Pan-Pot
The up-and-coming German techno duo make their Tokyo debut

Courtesy of Real Grooves

Named after the dial on a mixer that controls left/right
balance, Pan-Pot are the young Berlin duo of Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix. Admired for their distinctively ominous take on the clicks and bloops of minimal techno, Pan-Pot this fall followed up a slew of singles with their first full album, Pan-O-Rama. Metropolis put its fingers to the keyboards and punched out a few quick questions for the duo prior to their upcoming appearance at Yellow for 2008’s first installment of the revered club’s enduring Real Grooves series.

How did you come up with your name?
We had another name before, but had to change it. We took our electronic dictionary and pointed blindly at it three times. The third time, we pointed to “pan-pot.” Good story, right?

Tell me about the creation of Pan-o-Rama.
We took more than one year to make it, from the first ideas till the final mixing. It was planned as a dance album from the beginning, with different influences, from house to techno and some broken beats. It was fun doing it and a good chance to show what we like.

What defines the ideal club set?
A three- to four-hour-long wave going up and down ending with a final big bang.

What is right and wrong about the current dance music scene?
We’re really bad judges ’cause we try to concentrate on our own music.

How about in Berlin?
Perfect city, peaceful, wild, free and cheap. We enjoy living here. It’s good for making music… with nice people and talented colleagues.

Do you see yourself DJing in 10, 20 years’ time?
At the moment we see ourselves DJing next weekend.

If not, what do you see yourself doing?
Playing accordion and Jew’s harp!

How do you think DJing will have changed?
Minority Report DJing.

How will your set stand out among the many touring DJs that Tokyo clubbers listen to?
If we can’t stand out with our DJ performance, we’ll get naked and dance on the tables.

Yellow, Jan 19. See club listings for details.

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