When Sibel Koçer came to Berlin in 2012 to study nursing, she probably didn’t think that she’d become one of the city’s most sought-after electronic artists. Since arriving in the capital, the modular synth artist, aka JakoJako, quickly established herself as one to watch, known for her wide musical range, from wistful ambient to doomy techno.
Starting out behind the counter at Berlin’s – if not the world’s – most important synth and modular shop, SchneidersLaden, Koçer went on to make a name for herself within the club circuit before hitting what many consider a major milestone in techno: becoming a Berghain resident in 2021.
That same year, after several releases and collaborations, she was picked to remix New Order’s single ‘Be A Rebel’ – the beginning of a new and fruitful relationship with the legendary Mute Records, home to Erasure, Nick Cave, Moby and Depeche Mode. This July sees Koçer’s first release on the label’s subsidiary imprint, NovaMute. The Segmente EP is bursting with dark, driving, pulsing techno, ripe for today’s dance floors. Ahead of the new record, we catch up with Koçer about how it all started, how she met Mute Records’ figurehead Daniel Miller, and what it’s like making music for one of the most important record labels around.
You moved to Berlin in 2012 to study nursing – now you’re an electronic producer and a DJ. What happened back then?
Whenever I go somewhere else and I get back to Berlin I get this feeling of relief.
I moved into what you’d now call an ‘inclusion WG’. I was looking for a flat, and it was already hard ten years ago. I came across this ad: ‘a woman in a wheelchair is looking for a flatmate’. I’m an ex-nurse, so that worked, and I lived there for eight years. It was really nice, but at one point I needed to find something else. Where I was living, there was an artist house called Neu West. They had some different locations. At this point, they were based on Köpenicker Straße.
It was wild, there was something [going on] every weekend. I would walk along the street and often hear nice music. I would go in, and there would be hardcore music, or someone playing the piano. There, I learned a lot about electronic music and performing live. Every time there was a live set, I would go to the front and ask how stuff worked. And just down the road was Tresor, and I made friends at the door and bar, so whenever there was a live set, I could also go to the booth and see how they put their set together. I learned a lot there.
You have a new record out on NovaMute in July. How does it feel to be working with such a definitive label, and are there any other moments that have felt like turning points?
I remember the first time Daniel Miller asked me if I wanted to do a release with him, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my god, isn’t this the label where Platstikman, Emmanuel Top and all these guys released in the 90s?’ I was pumped and excited. For sure the biggest moment was when Daniel called up SchneidersLaden and asked for JakoJako because he was looking for a remix for New Order. After that I was crying a little bit. It’s a big honour to work with Mute and Novamute – to work with these people who have been doing this forever.
Me and Daniel, we knew each other before. He was a customer at Schneiders, and I always saw him coming in. He has an interesting taste in modular gear, and we would chat about modulars, but I never knew he was this big label boss. He always called me by my first name. He never knew I made music. It was the label who said that he should check me out.
How did the album come about?
Daniel was asking if I had any new music. Last year, I was playing a lot of live shows in the club context, but this year I’m doing more ambient shows, for performances, or with ensembles and dancers. I had a lot of music on my machines, because I was playing live at least once a month. So I sent him stuff, and we decided after that it’s going to be released on NovaMute. I’m actually working on a more ambient record that will probably be released on Mute.
Ah yes, the project when you collaborated with Detect Ensemble, can you tell us a little bit more about that?
The ensemble project happened because the band reached out to me. They have this festival, Detect, and invited me for a live set last year. While there, the curator said, ‘Hey, we have this ensemble, and we would love to collaborate.’ They mainly come from a jazz background, so they’re open-minded. Which is my other kink: weird noises. We had one show last year at the Beethoven[fest], which was pretty fun and it was all improvised.
The thing I like the most about collaboration with other people is the feeling when everyone brings a certain thing, a skill, and then you do it for the bigger picture, and not to just do it as a solo performer. This also translates to the project I do with the dance group. I do the music and they do the performance. Music is just one part of the whole show – this is where I get the most fun, and creativity, this feeling that you all create. You get his buzz when everything all comes together.
You’ve got a compilation coming out soon on US label Air Texture. What is your approach when it comes to compiling other people’s music as opposed to creating your own?
The Air Texture compilation is very diverse and eclectic. I call it Hardwired, like you have with synthesisers that are prewired, that come with [a certain] function. These are called hardwired synths. This translates to humans, with whom you need to make conversations to make friendships, like plugging cables into a modular synth. With hardwired synths you can straight start without any small talk. You have this instant connection when you meet hardware-based producers on for example a party. You have an instant topic to speak about without any unnecessary small talk. You have a passion in common: electronic music made with hardware – you are hardwired.
You might not have become a nurse like you originally planned, but Berlin has become your home. What is it about the city that made you stay and how has it influenced the music you make?
In general, Berlin for me is the place where people do whatever they want. Even with things like inflation and rent going up, the spirit stays. People just do whatever they want: dress how they like, have funny haircuts, are proud of their bodies and diverse looks. You see all the colours and body shapes on the streets and they are proud of it! Whenever I go somewhere else and I get back to Berlin I get this feeling of relief. And for me, this influences my music. I do what I like to do, don’t try to go too commercial and do whatever I feel, because I know it will be accepted – at least in Berlin, anyway.
- Segmente is out July 26, follow JakoJako on Instagram at @jakojako_live
This article has been updated from its original print version published in the July/August issue of The Berliner, which incorrectly stated that Sibel Koçer is originally from Turkey.
