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Italian DJ and producer Pancratio lands on Love on the Rocks with ‘Love Letters’, his first EP for the cult Berlin-based label founded by PARAMIDA. The record, another bold and unique entry in the label’s impressive catalogue, arrives after a decade of behind-the-scenes influence and personal artistic evolution for Pancratio, marking a turning point in his journey: from anonymous studio architect to an expressive, full-fledged solo artist.

Pancratio has long been a quiet force in underground music. As the founder of Otta Res Lab, he spent years producing, mixing, and mastering records for other artists, building a reputation among insiders for his meticulous analog workflows and deeply felt soundscapes. Now, with Love Letters, he turns the spotlight on himself.

Crafted in just a matter of weeks during a period of profound personal transition, the EP tells the story of Pancratio’s relocation from Rome to Berlin, a leap of faith that would shape the emotional and sonic narrative of the release. Following a summer immersed in the city's clubs and festivals, the producer returned to the studio with renewed clarity and purpose. What followed was a spontaneous burst of creativity: one track a day, each emerging with fluid ease from his analog-heavy setup.

“I called the record Love Letters because it's a message to all the people I left behind,” Pancratio shared in a personal note. “It’s my way of saying: everything’s going great here. I made the right choice.”

His music caught the attention of PARAMIDA thanks to the encouragement, and quiet hustle, of friends and collaborators Simone de Kunovich and Giammarco Orsini, both longtime allies of Pancratio and contributors to his label One Trip to Avyon. What began as an offhand suggestion turned into a fast-forming collaboration, with Pancratio sending a new track to Paramida every day for a week. The EP took shape naturally from those exchanges.

Pancratio sets the tone from the start on ‘A Neverending Story’, with layers of kicks, vocal samples, huge grooves and deceptively simple and effective percussive loops, then flips the track, without warning, with pads that add unexpected melancholy and emotional depth.

‘Artificial Intelligence’ jumps right into its groove, setting up a left turn into retrofuturistic sci-fi romance. Intimate, softly-spoken vocals lead into an otherworldly, vocoded lullaby, and then Pancratio removes the ground from beneath our feet. Masterfully extending sections of breaks, we’re lifted out of the arrangement before being dropped right back in the deep end, in moments that will destroy dancefloors while enveloping them in complexly touching emotional highs.

From there, the tonal contrasts just get bigger, weirder and more beautiful. ‘I Promise’ builds an irresistible house groove into a hypnotic summer jam, before tearing a hole in it it with a patchwork of vocal samples and off-pitch synths, snapping it out of its comfort zone and into completely unexpected territory before dropping it right back into the deep end. It’s a devastating sequence handled with the lightest touch, mirroring the twists and turns of its subject matter in a moment of sublime sonic storytelling.

Love Letters continues Pancratio’s pursuit of emotional depth through minimalist, analog-rooted production. Each track is a one-take from start to finish, recorded straight from his hardware setup and only minimally mastered, evoking a tactile sense of warmth and spontaneity rarely found in today’s digital-heavy landscape. 

Love Letters is not only a new chapter in Pancratio’s artistic evolution, it’s a heartfelt message delivered in music: to friends, to places once called home, and to everyone just now discovering his world.

Pre-order: loveontherocks.bandcamp.com
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Love Letters

Pre-order

LOTR029 Pancratio - Love Letters

🌐 Refuge Worldwide is a radio station and community space based in Berlin-Neukölln.
➡️ More info, more music: www.refugeworldwide.com

Help us stay on air by donating to our fundraiser: www.gofundme.com/f/help-refuge-wo…-community-radio

Love On The Rocks - Paul Wolsch - 23 Jun 2025

It were as if the system was operating all by itself, making decisions of its own accord without the same fear or prejudice as that of any man or woman.

It knew each and every answer, it feared not the consequences which may come thereafter.

This was artificial intelligence and this was the future.

The sun would continue to rise and set each day. However, this was very much the beginning of a new dawn, one in which technology reigned supreme.

Love On The Rocks are back with a stellar EP from Pancratio - a beautiful, sun kissed affair which sits somewhere between the realms of house and trance yet is packed with balearic influences. Think sandy beaches and big speakers and you'll be on the right track.

PREMIERE: Pancratio - Artificial Intelligence [Love On The Rocks]

Pre-order: https://loveontherocks.bandcamp.com/album/love-letters

Italian DJ and producer @pancratio lands on PARAMIDA's @loveontherocks with ‘Love Letters’, his first EP for the cult Berlin-based label spanning four new tracks.

“I called the record 'Love Letters' because it's a message to all the people I left behind," says Pancratio. "It’s my way of saying: everything’s going great here. I made the right choice.”

06 Phoenix

Lemonade Records

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