Boasting production skills that make use of everything from the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s through to disco, funk and breakbeat, DJ Tennis is one of the most eclectic talents on the circuit today.

Despite his distinctly unmusical beginnings, growing up between New Jersey, Sicily and Parma in a family that never encouraged his overt musical inclinations, Manfredi Romano always centred his creative energies around creating sounds on his eclectic assortment of instruments. While studying computer science in Pisa in the late 1980s, Romano started to carve his own niche in the scene, hosting an indie rock show on a local radio station. Soon after, he began to organise parties and DJ at the tennis club he had once played at as a semi-pro.

After continuing to permeate and promote the underground music scene in Italy after leaving university, Romano became a DJ, in a move he admits he had never really anticipated as a youngster, despite his lifelong fervour for experimenting with music. Taking his stage moniker from his love for the sport, DJ Tennis soon went on to help found some of the most influential Italian underground music festivals, such as Dissonanze in Rome and Elita in Milan, and also cut his teeth as a tour manager for a series of punk bands. In 2010, he joined forces with Greg Oreck of Thugfucker to co-found techno, house and pop-inspired label Life and Death.

Now based in both Miami and Berlin, Tennis works tirelessly to develop the label, which includes rising talents such as The/Das, Dead Heat and Clockwork. In 2015, Life and Death hosted a five-week Ibiza residency at the DC10 club, and the label continues to encourage its artists to create freely without constraint. He’s certain to be unpredictable, but DJ Tennis is always guaranteed to bring the house down during his blistering sets.