TuneLab
JakoJako x Philippa Pacho
Upclose 2025
When the brief is 'Upclose', we expect a certain kind of intensity: a lean, functional, and hypnotic techno tracklist designed for reduced space and amplified focus. JakoJako and Philippa Pacho deliver precisely that for Upclose 2025, a collaborative live set that locks into a relentless, percussive groove and doesn't let go. The vibe is clinical yet charged, all stark lighting and sub-bass pressure, a laboratory for rhythmic experimentation. Technically, this is peak-time, tunnel-vision techno, maintaining a firm, driving average of 138.5 BPM.
The key of 12A dominates, providing a dark, minor foundation for the entire exercise, with very little harmonic deviation. The energy is overwhelmingly concentrated in the low-end (0.69 avg_low), with the mid-range (0.29 avg) reserved for clattering percussion and the occasional eerie stab, and almost no melodic high-end (0.02 avg). The mixing is tight and economical, favoring quick cuts and long, overlapping locks of rhythm to build a dense, monolithic wall of sound. For the techno archivists, the selections are razor-sharp: Rene Wise's 'Anxiety' is a modern minimal techno staple, all paranoid bass and skittering hats.
Colin Benders' 'I Can’t Feel My Legs' brings a raw, analog squelch, while Translate's 'Vapours (Orbe Remix)' is a masterclass in atmospheric, dub-inflected pressure. Jauri's 'Annularis' offers a more textured, industrial flavor, and the sheer audacity of dropping a twisted, JS16-remixed 'Sandstorm' is the kind of curveball we live for. The set builds from an unknown, murky opener through a peak of industrial fervor, and concludes with the disorienting, cyrillic-titled punch of Ruki Vverkh's 'Крошка моя'—a closing track that leaves the floor in a state of bewildered, bass-drunk cohesion.