James GordonTassilo Ippenberger’s (l) travels with as a part of duo Pan-Pot (with Thomas Benedix, r) have taken him to weird and wonderful places
What’s it like to travel the world as a DJ?
For this weeks On The Road With, we chat with Tassilo Ippenberger about his experiences in the world of travel.
The Berlin-based techno DJ and producer, one half of Pan-Pot, talks about Templin’s historic charm, a wild tour across Germany and a hair-raising boat trip in Honolulu.
What’s your favourite on-the-road moment?
Our Destination Time Warp tour across Germany in 2019. Time Warp Festival is one of our most loved events and the idea was to travel through the country, playing smaller clubs and events in towns such as Leipzig, Münster and Nuremberg until the big final show in Mannheim.
We don’t usually travel for that long by tour bus and it felt like being in a band, living the rock ’n’ roll life. We had smoke machines, loads of booze and a fun crew.
The top floor of the bus would be full of smoke, Firestarter by The Prodigy would be pumping out of our speakers and we’d be drunk, running around and dancing.
The best show was at Kalif Storch in Erfurt. It’s such a lovely club, run by a collective of very caring, social, enthusiastic music nerds who cooked for us before the show and welcomed us into their lives for a night.
Tassilo grew up in the pretty medieval town of Templin in northern Germany (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
What’s your favourite city?
My hometown Templin, a tiny village about 50 miles north-east of Berlin. It dates back to the 1200s and is medieval in its aesthetic with a really interesting ancient city wall.
I love it because the people are still real. If they are having a bad day they will let you know immediately, just as I would too.
I own a restaurant there with my mum, which is named Café Pina, after my eldest daughter.
All the fish and meat served is sourced from the forest in the area and it serves traditional Brandenburg dishes such as bockwurst sausage with potato salad.
What keeps you sane on the road?
Thomas [Benedix, the other half of Pan-Pot] and I play a lot of sports together and explore by running, which helps us to connect with each other but also with the places we go to, in a healthy way.
Besides that, we use the travel hours between shows to produce and prepare music, read books or magazines and play games. If you do it right, you don’t go insane.
It might look beautiful in the day, but a nighttime boat ride in Hawaii proved pretty scary (Picture: Getty Images)
When have you been most frightened while travelling?
In Hawaii, when we played a boat party at Diamond Head, a volcanic ash cone on the island of Oahu. Someone broke the jet ski that was supposed to bring us back to the beach so we had to sail back to Honolulu in the middle of the night.
We were a group of way too many people for the boat, the water was wild and cold, the captain was drunk, and the boat was being tossed around by three-metre waves in an ocean full of sharks. It was pretty scary.
Have you ever taken anything from a hotel room?
Mostly we leave and forget stuff but over the years we’ve taken towels, pillows, cosmetics, mirrors… basically everything that hasn’t been nailed to the wall.
What’s been your most life-changing experience while travelling?
Thomas was petrified of flying until we became successful DJs. Flying is an inevitable and regular part of the job.
He faced his fear head on and is no longer fearful, flying freely between gigs, which is amazing and life-changing and makes our work far easier.
Sky high: The Ozone restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong (Picture: Edward Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Where’s the strangest place you’ve spent the night?
One of our first international shows was in Poland. We played in the middle of the forest in what looked like an old amphitheatre and our bedrooms were next to the venue in a disused youth hostel.
We were surrounded by really weird people all night, sharing one room and sleeping in two tiny beds fitted with wet sheets.
And the best place you’ve spent the night?
We once played at Ozone Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. The hotel manager liked what we did so he gave us the two top suites, which have indoor and outdoor infinity tubs and telescopes so you can take in the waterfront vistas across Victoria Harbour and the skyline. I’ll never forget waking up in the clouds (rooms from £219.40).
Have you ever come close to being arrested?
Yes, in Argentina. I can’t say much but thankfully they found out I was not the guy they were looking for.
Breathtaking Patagonia is on the bucket list (Picture: Getty Images)
Where are you hoping to go next?
The consequences of the pandemic have paused the party scene and travel life but we really hope to start touring again this year.
I really want to go to Patagonia as I’ve seen so many pictures of the endless nature there. I want to go by motorcycle, crossing in the Andes, and explore everything.
Let’s Play With DJs, Pan-Pot’s bridge between the worlds of gaming and music, streams every Wednesday at 6.30pm on Twitch.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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Tassilo Ippenberger’s (left) travels as a member of the duo Pan-Pot (with Thomas Benedicks, right) took him to strange and wonderful places.
How does it feel to travel the world as a DJ?
This weeks we talk to Tassilo Ippenberger about his experiences in the world of travel.
The Berlin DJ and techno producer, half Pan-Pot, talks about Templin’s historic charm, a tour of wild Germany and a hairy boat trip to Honolulu.
What is your favorite time on the road?
Tour in Germany in 2019. The Time Warp Festival is one of our favourite events and the idea was to travel around the country playing in small clubs and events in cities like Leipzig, Münster and Nuremberg until the big final show in Mannheim.
Usually we don’t take the tour bus that long and feel like we’re in a band and living the rock ‘n’ roll life. We had smoke machines, lots of alcohol, and a nice crew.
The top floor of the bus would be filled with smoke, The Prodigy’s Firestarter would be blaring from our speakers, and we would be drunk, running and dancing.
The best show took place at the Kalif Storch in Erfurt. It’s a great club run by a group of very caring, social and enthusiastic nerds who got us ready for the show and welcomed us for the night in their lives.
Tassilo grew up in the beautiful medieval town of Tamplin in northern Germany (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
What is your favorite city?
My birthplace is Templin, a small village about 80 km northeast of Berlin. Dating back to the 1200s, it is medieval in its aesthetic with a very interesting old city wall.
I like it because people are still real. If they’re having a bad day, they’ll let you know right away, and so will I.
My mother and I have a restaurant there called Cafe Pina, named after my oldest daughter.
The fish and meat served comes from the local forest, and traditional Brandenburg dishes such as bok sausage with potato salad are also served.
What keeps you sane on the road?
Thomas [Benedicks, the other half of Pan-Pot] and I do a lot of sports together and we explore while running, which helps us connect in a healthy way, not only with each other but also with the places we go.
We also use the travel time between shows to produce and prepare music, read books or magazines, and play games. If you do it right, you won’t go crazy.
It might look beautiful during the day, but a nighttime boat ride in Hawaii is pretty scary (Photo: Getty Images)
When were you most afraid when travelling?
In Hawaii, when we had a boat party at Diamond Head, a volcanic ash cone on the island of Oahu. The jet ski that was supposed to take us back to the beach was broken, so we had to return to Honolulu in the middle of the night.
We were too big a group for the boat, the water was wild and cold, the captain was drunk, and the boat was being tossed by 3-foot waves into an ocean full of sharks. It was pretty scary.
Have you ever taken something out of a hotel room?
Usually we leave and forget things, but over the years we have towels, pillows, cosmetics, mirrors…. …with us. Actually, anything that wasn’t nailed to the wall.
What is the most important experience you had during your trip?
Thomas was dumbfounded before we became successful DJs. Flying is an inevitable and regular part of the job.
He faced his fear and is no longer afraid. He flies free between concerts, which is amazing and life-changing and makes our job so much easier.
The sky is high: The Ozone restaurant at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong (Photo: Edward Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
What is the strangest place you have ever stayed?
One of our first international exhibitions took place in Poland. We played in the middle of the forest in what looked like an old amphitheater, and our rooms were next door in an abandoned youth hostel.
All night we were surrounded by very strange people, sharing a room and sleeping in two small beds with wet sheets.
And the best place you’ve ever stayed?
We played once at the Ozone Bar at the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong. The hotel manager liked what we did and offered us two of the best suites with indoor and outdoor hot tubs and telescopes so you could enjoy the view of Victoria Harbour and the skyline. I’ll never forget waking up in the clouds (rooms from £219.40).
Have you ever been on the verge of arrest?
Yes, in Argentina. I can’t say much, but luckily they found out I wasn’t the guy they were looking for.
Spectacular Patagonia is on the to-do list (Photo: Getty Images)
Where do you want to go next?
The effects of the pandemic have put holiday and touring life on hold, but we really hope to get back on the road this year.
I really want to go to Patagonia because I have seen so many images of infinite nature there. I want to ride my bike, cross the Andes and explore everything.
Let’s play with the DJs bridges the world of games and the world of music and streams every Wednesday at 6:30pm on Twitch.
Do you have something to tell me?
Please contact us at the following address [email protected].
MORE: What is a travel corridor and what are the current travel rules?
MORE: Guide of Guadeloupe : Covids business, travel restrictions, expenses and more.
MORE: From Bridgerton to Black Narcissus, the best TV-inspired destinations to add to your to-do list.
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James Gordon
