Futuristic dance titan Anyma will team up with Riot Games for the 2025 League Of Legends Worlds Opening Ceremony ahead of a special performance at Coachella 2026 – check out our exclusive interview below.
The League Of Legends world championship is set to take place in Chengdu, China this November and for the opening ceremony, Anyma (real name Matteo Milleri) will unveil a unique live show that blends music, technology, visuals and storytelling. “It’s going to be pretty groundbreaking,” he tells NME over Zoom.
The co-creative director will team-up with Chinese popstar G.E.M. for a reworked take on the official 2025 Worlds anthem ‘Sacrifice’. Longtime League Of Legends collaborator, Chrissy Costanza, and Austrian singer TEYA will also perform during the event at Chengdu’s Dong’an Lake Sports Park Indoor Gymnasium on November 9.
“I’ve been an avid gamer all my life, so headlining Worlds 2025 is a real honour. Riot Games’ consistent storytelling on such a large scale feels truly limitless,” Anyma said. “League Of Legends has created universes that inspire millions, and I’m thrilled to bring my sound and touch into their world to push the boundaries of what’s possible through such an impactful medium.”
Anyma is used to pushing the boundaries of live music. He was the visual creative director of The Weeknd‘s 2024 ‘One Night Only’ concert in São Paulo, Brazil and launched the third and final part of his ‘Genesys’ album trilogy with a twelve-night residency at Las Vegas’ The Sphere.
In the lead-up to the shows, ‘Genesys’ digital protagonist Eva scared locals by cracking the giant video screens that make up the outside of The Sphere while the actual concerts were a four-act “cybernetic opera” that explored AI, spirituality and human connection. During the historic gigs, Anyma performed his “dance music with a cinematic spin” from a light-up platform, 24-feet in the air and beside him, a pair of gigantic robot arms played a cyberpunk cello.
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Some purists weren’t happy Anyma was the first electronic act to headline the iconic venue but heroes of the scene, including CamelPhat, Mike Dean and Tiesto, had no problem opening for him. Throughout the run, Anyma was joined on stage by collaborators Ellie Goulding, FKA Twigs, Grimes and Yeat.
Earlier this month, Anyma took things one-step further, delivering a 10-hour, two-act gig from The Great Pyramids Of Giza that wrapped up the ‘Genesys’ project. The footage needs to be seen to be believed. Next April he’s due to debut his next creation – ÆDEN – at Coachella 2026, his name in big font on the stacked poster.
Before that though is Worlds 2025. “Anyma has inspired us with his groundbreaking approach to visuals and stage craft. We wanted this year’s Worlds to deliver a spectacle beyond anything we’ve done in the past, Anyma was the natural first choice,” Maria Egan, Riot Games’ global head of music, told NME in a statement.
“Our teams have never collaborated with another artist so deeply on the visuals at Worlds but Anyma has been an amazing partner throughout the whole process, and we’re confident players and fans will be blown away by this incredible presentation of the League IP.”
“It’s a side-step but it’s a very advanced one,” Milleri says of his Worlds 2025 performance. “It’s not something that I just did in my free time, I spent six months on it. This is the first time the Anyma project has entered a different world, other than its own, which has been really interesting to explore. I’ve put a lot of myself into [Worlds 2025] along with the experience of my team and Riot. We all expect it to be very grand.”
NME: Hi Matteo. What made you want to get involved with League Of Legends?
Matteo Milleri: “I’m a huge gamer and have been my whole life. I love the League Of Legends IP, from [Netflix adaptation] Arcane to Worlds, and it’s a real honour to be asked. They, like me, connect music and 3D animations so it was a no brainer to collaborate. Between my team, Riot’s team and [live production company Done and Dusted], a lot of people have been involved because the production value is so high. It’s been really exciting to have so many people working together to achieve the same goal.”
What do you hope audiences take away from the Worlds 2025 Opening Ceremony?
“I’m trying to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world. It’s something gamers do when they immerse themselves [into a title]. They detach from reality and explore a new one. For a live experience based around a video game, I really want people to be unsure about what’s digital and what’s physical. It’s basically going to be super immersive.”
You mentioned you’re a gamer, what are some of your favourites?
“I’m a big Final Fantasy fan. I love Zelda and the Dark Souls series. I obviously play League Of Legends and my favourite game of last year was probably Vampire Survivors. My favourite gaming soundtracks are definitely Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 10, The Witcher and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty.”
Has the world of gaming inspired the Anyma project?
“Definitely. I take a lot of inspiration from gaming as well as anime and manga; Neon Genesis Evangelion, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Ghost In The Shell, Black Myth: Wukong and Donghua Super Cube [have all influenced it].”
Obviously there’s a lot of tech and storytelling to Anyma, but I assume it all starts with the music?
“Of course. Without the song, I can’t make the visuals, I can’t conceptualise the show and I can’t pull the whole experience together. My music starts with a feeling and then I start dreaming about where I want to play it, what characters and themes it represents. It’s the spark that starts the whole process.”
Musically, who are you inspired by then?
“A lot of modern classic musicians such as Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Vangelis as well as indie bands Radiohead and Portishead. Warp Records and Aphex Twin were big inspirations at the beginning of Anyma as well. Now though, it could be anything that’s exciting.”
How did it feel to wrap up the ‘Genesys’ era earlier this year with ‘The End Of Genesys’?
“Like a weight off my chest. The way that whole project came to life, as both a live show and a story told across three albums, was liberating but also very challenging. We’re in an age where people want music as fast as possible, so [doing something across several years] went against the current. But it was important for me to keep it all connected as one body of work. The fact it’s all out is definitely a relief [but it also] feels like I succeeded in doing what I wanted.”
Why do you think people connected with that project?
“I wasn’t trying to make something that would appeal to everybody, I just wanted to explore topics that I really care about. I think you build a more dedicated fanbase when you explore specific things though [and create space] for them to try and understand your creative vision. Turns out there’s a lot of people who like atmospheric music, sci-fi and questions about the future.”
You’ve got Æden premiering at Coachella next year – what can you tell us about that?
“Not much beyond what’s written on the flyer. It’s basically a whole new world that I’m in the process of building right now. You can expect some new characters, new songs and different perspectives on the storytelling. I want to move forward. I want to carry on with the core of what I do, but also push things a little further.”
Between Worlds and Coachella, how do you feel about more people discovering the world of Anyma?
“It’s always interesting to expand the horizons of a project and have more people talking about it. I’m not scared of exploring that, if the opportunity is there. It just seems quite exciting.”
It’s a very digital project, so why is performing live so important?
“It’s the conclusion of every creative journey I do. I don’t need the recognition but when you see all these people resonating with what you’ve been building, it’s the greatest feeling. It’s gratifying and it’s what pushes you to keep going. The whole project is meant to [evoke] emotions from people and create community that maybe, at a later date, helps push things forward without me. The more exposure, the more people resonate with it, the better.”
League Of Legends Worlds 2025 opening ceremony takes place November 9 and fans can tune in live via lolesports.com.
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