—after a few hours, I had a cab to Hong Kong!

I slept maybe two hours, I woke up with a start, I hadn't heard the alarm! It was 11:20am and the cab was waiting for me at 11:30am, I ran to take a shower.

I didn't have time for breakfast and I took the taxi to get to the border. I got out of the taxi and went through customs and took another cab that took me to Hong Kong airport where the flight to Osaka was waiting for me. I arrived 2 hours early and checked in straight away.

I had never been to Japan, it was my first time, I wasn't in my skin! Since I was a child, Japan has always been a living dream, from robots to manga, from Japanese technology, the renowned MADE IN JAPAN label, to sci-fi films, and cult films that I love like Blade Runner were filmed in Japan. I was very excited to explore the country!

Before getting on the plane I was really hungry, well you won't believe it but at the Hong Kong airport I found the meatballs in tomato sauce typical of the Italian culinary tradition, and they were very good

I ate while sipping an excellent glass of red wine and calmly went in the gate and soon I was on the plane. I arrived in Osaka and between one thing and another, the visa, the bags, the customs, I went out at midnight and waiting for me was the beautiful Yu Kawabata (DJ and latex model)—it was like a ray of sunshine and the beautiful thing is that I had a whole 12 days off before hitting the road again for the tour!

From Osaka we had to reach Nara or rather Sakurai which is about two hours by train. It was late, but the brilliant Yu Kawabata had already booked a hotel in Osaka! We only took the train to go from the airport to the center then with a cab we reached the hotel.

We spent the night in wonderful Osaka among immense buildings and mega digital screens. The city of the future like Tokyo is a source of inspiration for books, comics and films, the futuristic imagery par excellence!

We woke up very calmly, had a super breakfast then started walking around Osaka among markets, shops, and walked under the wonderful buildings, I felt like I was inside the cult film Blade Runner, something unique!

We went to have lunch and opted for a French Japanese fusion restaurant, a fusion between French and Japanese cuisine and I must say that it was a truly impeccable culinary experience, a culinary journey between tempura, French-style au gratin mussels and other typical Japanese dishes, we were delighted with including Italian wine and French champagne.

Then we went to a mega shop where there were fine wines and delicacies of all kinds! We bought some red wine and champagne then we got a super cake which we then forgot on the train, unfortunately, and then we bought some other goodies and took the train to reach Sakurai.

Sakurai is a Japanese city in Nara Prefecture. Sakurai was the capital of Japan in the past. As soon as we arrived, we started cooking while drinking wine and then finished with champagne.

I fell in love with this quiet city, surrounded by temples and mountains like arms that embrace you!

These were fantastic days spent visiting Buddhist temples where I participated in ceremonies and discovered Buddhism, where I had the pleasure of eating real Japanese food from traditional to new fusion cuisine, from sushi to cold noodles and many other delicious dishes. Sweet days, divine teas and wonderful walks up to the mountains.

Japan is totally zen. I immersed myself in the blue of the sky and the green of the fantastic gardens and soft mountains.

It's also very clean and tidy—a safe place where there is no violence but a lot of courtesy and elegance. An incredible charm, a city where technology is at high levels but still retains that charm and a great love for vintage and for everything authoritative, from food to cinema. An innate passion for art.

We spent wonderful days dedicated to sharing, and food was the best approach to telling stories and sharing traditions.

We spent a lot of time cooking, Yu and her mother delighted me with wonderful Japanese dishes as you can see from the photos and I also cooked various Italian dishes including the eggplant Parmigiana.

Long walks through the small and safe streets, hours spent in supermarkets and then, when we wanted to get lost in the chaos, we took the train and lost ourselves among the great buildings of Osaka, for me Japan was a great discovery, a revelation!

Yu and her mother treated me like a Pasha and made me feel at home. I have no words, I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Love and respect, Japan has become part of my life with great pleasure!

We woke up very calmly, I had the trip in the afternoon! We had a divine breakfast with the desserts prepared by Yu including the sandwiches to bring on the trip.

We took the train and arrived at the airport, checked in and shortly after boarded the flight to Seoul.

The journey was very quick, about two hours. I arrived in the late afternoon, and a limousine van offered by the hotel was waiting for me, destination Hotel! In the Van there was alcohol, Wi-Fi, and TV and the back seat was as comfortable as a sofa at home. I was in total comfort!

I arrived at my destination and immediately met the Volnost club team who were waiting for me in front of the hotel, three amazing guys who immediately made a wonderful impression on me, we went to eat real Korean barbecue, and I have to say it was incredible the meat was soft, juicy, simply divine, we ate with pleasure and drank Korean beer.

Then we went to the club, I was curious to see it! I also had an important appointment at the club with Mixmag Korea to do my interview. I met with Ahraam, DJ producer and Chief Editor of Mixmag Korea!

We had a wonderful interview! Ahraam is a very kind person, and we talked about techno, rave, and the underground. We tried to talk more about my story and about subculture! After the interview, we stayed for a drink at the bar and talked endlessly. I thank him very much for his support and kindness!

Shortly afterwards I entered the chaos of the city to return to the hotel.

Seoul is a frenzy, it is the city that never sleeps. From 11pm to 7am, there are thousands of people on the streets and everything is open, from shops, to shopping centres, to restaurants and countless clubs.

Then after eight in the morning everything closes, only a few mini markets or kebab shops remain open. It seemed to me that the city sleeps during the day and slowly awakens in the late afternoon.

In Seoul you have to know where to go otherwise you'll end up in nightclubs for tourists. Take note that every few meters there are bars and nightclubs playing hip hop, pop and euro trash, but if you search carefully and delve into the underground community, you can definitely get to the right place!

Volnost is the underground club par excellence! A medium-sized, two-floor venue, totally black, with a demanding audience. Overall a cool venue. On the ground floor where the bar is located, it's all black, red lights, with DJ booth next to the bar. Then on the first floor, a mini hangar where the main floor is located, all black concrete and metal!

I went to sleep excited and couldn't wait to play the day later!

The hotel was mega galactic and super equipped (a mega hotel) but until 8am there was a frenzy. In the hotel there was a disco, a shopping centre, and restaurants so it was super full of people coming and going at all hours. Then from 8 in the morning it seemed like a desert—everything turned off and fortunately silence prevailed for the whole day!

I woke up in absolute silence, it was midday, it was terribly hot, and I woke up with a dry mouth and an exaggerated hunger. The Volnost team, whom I sincerely thank for their great hospitality and immense courtesy, had delicious sandwiches, water, Coca-Cola and much more delivered to my room!

It was my debut in Korea and I fell in love from the first day I arrived!

I got out of bed after having breakfast in bed. Then I looked out, the city was turned off but the hotel's mega swimming pool was open and empty, I ran like a dolphin to dive in, it was incredibly hot, the humidity was high but in the water I felt like a pasha! I stayed for a few hours soaking like a fish, and then I headed to the spa but in the end, I gave up. Outside you couldn't breathe inside you were dying.

I love the sauna, but in winter! I opted for a cold shower and then (in the air-conditioned room) a hot bath was exceptional!

After lulling myself into relaxation I joined the others and we went to eat in a place where they served typical Korean hot pot and we opted for the typical bone soup with noodles and then some super good dumplings! The city began to wake up and from midnight the delirium...

I was super excited after dinner we did the sound check at the venue and set everything up to perfection!

I went to the hotel to take a hot bath and prepare the records and the mask.

I was very excited so I took a hot bath and got dressed in my leather pants and my leather vest and left the hotel and went straight to the club which was a few steps from the hotel! I got out and there was total delirium, rivers and rivers of people all open, total chaos, people in total euphoria.

Truly the night in Seoul is an explosion of people, so much so that I couldn't walk.

It took me a while to arrive because there were so many people on the sidewalks that there was a queue to walk!

I arrived at the club they had just opened I stopped at the bar and met the other DJs who were playing that night (Purusha, Ininin and Si Jin who I already knew since he is an integral part of Volnost)—I liked them a lot and I really appreciated their selection! Then we took a couple of shots and at a certain point the club was full.

I met many interesting people and many fans and many Korean guys who had recently followed me on Instagram came to talk to me. They were very curious to meet me and exchange opinions. This made me very happy, I had a lot of fun sharing pleasant conversations!

At a certain point while I was drinking a beer, I looked at the time and saw that I had to start in about 15 minutes. I went to the main floor it was totally dark so much so that I couldn't see the people, I got to the DJ booth and I saw that the the room was full and everyone was there waiting for me, including some with balaclavas like me!

I started with EBM rhythms to get to the purest distortion between industrial and hard techno. The energy was very high and the scratches that I love to do brought the crowd to scream every time...from there, the delirium began.

What an evening, what an experience, a wonderful sharing with the whole crowd and with the club team, I fell in love with the team, the scene and the club. I will definitely come back to play there very soon!

The underground scene also exists in Seoul and is very alive, there are many DJs and the most interesting in my opinion are those from the underground scene. I heard several DJs at Volnost and I liked them—excellent musical research and music selection! And the crowd is very demanding!

I want to thank everyone who came to dance and meet me, thank you all for dancing non-stop until the end, thank you all, South Korea has won my heart!

In the end, I left the place, I think around 7 in the morning. The streets were semi-empty, many places were closed and the rest were closing. The city was slowly shutting down.

I went to have breakfast and went to sleep—the flight back to Japan was waiting for me the next day!

Thank you Si Jin, Comarobot and thank you from the bottom of my heart brother Doh Kin. You were great—you assisted me until the end you made me feel at home, thank you guys for the respect, the love and for inviting me and bringing me into your reality. I fell in love with Seoul!

I woke up very calmly because I had a late checkout and the great Doh Kin had organised everything for me, from the driver who was waiting for me after check out, up to breakfast and lunch!

I was very motivated and very happy with the valuable experience I had in Seoul! I took a cold shower and had breakfast then went to have lunch and immediately afterwards my driver was waiting for me to take me to the airport.

I arrived at the airport early, I had time to check in and relax, I had eaten a lot but I still wanted some finger food.

Time passed very quickly and I got on the plane. I arrived in Osaka on time. Yu Kawabata was waiting for me and as usual we took the train to reach Sakurai. We arrived and started cooking while drinking wine.

As usual, Japan cradled me and it was a fantastic day and a wonderful night. After an excellent dinner we went to sleep.

On June 15, I woke up very happy and relaxed. I lay in bed thinking about how many wonderful experiences I had during the tour, and how many more were waiting for me!

I was in Japan because I had to perform at Under Club with Yu Kawabata, a brilliant Japanese DJ and producer with whom I am co-producing MISSING FUTURE; a label with a post-techno vision that we will launch this winter on various digital portals. We were so excited to perform in Japan!

In the following days I took some pleasant walks, then went to buy a pair of fluorescent orange Puma shoes that had touched my heart!

We had a great time and I ate some great Japanese food. Every day I had the pleasure of getting to know the traditions, habits and customs of Japan better and better, an incredible nation with an immense history.

I spent some fantastic days, between relax, history, food, mountains. On June 18, we were at the beautiful Hosedera Temple in the old Yamato province. We walked for hours.

It was a small village. We climbed I don't know how many stairs and steps but it was a unique experience, a high mental peace and pure energy surrounded us. I felt at my comfort—simply fantastic, intense experiences!

Those days passed quickly but they were intense!

I woke up that morning with exaggerated excitement, it was my debut in Japan!

I had a super breakfast and the morning passed very quickly, I was relaxed but very excited, my adrenaline was at high levels, ready for the super night.

With Yu Kawabata in the previous days, we had listened to the official masters of our upcoming album POST HUMAN ERA in the studio. We were very satisfied with the mastering, we called Stefan (who does the mastering) and confirmed! That was a very important moment because we couldn't wait to hear our tracks at high volume in the club, so we decided and selected some tracks to blast in Under Club in Osaka!

In the afternoon I prepared the records and put them in my bag, which I prepared with the outfit to wear at night and everything else that was needed since we had a hotel booked in Osaka so we would be staying for one night!

We left in the afternoon in order to arrive at the hotel and rest before going to dinner with Feng—DJ and organiser of the event where we performed at.

Yu was much more relaxed than me. We arrived at the station early, I smoked a cigarette and we went into the station to go and catch the train. Once we got to the platform to wait for the train, Yu stopped and looked at me and said she forgot something important and has to go get it. I said "But are we going to miss the train?". She said not to worry and that we have another one after a few minutes.

She ran away quickly like the superhero Flash and ran back, her face was extremely red! There was terrible heat and she had run like a lion—she was very sweaty but said she's fine. Our train had passed just a minute before she returned, but after a few minutes, we caught the next train so indeed everything was fine!

I love Japanese trains, they are extremely clean and very comfortable, and it feels like sitting on a sofa. There was pleasant air conditioning and incredible silence even though the train was full! The Japanese are very polite and very silent, they have extreme respect for others. Unlike the rest of the world, in Japan the trains and subways are very relaxing and not a hub of chaos like in Italy for example!

We arrived in Osaka and went deeper into the city and arrived at the hotel, which was very close to the venue.

At one point Yu looks at me, and I say "What's wrong?". She mentions how she forgot her computer transformer at home. "No, this can't be true!" I said. She looks at me and says, unfortunately, "Yes...It's true".

She tried to call Feng and other people to see if someone could lend one to us.

She told me "I'm going home and coming back!" and I said to her "Are you crazy?!". Then, we left the hotel and went to the nearest Apple Store and bought a new transformer for the laptop.

Once the problem was solved, we went to meet Feng.

We arrived at the appointment with Feng and then we took a cab to the restaurant he had booked where we sat down and ordered Japanese beer and tempura. The tempura was something divine—crunchy, light, and tasty. Then we ate some very fresh fish sashimi, a delight!

We started talking about the Japanese scene and the fact that after COVID-19 everything had changed and it was very difficult for the new generation to emerge. It was the first time I met Feng—a guy with a lot of passion and desire to make techno explode again in Japan. We talked a lot and I tried to give him valuable advice.

Since the 90s I have always created synergies and connections. Techno is a network and I have always tried to expand the concept and broaden this network! Now social media exists and the movement has spilled over onto the web, but to build roots and expand a movement, you need to do it in real life!

We got up from the table, took a cab and went to the venue to do the soundcheck. We arrived at the club which is practically in the centre—there were lots of people in the streets!

It was the first time I had entered into a Japanese club!

We went down the stairs and the entrance door opened automatically. The place was medium-sized, with a good DJ booth...the place reminded me a lot of the discos of the 80s and had an old Italian soundsystem that sounded deep and dynamic!

We did the sound check and everything was perfect. Then, with Yu, we went back to the hotel to rest—because she wears latex in her DJ performances, she needed a lot of time to prepare!

After resting and getting dressed we went down the streets of Osaka, Yu was totally dressed in latex and for the first time I felt free to walk down the street with a balaclava (in Berlin, you can go dressed in latex but you can't wear a balaclava; they fine you if you do and in the rest of the world the police stop you immediately!).

It was divine walking through the streets full of people, free and calm, no one looked at us or made comments. Someone even took photos of us! Everything was in harmony, I felt like I was inside a science fiction film or a superhero comic. Walking among the streets of Osaka seemed to be in the phantasmagorical cyberpunk city!

We arrived in front of the club we entered and we waited for Yu's turn. The lady dressed in latex started playing and did a super performance—she brought all the people to the dancefloor and started making them scream! Then she started to play our tracks and it was divine. I was super excited. She rocked, she was great!

I started with rough grooves and scratches, the crowd went wild and I started playing techno punk, where distortions and hardcore patterns event made the bartender scream! From there I started using my little sticks and started beating the rhythm on the vinyl—it's a technique that I invented many years ago which I call the drum turntable.

It was a very intense evening, we received countless messages on our social networks!

After our performance, we stayed to talk to those who were impressed by the energy we had emitted. It was dawn and we left super satisfied and—walking through the streets of Osaka was like a scene from a movie in the city of the future! We ate breakfast then passed out in bed.

We woke up in the morning satisfied but tired, checked out of the hotel and went around Osaka. Then we ate and slowly went to the station. We took the train and arrived in the silent and magical Sakurai!

I couldn't stand my DJ bag anymore—the 23 kilograms of weight was starting to get boring!

We arrived at our destination happy but tired. We relaxed between the blue of the sky and the green of the wonderful garden, obviously in Japanese style in Yu's wonderful house.

We had dinner but I was so tired that I don't even remember what we ate—we were happy and fell asleep like children!

These were the last days spent in the land of the rising sun, where Yu and her very kind mother every day made me experience with passion the roots, traditions and wonders of a beautiful and elegant country.

Temples, fantastic food cooked by Yu or her loving mother, mountains, relaxing landscapes, massages at the spa, Buddhist ceremonies and the wonderful Osaka including the super performance at the Under Club...

21 days and these were the last days I spent in a paradise, where courtesy, kindness, respect and a divine calm were the pillars of unforgettable days.

My stay in Japan wasn't just a date on my tour—it was the limbo between my tour dates, where I could discover new realities, where I could relax between the various tour dates. It was my home.

I vividly remember that I was very sad on the evening of June 23. I was very nervous because I had to leave—Mongolia was waiting for me but my heart was in Sakurai!

Yu's Mom cooked a wonderful dinner and I was distracted throughout the dinner. I was depressed, I didn't say anything, I was hypertensive and nervous. In fact, I made everyone delayed in having dinner, I have to apologize to Yu's Mom! I didn't have respect, but it wasn't my intention. Unfortunately, I was lost in the void...I was sad!

I woke up with a feeling of sadness because I was headed to the last stop—my magnificent tour was about to finish!

I had the plane from Osaka in the late afternoon. With Yu, we decided the last essential thing for our label MISSING FUTURE (We will launch in a few months, so we're organising everything from distribution to promotion). All this made us very happy—we believe a lot in this project and intend to create a bridge between Europe and Asia through MISSING FUTURE.

I had to take two trains to reach the airport AND it took two hours. I arrived just in time and checked in straight away so I could have time to enter the gate!

While I was sitting, all the memories of the tour were flowing through me like a moving train.

A month had passed and I had played in four cities in China, I had played for the first time in South Korea, as well as my debut in Japan and the days spent in Japan...Then I looked at the time and it was time to get on the plane...

I took the plane and after four hours finally arrived in Mongolia. The local time was midnight!

Waiting for me was Temujin, the heart of Panic Underground, which is the organisation and club where I performed in Ulaanbaatar.

We arrived at the hotel at 1:30am and then went to look for something to eat because I was hungry!

We immediately became familiar with Temujin— since he lived in Berlin many years ago, we had a nice chat about Berlin, and then we went to sleep since it was so late at night. But, before going to the hotel, we tried to install a virtual SIM card in my phone so we could have the line and WiFi but it didn't work.

Temujin then said to me "Tomorrow I'll bring you a SIM card, let's go to sleep now!"

Not long after I woke up, Temujin arrived with the SIM card! Then we went to have lunch. It was my first day in Mongolia—my debut in Mongolia, it still hasn't sunk in!

We left the restaurant and took a drive around Ulaanbaatar, a very busy city where you can be stuck in traffic for up to two hours. I had just come from Japan where everything was orderly and very calm, but now I found myself in total chaos, I couldn't understand anything anymore!

We went to Temujin's very pleasant and comfortable where we stayed for a few hours talking about the global techno scene and the community techno in Mongolia. I met other members of the team including Butal Zy who is one of the resident DJs of Panic Underground.

We went to have dinner and buy this time I was starting to feel at ease and become familiar with the city. In Mongolia, as in the rest of Asia, there is a lot of courtesy, respect and a great spirit of hospitality and aggregation, they immediately made me feel at home!

We ate traditional Mongolian food, which I liked a lot! Simple and natural, where the meat is very precious and rich in vitamins. From meat, we moved on to fried dumplings filled with meat—a rustic delicacy that preserves Nomadic roots, the same that the ancients found and hunted in the mountains!

We began to talk about the great empire of Genghis Khan, a mammoth empire! I was very excited and motivated!

From there Temujin (which by the way Temujin is the real name of Genghis Khan) started to find out that I was very interested in the Mongol Empire and its first emperor.

He told me "I'm glad you like Genghis Khan because, among other things, I have organised a visit to the Genghis Khan museum exclusively for you," and he told me that I would be led by a guide, a good friend of his and curator of the museum. I had the exclusive of being guided, a real privilege!

He also told me that Brutal Zy would pick me up and drop me off at the museum, then Temujin's friend named Godo would guide me through the whole museum. Afterwards, Temujin will come to pick me up and we will all go to dinner together. I went to sleep with great enthusiasm and couldn't wait to enter the museum!

I woke up with a lot of excitement that morning, I was very curious to visit the museum and ultra-excited for the evening of my debut in Mongolia.

After breakfast, I went down to smoke a cigarette and started walking towards the centre of Ulaanbaatar. If you want to know the habits and understand the cities in every part of the world, you have to go down the street to really understand where you are. The smells of a city lead you to see, feel and know the traditions—the streets show you how people behave. You understand if there is respect, cordiality and much more...The street teaches.

Ulaanbaatar is undoubtedly a busy and chaotic city, with a very strong personality. In the streets there is a very relaxed atmosphere, and the people are very friendly and very helpful. Despite the Soviet architecture and modern buildings of recent construction, it keeps its beauty and its roots alive.

The city has always been considered by the Mongols ''The Holy City'' because the Living Buddha resided here. There are many monasteries and it is surrounded by mountains and the typical steppe landscape.

Walking through the streets of the city, I began to feel very relaxed. There were many shops! Some were like small craft markets, selling clothing and objects, and there were several shops that sold vintage records. But, I had to go back to the hotel I had to get ready to go to the Genghis Khan Museum in about an hour! I had to meet with Brutal Zy and Niana, a professional football player who is also a DJ, who I met that day. We met and they took me to the Museum.

Godo, Temujin's friend, the exhibition curator at the Genghis Khan National Museum, was waiting for me there. We entered and she explained to me every single detail of the exhibition in the museum, explaining and enriching me with anecdotes and historical notes, explaining every little thing to me over eight floors.

It was an incredible journey where I discovered the true history of the Mongol Empire from its inception to its fall. A wonderful, contested and intense story, about three hours.

Godo was wonderful and kind—she explained and showed me the history with a lot of passion, she gave me incredible energy. Watching and admiring the habits and customs of the Great Mongol Empire was exciting, a brilliant people who invented and left us a legacy of precious realities and objects that are now part of a society that was created by the ancients. Admiring the strength with which the Mongol Empire conquered ground gave me incredible strength!

After the tour, we went down and smoked a cigarette. I thanked her so much and hugged her because it was truly an emotional journey. We started talking about genius and the fact that the ancients were real aliens and had a high form of intelligence and we talked about modern society up to techno music.

When Temujin arrived, I hugged him too and said: "You two made me live a unique experience!". I thanked them from the bottom of my heart and from there we all went to dinner together. We ate typical Mongolian food and went to a place that made typical Khuushuur, which are like giant fried dumplings filled with meat. They are the fried version of Buuz, which are large steamed dumplings.

From there we went to do the soundcheck at the venue. Immediately afterwards, I went to pack my record bag.

The place struck me instantly—completely black with pedestrian crossings on the ground and the DJ booth was behind a replica of a car hood. The car was inspired by the car from Back to The Future!

I came back immediately, I wanted to see and understand the audience. I arrived and the place was already full...and there were several people wearing balaclavas like me!

I played until closing time. I started by mixing hard groove and hard techno rhythms with EBM tracks. I began to create a hypnotic journey where the explosive beat marked the rhythm!

Temujin was next to me and at a certain point he shouted "I love you!". We had reached the peak. People started screaming and sweating, and when I started with the scratching, people went into a frenzy. The dancefloor exploded until the very end!

Most of the people waited for me to take photos together. I received an immense amount of messages on my social networks. We achieved incredible success—people went crazy, they still talk about that night! Temujin often messages me that Ulaanbaatar fell in love with me.

I will absolutely return this spring. Mongolia has won me over.

East Asia has given me new energy and new visions and I am very inspired! This was the event that concluded my tour...and it was epic! Temujin tole me "This is what I wanted, this made me very happy!". I am happy to have brought strength and success to his project.

We stayed talking and I began to give him advice and shared the about the experience I have acquired in about 38 years of my career. Creating a movement is not a game and a movement exists when there is sharing among the members. Techno is about sharing! Then we moved and I went to rest in the hotel—the master class was waiting for us the next day!

My final days in Mongolia and the final days of my huge tour!

On July 27, we had the techno masterclass scheduled and then in the evening I was invited to dinner by Giin and Anka who I had met in China and with whom we had become friends since that day, so I couldn't wait to meet them.

I stayed in bed to rest, I was still tired from the night before. Then I took a shower and got ready to go to the masterclass. Brutal Zy picked me up and we arrived at the YAHAMA building where the masterclass had been set up.

Waiting for us there was Temujin. Giin was also there because he gave the lesson on how to use CDJs, or the various digital platforms suitable for modern DJs. Before us, they gave the lesson on how to use Ableton Live. In the meantime, I was there talking to Giin who introduced me to other Mongolian DJs.

After the masterclass, Giin and his wife Anka had invited me to dinner at his house. We met when we played together in June at Abyss in Shanghai and we immediately became close.

Giin started with his lesson, and after him, I started, with Temujin as my translator. We talked about the subculture, the techno movement, the role of the DJ and how to grow as an artist, where to find sources of inspiration, various tips on how to operate in our sector and we talked a lot about underground.

I tried to give valuable advice to young people, it was a very pleasant exchange. Many people messaged me immediately afterwards to ask me for more information and points of reference to follow and research. I sent them notes on Luigi Russolo and Marcel Duchamp...

When we finished, with Giin and two other young DJs, we went to Giin's house for dinner where was Anka waiting for us. It was wonderful to see her again. Giin started cooking, we were all around the kitchen table talking and sipping wine.

Giin had prepared a delicious dinner—he surprised me and cooked the pasta, which was divine, and then he cooked some steaks which were very juicy and buttery tender! We started listening to music and talked all night, laughing and joking for hours. Giin also made me listen to some tracks that he was producing.

It was a wonderful day, I was so happy to have met Giin and Anka again, two wonderful and extremely kind people. I love them both very much!

Before returning to the hotel we decided that we would have another dinner before I left for Berlin. It was dawn and they called me a cab. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the cab and the driver woke me up when he reached my hotel. After my shower, I passed out in bed within seconds!

I woke up the next day smelling of wine! We had been drinking and laughing all night!

It was Sunday and the plan was to go to the mountains and go horseback riding. When I was a child, I went horseback riding very often, but I hadn't been on a horse for at least 20 years.

Temujin picked me up and we met up with Niana and Brutal and all went in one car. We went towards the mountains—it was a wonderful, incredible landscape. The blue of the sky, the green and lush mountains...On the way I fell asleep several times since I was still drunk from the previous night.

We stopped to eat before reaching the mountains at some container run by nomads who live in the mountains. There we ate traditional Mongolian food from nomadic cuisine.

We set off again to reach the mountains and I fell asleep again. When I woke up, it seemed like paradise.

We arrived near a ranch and while crossing a stream, the front bumper and the underbody protection of Temujin's car broke, but fortunately nothing serious.

We rented the first horses but they were slow and lazy. They were typical trail horses, those with a guide, whereas we wanted to ride seriously. After less than half an hour, we took them back and went to look for someone who had the right kind of horses for us.

On the way to the other ranch, I saw camels for the first time! Also, the typical circular tents of nomads were scattered in the mountains, it was an incredible sight. We were in the most uncontaminated nature, in the wilderness where the ancients lived, where the Mongol empire controlled the world in ancient times—a magical landscape full of energy and pure oxygen!

We found some good horses and started riding like crazy. It was a lot of fun but also relaxing. Riding gave me a lot of energy.

Afterwards, we came down from the mountains, took the car and returned to the city. It was my penultimate night in Mongolia. Before arriving in the city, we stopped and ate some very fresh and very good meat that was cooked on a wood fire like in ancient times. We arrived in the city feeling exhausted and went straight to sleep!

I woke up and it was July 29; my last day in Mongolia. My tour was over and I had to leave the next day.

In the afternoon, Niana came to pick me up and surprisingly took me to the largest Temple in Ulaanbaatar, one of the most important and largest in Asia. Once again fate took me to a Buddhist temple. This tour, in addition to giving me new eyes and new hopes, was totally a spiritual journey that gave me so much calm and tranquillity that I still feel today. It truly was a life lesson, where union, respect and sharing were the cornerstones of this unforgettable tour.

Niana showed me the prayer tree and then we entered the immense temple. We spun the cylinders that contained books and followed the entire route until we met the monks who blessed us.

We spent the afternoon in the wonders of Ulaanbaatar and ended up in Suchbaatar Square.

Afterwards, I took a cab to join Giin and Anka who invited me to have dinner at a marvelous restaurant on the roof of a building that had a breathtaking view. We were practically suspended in the sky where the mountains surrounded us. We had dinner but didn't stay long—they had left their daughters with their grandmother and had to come back soon to pick them up, and I had to catch up with the others as well so I could say goodbye to everyone before leaving!

I sincerely thank Giin and Anka for their sincere friendship, for the amazing dinners spent together and all the laughter and good moments spent together. I love you, my friends!

Ginn was so kind to take me to Brutal and Niana—it had been a long day!

There were other DJs who were with Niana and Brutal. We spent the night talking and listening to music, we talked about how to produce techno music, and I'm happy to have given inspiration and shared my passion—as I said before, sharing is the meaning of life!

We strolled around Ulaanbaatar all night long. It seemed like the night never ended—and I didn't want it too, either!

I also need to thank Brutal and Niana who were both delightful for days—they escorted me around the city and we spent some fantastic days together. A strong friendship was born with them, too. They're both passionate and very kind-hearted people. Truly special!

I woke up tired! Brutal and Niana took me for lunch. We went to a Chinese restaurant and I didn't have much of an appetite but after the long night, I needed food.

Soon after we met with Temujin before going to the airport. It was very quick—we hugged and said goodbye.

I will return to Mongolia very soon! Temujin and I have many ideas in regards to my intention in creating a real connection with Asia.

Brutal and Niana accompanied me to the airport and after a few hours, I took the plane to Beijing. I reached Beijing very quickly—in just two hours. We arrived at 8pm on July 30, and at 3am, I was on the plane for Berlin.

Shortly after take off, they served us food. I didn't eat anything but I asked for a couple of glasses of wine and I fell asleep. I woke up when the stewardess was serving breakfast...and soon we landed in Berlin!

I spent 40 wonderful days from China to South Korea, passing through Japan to Mongolia. I spent fantastic days with wonderful people. I have no words to describe this immense experience I thank everyone who was part of this wonderful experience, you were all amazing! From the organisers, to friends, to my fans and the new fans I acquired during this tour, thank you all for the love, respect and wonderful hospitality and friendliness.

Thanks to everyone who attended the events, you were all fantastic.

Thanks to everyone who hosted me in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Osaka, Sakurai, Seoul and Ulaanbaatar. I am truly in love with East Asia—you were all amazing and made me feel at home. Thank you for the respect and love. I miss you all and can't wait to come back!

I want to go back to Asia and do live sets next time. This winter, I will launch the label that I co-produced with Yu Kawabata. We will present our album and will be ready with our live performance, so be ready for MAX DURANTE FEAT. KAWABATA LIVE ON STAGE! It will be very energetic and impactful—a real explosion! Stay tuned!