The duo known as Pan-Pot have been at the forefront of the techno and electronic music community at large for more than two decades. In the following interview, Dirty Epic had a moment to talk to Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix of Pan-Pot about their style that has remained audience-focused, never self indulgent, and how they remain grounded as a pair of producers who have gained fame and accolades over the years.
We asked what makes the project tick from the studio to the stage, and what’s on the horizon for their HUMAN project that is a relaunch and reimagined path for the Pan-Pot duo and a home for a future roster of artists that embrace the embodiment of the next phase of the Pan-Pot sound…
Dirty Epic: What’s most striking about your music is that throughout your years as a duo, you’ve continued to walk a fine line between peak time techno, which has some classic elements of progressive, and even tech-trance at times, but ultimately still remains rooted to the harder and banging sounds of the warehouse-based underground techno sound.
How do you manage to stay grounded? Is there a reference point you look to? Like, what could be considered “a bridge too far” or even overindulgent?
Thomas: Honestly, staying grounded isn’t something I have to actively work on. It’s built into how we came up in the scene. We didn’t blow up overnight. We spent years playing small clubs, learning from the bottom up. When you’ve carried your own gear through a rainy Berlin night to play for 50 people, it gives you perspective and respect for the process.
I still hang with my oldest friends when I’m home. Fame or success shouldn’t change how you move through the world. If anything, it should make you more humble. Because this can all go away, but your character stays with you.
Tassilo: True words from Thomas. We grew into it and live it. I would like to define our selection of music as an essence of functional quality grooving Techno which for me is what i want to call TECHNO.
DE: Do you believe that the music of Pan-Pot is more crowd focused, and you’re interested in making the party go off, or do you think there’s a little bit of give and take, where you give a little bit of what they want, while also taking the crowd somewhere you’re interested in going?
Thomas: It’s definitely a give and take but we lead. For us, it’s about building trust with the crowd. You give them some of what they know, something familiar to grab onto, and then you push them deeper. Take them somewhere they didn’t think they’d go.
Our sets are built around tension. We might hold back for a while, stretch things out, build pressure and then drop something heavy or twisted, and you feel the shift in the room. That’s the magic. You’re not just reacting to the crowd, you’re shaping the night. It’s like storytelling, but with kick drums and distortion.
DE: Do either of you have private side projects that you do to relax or seek as an alternative to the heavy tour schedule and the refined conceptual Pan-Pot sound? Like would we be totally shocked if either of you were working on an electronic rock opera or an acid-free jazz-meets-schlager fusion project? Jokes aside, since the Pan-Pot sound is so well defined, do you take time out to chase artistic projects that are personally undefined?
Thomas: Haha okay, no acid-free jazz schlager yet… but never say never.
The truth is, yeah, sometimes we need space outside of the Pan-Pot universe. It’s a very focused project sonically, aesthetically and that’s part of why it works. But as artists, you need room to mess around, make mistakes, do things that don’t need to “work” on a dancefloor at 3 a.m. I wouldn’t say we’ve got secret aliases dropping ambient drone cassettes just yet, but we do explore sounds that wouldn’t fit into a Pan-Pot release.
For me, that space comes more from jamming at home with no agenda, just gear, coffee, and no pressure. Sometimes it’s straight-up weird stuff. Sometimes I’ll make loops that sound more like film scores, or just experiments in texture and space. It doesn’t always become something public, but it resets the brain.
Tassilo: At the moment my focus is fully on Pan-Pot and my family. We moved to the countryside away from Berlin big city life to enjoy our time together as a family.
I did quite a few releases under a different alias in a more electronica / indie dance direction. This is another genre I love to listen to and produce 🙂
DE: What would you say are the roles in production between the two of you? For example, does Tassilo control the drums, while Thomas is on synthesis duties? Maybe each song is a collaboration of layers, or do you both just produce one track in full and decide which ones are fitting for the Pan-Pot moniker?
Thomas: We get asked that a lot, like there’s a strict formula — “Tassilo does this, Thomas does that” — but it’s more fluid than that. There’s no fixed job title like “drum guy” or “synth guy.” Sometimes I’ll come in with a beat, sometimes Tassilo’s been up late building a crazy modular patch. It depends on the track, the mood, the coffee situation…
That said, we definitely have different strengths and instincts. Tassilo’s more methodical. He’ll go deep on structure, arrangement, and fine-tuning. I’m a bit more chaotic in the studio, chasing ideas and textures that feel raw or unexpected. But in the end, we always bounce stuff back and forth, refine it together, argue a bit, and then at some point it becomes Pan-Pot.
There are even tracks where one of us started it completely solo, and the other came in later and shaped it into something we both stand behind. That’s the beauty of trust; we know the sound we’re aiming for, and we’re both protective of that identity. If it doesn’t feel like Pan-Pot, it doesn’t get released under that name. Simple as that.
So yeah, it’s not about dividing up the studio like a factory, it’s about having a shared vision, and both of us pushing until the track hits that nerve.
DE: As far as DJ sets are concerned, you generally play as a duo. What’s the general workflow up there? Do you split out stems over 4 decks and blend them together live? Do you trade off? Or is one on DJ and FX duties while the other is doing the job of selector/feeder? Or is it a combination of these ideas?
Thomas: It’s a bit of a mix, but it’s way more instinctive than people probably imagine. There’s no strict plan or script. We don’t sit down and say “okay, you do FX, I do selection.” It’s more like two pilots flying the same aircraft. We know when to switch, when to push, when to hold. That kind of communication only comes from years of doing this together.
We usually play back-to-back, track for track but sometimes we’ll layer, loop, or run a couple of decks each if the energy calls for it. And yeah, we’ll throw effects in live, ride filters, extend breakdowns, push with snare rolls but always in service of the room
The trust between us is key. Like, if Tassilo pulls in a track I wasn’t expecting, I know he’s reading the vibe. I don’t second-guess it, I build on it. Same the other way around. And if one of us is deep in a moment, the other steps back and lets it happen.
We’re not trying to overcomplicate it. It’s still about groove, flow, tension. You can have all the gear in the world, but if you’re not in sync with each other and with the crowd it doesn’t matter.
So yeah, it’s kind of organized chaos… but with purpose.
DE: How do you keep DJing exciting and for yourselves artistically? Do you seek creative growth as a DJ Duo, or do you find that if things are overcomplicated, things may fly over some people’s heads?
Thomas: Yeah, that balance is everything. On one hand, we’re always chasing inspiration for new music, new ways to mix, layering different energies together. You want to stay sharp as a DJ, not just technically but emotionally too. If we’re bored, the crowd feels it. If we’re excited, they go with us. So we have to keep it fresh.
At the same time, we’re not playing for other producers or trying to be overly clever just for the sake of it. Overcomplicating things whether it’s six decks, abstract transitions, or overly cerebral tracks that can take you out of the moment. And that’s not the point. The point is connection.
So we look for growth, but in ways that serve the experience. Maybe it’s surprising the crowd with a track that breaks the tension in a beautiful or weird way. Maybe it’s pulling in something unexpected genre-wise without losing the thread. You grow by taking small risks, not by showing off.
We still get that feeling when a mix just locks in, or a breakdown hits perfectly because we held off for just the right amount of time. That’s why we do this. If you’re not still chasing those moments, you’re just going through the motions.
So yeah, creative growth is essential. But it’s got to move bodies and minds, not just impress them.
DE: You’re known for your second state label.. It never seemed to have slowed down for a second, but you have mentioned before launching the sublabel HUMAN things were winding down a bit. Can you speak on why you can consider this current version of Second State as revamped and what’s newly planned for it?
Tassilo: We took a break with signing 2024 as we had a major change in our administrative structure. We’ve split up with our former manager Markus who was also a shareholder in the label. It took us quite some time to finalize the breakup and also we needed some time to breathe and clarify what and where we want to go.
We just restart Second State and finalize the next release that will be released soon…
HUMAN is a newly created brand for us and a limited number of artists where we focus on a very clear musical direction for Pan-Pot. We do whatever we want to do as HUMAN releases music. Vocals, hooklines, oldschool, trancy, poppy, a bit of everything we like… It gives us more freedom and fun 🙂
DE: As for the sublabel HUMAN, It’s to be a series, correct? What are some ideas and themes we should expect to hear or explore?
Tassilo: It’s our personal playground and we will share it with a few selected artists. It’s mainly an event brand which we will bring around the world to showcase our vision of Techno and Tech House. We will bring likeminded artists and colleagues with us.
DE: Some say that the scene is in flux at the moment, there may be a change in the sound of techno and electronic music. What kinds of things have you been hearing on the road that seems intriguing to you?
Thomas: Yeah, for sure the scene is shifting, and honestly, it should be. If techno stayed frozen in time, it would die. What we’re hearing lately on the road is a kind of collision between raw energy and genre-crossing creativity.
You’ve got producers who were maybe into drum & bass or industrial, now bringing that attitude into techno sets. And it’s interesting, not always “refined” in the classic sense, but it hits a nerve.
Also, there’s a new openness to groove again in some corners like a re-embrace of funkier, loopy, percussive techno. Almost a nod to the early 2000s sound, but updated. That stuff excites us too, because it’s playable and fresh.
We’re not trying to chase every trend, but we’re always listening. When we hear something that feels raw but smart, something that challenges the format a bit we take note. Those are the artists you’ll see around in five years, not just one season.
So yeah, the scene is in flux and that’s a good thing. You just have to stay tuned in, without losing your own identity in the process
DE: You guys have been through a lot of changes in the music scene as well as made several adaptations as artists. From being leaders in the minimal techno scene, to champions of peaktime techno, to your current sound. With what is going on in the scene to date, where do you see Pan-Pot going next?
Tassilo: I see ourselves as the perfect fusion of Techno and Tech House as this is what I think is the best version of electronic dance music. It pushes you, it makes you dance, it makes you listen and discover.
-Interview by Sean Ocean
We’re happy to have Pan-Pot back with us in LA!
Make sure to catch Pan-Pot at the next RE/FORM Event happening on August 22nd. Get your tickets now. We’ll see you on the dancefloor.
Links:
RA: https://ra.co/dj/pan-pot
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/pan-pot
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