JakoJako

It all started with an urge to play with sound and a desire to know more. After several years buried in books, manuals, patch cables and messing with a DIY synth, JakoJako (real name Sibel Koçer) was playing her first live sets in Berlin, spending every spare cent on Eurorack modules. The passion soon became all-consuming, and in 2017 she left her nursing career to work at Berlin’s synth shop institution SchneidersLaden. Here she’s been sharing her grasp of tools and techniques with the city’s music maker community.

Technique is no use without ideas to apply it to–fortunately JakoJako has a natural curiosity. “When you hear a sound in an environment, say a car passing by, you don’t appreciate the complexity until you think how you might synthesize it,”JakoJako explains.“Then it becomes something abstract; a collection of modulated pitches and timbres. I love to listen to the world like this.”

Her approach may seem studious, but JakoJako uses this fluency in the language of sound to convey emotion. Each track is an experiment, with success based on the intensity of feeling it creates. Her EPs Aequilibration and Lux showcased this explorative mindset, with very different stylistic ideas tied together through emotive sound design, sharp production, and a strong sense of melody.

With regular events disappearing in 2020, live music migrated to URL, finding a global audience in shared experience of isolation. After streaming a live set with HÖR she was invited to join ARTE, Innervisions and United We Stream alongside Âme and FrankWiedermann. This led to a filmed live performance in her studio for FACT Magazine’sPatch Notesseries and an in-depth studio feature for Electronic Beats, which together amassed over a million views (and counting). More recently, she’s followed up with live performances with Annalise van Even aka Nanaat Superbooth and Kraftwerk Berlin.

IRL JakoJako has made good use of studio time: she’s contributed tracks to compilation son BPitch Control, Tresor and Figure as well as remixing crouds, New Order and MartinGore. More new music by Berghain’s resident is imminent in 2022, with new albums on Bigamo Musik and WSNWG plus a novamute EP. JakoJako’s future, it seems, is akin to modular synthesis: sonically endless, full of opportunity, with boundaries yet to be pushed.

JakoJako has been an avid Iridium Desktop user for quite a while and we are very proud to see Iridium becoming an intergral part of her music. She was one of the main motivators to develop a new smaller form factor to better support her extensive travel schedule. With the increasing trend of blending pure DJ sets with live elentronic performances, we are happy to provide with Iridium Core a super capable instrument ready to be taken everywhere. We love JakoJako’s music and are exited about her next releases.

What is the first thing you do when approaching a new synth?

It needs to have something special/new other synths don’t have. I like it compact and well thought through. It has to be portable and it needs the right amount of depth, so I don’t get bored of it too quickly.

Using presets or patching your own sounds?

Definitely patching my own sounds, but I think it’s Ok to get inspired by presets, especially if you’re not that experienced yet with for instance a new synth. It’s fun to learn from presets and modifying them to your needs ;)

What is your production process: in-the-box or played live?

I jam freely and when I decide to record, I do it either multitrack or layer by layer with time. It’s nice to concentrate on one sound of the track and max out the details with 2 hands.

At what time of day or night will we meet you most often in your studio?

All day and night if possible haha sometimes it’s too much and my smartwatch is telling me to stand up a bit more. But generally I like the freshness of the morning and the deep silent focus of the night.
When all the neighbours lights are turned off and mine is full on I  feel suddenly like an creative artist hahaha

How does your live set-up look like?

It really depends on the show, but I generally try to not bring more than one case full of gear. For techno gigs it’s a drum machine with some saturation to smier it a bit together, a sequencer/sampler, a processing eurorack and a compressor/saturator on the master insert. For ambient live shows I usually only bring the modular. From now on I will also bring the CORE for pads and chords <3 My live set up constantly changes constantly and always. it’s an ongoing process.

What role do Waldorf synths play in your music?

When I think of Waldorf, I hear wavetables. The blofeld was my introduction into that form of synthesis and was my standard from then on. So the role of my Waldorf synths is to create rich sounds in a quick intuitive way, which is perfect in situations like jams with other musicians. The Waldorf instruments have a large spectrum in sounds. From sound design a la Richard Devine to Detroit chords a la Mike Huckaby.  I can make whole tracks with the Iridium – it’s inspirational, intuitive and never disappoints.

On what projects are you currently working on?

Rn i finished an EP for MUTE records. In winter I will disappear for a bit and work on my new album for mute :)

„What I love the most about this dream machine is that it’s super easy to integrate into any already existing live set up. All necessary connections are there and work smoothly together. It’s small and handy, but feels solid and sounds big“.

JakoJako about Waldorf Iridium Core

For this stream, JakoJako created a very special performance with dancer and choreographer Annalise Van Even, aka Nana, using the Waldorf Iridium Desktop.

JakoJako at INTRO Music Festival.

JakoJako

It all started with an urge to play with sound and a desire to know more. After several years buried in books, manuals, patch cables and messing with a DIY synth, JakoJako (real name Sibel Koçer) was playing her first live sets in Berlin, spending every spare cent on Eurorack modules. The passion soon became all-consuming, and in 2017 she left her nursing career to work at Berlin’s synth shop institution SchneidersLaden. Here she’s been sharing her grasp of tools and techniques with the city’s music maker community.

Technique is no use without ideas to apply it to–fortunately JakoJako has a natural curiosity. “When you hear a sound in an environment, say a car passing by, you don’t appreciate the complexity until you think how you might synthesize it,”JakoJako explains.“ Then it becomes something abstract; a collection of modulated pitches and timbres. I love to listen to the world like this.”

Her approach may seem studious, but JakoJako uses this fluency in the language of sound to convey emotion. Each track is an experiment, with success based on the intensity of feeling it creates. Her EPs Aequilibration and Lux showcased this explorative mindset, with very different stylistic ideas tied together through emotive sound design, sharp production, and a strong sense of melody.

With regular events disappearing in 2020, live music migrated to URL, finding a global audience in shared experience of isolation. After streaming a live set with HÖR she was invited to join ARTE, Innervisions and United We Stream alongside Âme and FrankWiedermann. This led to a filmed live performance in her studio for FACT Magazine’sPatch Notesseries and an in-depth studio feature for Electronic Beats, which together amassed over a million views (and counting). More recently, she’s followed up with live performances with Annalise van Even aka Nanaat Superbooth and Kraftwerk Berlin.

IRL JakoJako has made good use of studio time: she’s contributed tracks to compilation son BPitch Control, Tresor and Figure as well as remixing crouds, New Order and MartinGore. More new music by Berghain’s resident is imminent in 2022, with new albums on Bigamo Musik and WSNWG plus a novamute EP. JakoJako’s future, it seems, is akin to modular synthesis: sonically endless, full of opportunity, with boundaries yet to be pushed.

JakoJako has been an avid Iridium Desktop user for quite a while and we are very proud to see Iridium becoming an intergral part of her music. She was one of the main motivators to develop a new smaller form factor to better support her extensive travel schedule. With the increasing trend of blending pure DJ sets with live elentronic performances, we are happy to provide with Iridium Core a super capable instrument ready to be taken everywhere. We love JakoJako’s music and are existed about her next releases.

What is the first thing you do when approaching a new synth?

It needs to have something special/new other synths don’t have. I like it compact and well thought through. It has to be portable and it needs the right amount of depth, so I don’t get bored of it too quickly.

Using presets or patching your own sounds?

Definitely patching my own sounds, but I think it’s Ok to get inspired by presets, especially if you’re not that experienced yet with for instance a new synth. It’s fun to learn from presets and modifying them to your needs ;)

What is your production process: in-the-box or played live?

I jam freely and when I decide to record, I do it either multitrack or layer by layer with time. It’s nice to concentrate on one sound of the track and max out the details with 2 hands.

At what time of day or night will we meet you most often in your studio?

All day and night if possible haha sometimes it’s too much and my smartwatch is telling me to stand up a bit more. But generally I like the freshness of the morning and the deep silent focus of the night.
When all the neighbours lights are turned off and mine is full on I  feel suddenly like an creative artist hahaha

How does your live set-up look like?

It really depends on the show, but I generally try to not bring more than one case full of gear. For techno gigs it’s a drum machine with some saturation to smier it a bit together, a sequencer/sampler, a processing eurorack and a compressor/saturator on the master insert. For ambient live shows I usually only bring the modular. From now on I will also bring the CORE for pads and chords <3 My live set up constantly changes constantly and always. it’s an ongoing process.

What role do Waldorf synths play in your music?

When I think of Waldorf, I hear wavetables. The blofeld was my introduction into that form of synthesis and was my standard from then on. So the role of my Waldorf synths is to create rich sounds in a quick intuitive way, which is perfect in situations like jams with other musicians. The Waldorf instruments have a large spectrum in sounds. From sound design a la Richard Devine to Detroit chords a la Mike Huckaby.  I can make whole tracks with the Iridium – it’s inspirational, intuitive and never disappoints.

On what projects are you currently working on?

Rn i finished an EP for MUTE records. In winter I will disappear for a bit and work on my new album for mute :)

„What I love the most about this dream machine is that it’s super easy to integrate into any already existing live set up. All necessary connections are there and work smoothly together. It’s small and handy, but feels solid and sounds big“.

JakoJako about Waldorf Iridium Core

For this stream, JakoJako created a very special performance with dancer and choreographer Annalise Van Even, aka Nana, using the Waldorf Iridium Desktop.

JakoJako at INTRO Music Festival.

JakoJako

It all started with an urge to play with sound and a desire to know more. After several years buried in books, manuals, patch cables and messing with a DIY synth, JakoJako (real name Sibel Koçer) was playing her first live sets in Berlin, spending every spare cent on Eurorack modules. The passion soon became all-consuming, and in 2017 she left her nursing career to work at Berlin’s synth shop institution SchneidersLaden. Here she’s been sharing her grasp of tools and techniques with the city’s music maker community.

Technique is no use without ideas to apply it to–fortunately JakoJako has a natural curiosity. “When you hear a sound in an environment, say a car passing by, you don’t appreciate the complexity until you think how you might synthesize it,”JakoJako explains.“ Then it becomes something abstract; a collection of modulated pitches and timbres. I love to listen to the world like this.”

Her approach may seem studious, but JakoJako uses this fluency in the language of sound to convey emotion. Each track is an experiment, with success based on the intensity of feeling it creates. Her EPs Aequilibration and Lux showcased this explorative mindset, with very different stylistic ideas tied together through emotive sound design, sharp production, and a strong sense of melody.

With regular events disappearing in 2020, live music migrated to URL, finding a global audience in shared experience of isolation. After streaming a live set with HÖR she was invited to join ARTE, Innervisions and United We Stream alongside Âme and FrankWiedermann. This led to a filmed live performance in her studio for FACT Magazine’sPatch Notesseries and an in-depth studio feature for Electronic Beats, which together amassed over a million views (and counting). More recently, she’s followed up with live performances with Annalise van Even aka Nanaat Superbooth and Kraftwerk Berlin.

IRL JakoJako has made good use of studio time: she’s contributed tracks to compilation son BPitch Control, Tresor and Figure as well as remixing crouds, New Order and MartinGore. More new music by Berghain’s resident is imminent in 2022, with new albums on Bigamo Musik and WSNWG plus a novamute EP. JakoJako’s future, it seems, is akin to modular synthesis: sonically endless, full of opportunity, with boundaries yet to be pushed.

JakoJako has been an avid Iridium Desktop user for quite a while and we are very proud to see Iridium becoming an intergral part of her music. She was one of the main motivators to develop a new smaller form factor to better support her extensive travel schedule. With the increasing trend of blending pure DJ sets with live elentronic performances, we are happy to provide with Iridium Core a super capable instrument ready to be taken everywhere. We love JakoJako’s music and are existed about her next releases.

What is the first thing you do when approaching a new synth?

It needs to have something special/new other synths don’t have. I like it compact and well thought through. It has to be portable and it needs the right amount of depth, so I don’t get bored of it too quickly.

Using presets or patching your own sounds?

Definitely patching my own sounds, but I think it’s Ok to get inspired by presets, especially if you’re not that experienced yet with for instance a new synth. It’s fun to learn from presets and modifying them to your needs ;)

What is your production process: in-the-box or played live?

I jam freely and when I decide to record, I do it either multitrack or layer by layer with time. It’s nice to concentrate on one sound of the track and max out the details with 2 hands.

At what time of day or night will we meet you most often in your studio?

All day and night if possible haha sometimes it’s too much and my smartwatch is telling me to stand up a bit more. But generally I like the freshness of the morning and the deep silent focus of the night.
When all the neighbours lights are turned off and mine is full on I  feel suddenly like an creative artist hahaha

How does your live set-up look like?

It really depends on the show, but I generally try to not bring more than one case full of gear. For techno gigs it’s a drum machine with some saturation to smier it a bit together, a sequencer/sampler, a processing eurorack and a compressor/saturator on the master insert. For ambient live shows I usually only bring the modular. From now on I will also bring the CORE for pads and chords <3 My live set up constantly changes constantly and always. it’s an ongoing process.

What role do Waldorf synths play in your music?

When I think of Waldorf, I hear wavetables. The blofeld was my introduction into that form of synthesis and was my standard from then on. So the role of my Waldorf synths is to create rich sounds in a quick intuitive way, which is perfect in situations like jams with other musicians. The Waldorf instruments have a large spectrum in sounds. From sound design a la Richard Devine to Detroit chords a la Mike Huckaby.  I can make whole tracks with the Iridium – it’s inspirational, intuitive and never disappoints.

On what projects are you currently working on?

Rn i finished an EP for MUTE records. In winter I will disappear for a bit and work on my new album for mute :)

„What I love the most about this dream machine is that it’s super easy to integrate into any already existing live set up. All necessary connections are there and work smoothly together. It’s small and handy, but feels solid and sounds big“.

JakoJako about Waldorf Iridium Core

For this stream, JakoJako created a very special performance with dancer and choreographer Annalise Van Even, aka Nana, using the Waldorf Iridium Desktop.

JakoJako at INTRO Music Festival.