techno Paradies

Deep Deep Deep

A ‘pan-pot’ is a simple, functional dial that governs the left and right axis of the stereo field, useful but unremarkable; mobilee’s Pan-Pot is an entirely different proposition, a duo whose mastery of audio principles allows them to turn conventions on their heads, casting functionality aside as they plumb the deep, uncharted depths of pitch-black techno.

Since their inception in 2005, Pan-Pot have become a dominant presence in modern techno, an ascent mirrored in the rise of their home label mobilee records to the top tier of electronic music. Tagging themselves as “the dark side of the force,” Pan-Pot have melted minds, warped perceptions and reinvigorated the dancefloor with their heady, unorthodox sound; within their work, subtle pitch manipulations square off with wall-of-sound distortion, the dark stomp of 4/4 is tamed by intricate sound design, and minimalistic frameworks duel with throbbing bass lines, epic builds, and murky, off-kilter melodies.

Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix met at Berlin’s SAE, and their studies in the production and manipulation of sound aided them in identifying Pan-Pot’s overarching sound aesthetic. The duo booked Anja Schneider for an ill-fated party in 2005, but the unfortunate circumstances helped forge a fortuitous connection with Schneider and her then-fledgling mobilee imprint. Within weeks, mobilee’s second ever release was Pan-Pot’s official debut, „Copy and Paste“. The steady stream of original tracks and remixes that followed on mobilee and Einmaleins, charted the duo’s unwavering commitment to precise, undulating and kinetic grooves.

The defining moment of Pan-Pot’s career came in 2007 with the release of their debut artist album, Pan-O-Rama. The aptly named long-player offered a 360-degree view of techno at its most twisted, balancing somber atmospherics with a lightness of touch, and spawning the overground hit “Charly”. More recently “Confronted” and “Captain My Captain” have demonstrated their classic, strong and timely production style, presenting them as the most consistent purveyors of techno around.

Pan-Pot are ceaselessly working and endlessly inventive. When not in the studio writing original material or remixing tracks by a myriad of artists, they can be found on the road, touring. Their DJ sets reveal a keen understanding of the dancefloor’s needs, and they are unconstrained by boundaries, traversing techno, house and everything in between.

Pan-Pot may have taken their name from an unexceptional element of studio equipment, but as with their music, they have rewritten notions of form and function through their own idiosyncratic language; once you’ve experienced Pan-Pot’s colossal, haunting soundscapes you will never forget them. Their vision, passion, and love of music continues to drive Pan-Pot — and the extended mobilee team —in all that they continue to do, and all that will come.

Pan-Pot - Charly (Original) - mobilee030

Fractious - Old Gold [WAVEFORM]

Fractious - Prototype [WAVEFORM]

Dani Sbert - Pragmatik (Fractious Remix) [KRANNIT] 128Kbps

Eddie Hale - Thylacine (Fractious 'ADE Connection' Remix) [DIFFERENT IS DIFFERENT] 128Kbps

J&S Project - Slash (Fractious Remix) [BEAT THERAPY] 128Kbps

Ellen Allien - Freak The Night (Radio Slave Remix)

Pig & Dan - The Saint (Job San)

Maceo Plex is gearing up to release his second album next Spring and to get us suitably in the mood he's releasing the 'Journey to Solar' EP via Ellum which contains seven genre-hopping rippers.

Here we have 'Love On Time' which showcases venomous, intergalactic zaps act as the main crux of the track as oscillating riffs whip in and out of focus. The kicks are rugged and the snares bring a whole new element of groove when the second half hits. As far as teasers go, this one couldn't be more tantalising.

Journey to Solar

More exclusive music

Premiere: Maceo Plex 'Love On Time'

maetrik - the entity

TRONIC, KD RAW, TRANSMIT, WAVEFORM, TRAPEZ, MKT, GEM RECORDS, NIGHT LIGHT, LOOSE, M!SF!T, DYNAMO RECORDINGS, KMS RECORDS

www.instagram.com/fractious.music

BOOKING or REMIX REQUESTS: fractious.ni[AT]gmail.com

UK based Fractious (Stephen Garrett) has firmly fitted himself into the international techno community over the last few years, providing his own unique blend of groove based techno.  Having caught the attention of Christian Smith, he immediately signed him to his powerhouse label Tronic and a few months after selected for the annual Tronic Allstars VA.  Kevin Saunderson followed suit signing Fractious to his KMS Records, Victor Calderone for his Matter label, DJ Boris for his Transmit Recordings and lately Kaiserdisco for their KD RAW label.  

The success of these signings can be seen by the support from Ramon Tapia, Karotte, Slam, Paco Osuna, Markantonio, Mr. C, Pan-Pot, Just Be, Axel Karakasis, Kaiserdisco, Paco Osuna and Richie Hawtin having played his collaboration with Irregular Synth at the Enter closing party in Space and for a continued 6 months.  Next came Stacey Pullen charting a Fractious remix rocketing it into the Beatport Techno Top 100 and more regular plays from Richie Hawtin, from all over the globe, not only of his Fractious productions but also artists signed to his label Dynamo Recordings (co-owned with Ronan Teague - Decoy, Naked Lunch, Binary404). One track as such from Dynamo was used in an Official Minus Tour Video and was the first track in Richie Hawtin's BBC Radio One Essential Mix recorded live from Enter @ Space, Ibiza.

Fractious can be regularly found on other well-established labels such as Trapez, Waveform Recordings, Matter, MKT, Funk'n Deep, Loose Records, Gem Records, Pornographic, Night Light to name a few.

Fractious is in high demand when it comes to being remixed, with people such as Mr. C, Secret Cinema, ROD, Luigi Madonna, Frankyeffe, Steve Mulder, Richie Santana, Danilo Vigorito, Remy Unger, Petter B, Mars Bill, Matt Minimal, Dani Sbert, The Yellowheads, Alen Milivojevic, M. Fukuda, Peter Bailey, Etai Terazi all jumping at remix requests and always being approached by big labels and podcast sites.

Fractious is kept busy in the studio and as a testament to this his gig calendar is rarely empty with bookings around the globe, having just returned from a tour of Norway, Las Vegas and with his new formed close relationship with London based MiSFiT promoters, you can find him playing regularly in London's top underground clubs and releasing on their fresh new record label M!SF!T!!

Eddie Hale - Thylacine (Fractious 'ADE Connection' Remix) [DIFFERENT IS DIFFERENT] 128Kbps

Fractious (official)