Pan-Pot Feels Forte

Pan-Pot Feels Forte: Berlin-based techno duo Pan-Pot met in 2003 at the SAE Institute in Berlin.

“We both come from very different areas of Germany, along with two different musical directions,” they collectively say. “Tassilo grew up being influenced by Hip Hop and Grunge in his early teens, which was then followed by electronic music and drum and bass. Techno was a late addition in his 20’s. Thomas grew up in the Northeast of Germany, closer to Berlin and electronic music was a big part of his life, since he was 14 years old, which came from the legendary Thunderdome compilation. We soon realised that we got along and appreciated each other’s musical backgrounds. We had several studio sessions together and loved to listen to music. We locked ourselves in the smallest studio at school and got started, it was loud – we got a lot of funny looks from everyone when we were bouncing our heads to techno.”

The pair feel that their sound is ever-evolving, but is still recognizable.

“Our first album was Pan-O-Rama and it showed a wide spectrum of sounds that we produced,” they say. “Tracks like ‘Apocalyptic Horseman’ and ‘Faces’ were tracks that enables us to express differently than we have before. Now, our sound is harder and faster, but it’s still always got a groove. Our signature is created by a mixture of elements (vocals, SFX, how it’s mixed, break design and arrangement). We feel it works well on the dancefloor, but also it’s great to listen to on a run, at the gym, or in the car. It’s often not the case with techno produced for the clubs.”

Their latest release is the FORTE album.

“FORTE isn’t a typical album, it’s more a collection of tracks that display the past, present and future of Pan-Pot,” they say. “It takes the listener on a journey of the highs and lows over the last 20 years we have been making music. All the tracks are club focused, and we have been playing them out for the last 12 months. It was recorded in our studios in Berlin, and we felt it was time to make another long player, as the last album was 8 years ago. FORTE means strong, something you have to be to succeed for 20 years in music.”

The men of Pan-Pot say that it’s exciting to be part of an electronic music scene which has never been more popular.

“Hard techno has become the trend now and is hugely popular over many of the sub-genres within the electronic music bracket,” they say. “Social media has no doubt been a huge helping hand in making trends go viral as well as tracks. Whilst is a necessary evil, it’s something that allows us to reach a worldwide audience, with the click of a few buttons. We never had that opportunity before. It’s also bought in a younger crowd, and kids seem to be getting young and younger who get into dance music. Everything evolves, no matter what you do for a job, so you need to adapt and learn to grow and learn with it. Whilst many think the good old days were better, they are no longer here, and we have to look to the future, and how to make the best of it, anyway possible.”

Looking ahead, Pan-Pot has plenty planned for the coming months.

“FORTE drops on the November 17 on our label Second State, and we will be announcing an exciting remix pack of the album in 2024,” they say. “Gig wise we have a lot of US dates ahead, the first for Timewarp in New York on the November 17, Resistance in Miami on the 18th November first. Then we’ll be playing at Audio in San Francisco, and PROPER in San Diego on New Years Day. We have another 2 dates also which are not yet announced, so keep an eye on updates via our socials. See you guys on the dancefloor!””

Pan-Pot Feels Forte: Pan-Pot’s FORTE is our November 17. Pre-save to here.

Editor’s note: The disclaimer below refers to advertising posts and does not apply to this or any other editorial stories. LA Weekly editorial does not and will not sell content.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.