dig dis!cover with PACT

How would you describe what PACT actually is to someone who's never heard of you?
JOACHIM: The three of us each have our individual careers. But at some point we decided to do a new project together. It started with a live show - we wanted to be closer to the crowd, to people. We'd been touring for 10 years and we wanted something new. So we built a live show with special machines where people can actually interact with the sound. Anyone at the party can come on stage - or sometimes we play in the middle of the crowd - and they can interact. They can actually cut the sound if they want. They have real power. That show was - and is a success. We’re going to start the second tour soon. Then we started a label, also called PACT, where we release our own music and have full creative control.

Was there a specific moment when you decided to become PACT, or was it a long process?
JORIS: Actually it went pretty fast. I had the idea in September 2024, spoke to Teho and he was immediately into it. Then we brought in Joachim and he was in too. We're longtime friends - we know each other for years, do stuff together for years. It felt like a natural evidence.
TEHO: And then in December 2024, our booking agent came to us and said: "I have a show for you in August - do something.“ So we started, and it was intense. We had to build machines, build a new live show, remix our music to bring our sounds together. Not a long process - but an exhausting one.

The name PACT implies a commitment. Was that intentional?
JOACHIM: Exactly - you're spot on. We wanted it to symbolise the bond between us, but also between us and the crowd. The connection we literally create in the show, where people come and actually play, touch things, become part of the music. The name PACT represents that.

Was there something each of you had to give up to make this work?
TEHO: Not really. The PACT project has taken on more ambition than our solo careers for now - we're touring a lot, especially in France - but we haven't given up on our individual projects. We can play as PACT one day in Marseille and the next day with our own projects. It's a step on top, not instead of.

Would you say PACT is reacting to something in the current music landscape?
JOACHIM: You always hear artists say they want to feel connected to the crowd. But for many years, those have just been words. We thought: why not make it real? Take the risk and let people actually share the moment with us. We've had so many people tell us it was the best day of their life - something they'll never forget. I feel like we've pushed the boundary of what „being close to the public“ really means. And it was also a technical challenge - building a show with homemade machines that total beginners can walk up and use, and it still sounds good for everyone else. We love creating music, we love building machines, we love being geeks. So we pushed it to the maximum we could. That's really what this is.

What did existing tools not give you - and how did you solve it?
TEHO: Take the drum pad as an example. The machine itself exists - you can buy it online - but we changed the process inside. We wanted anyone, even someone who's never played drums, to come on stage and make something that sounds pleasant. So we set it up so that every hit is in key with the music we're playing - and it always lands on the grid, meaning you can never be off- tempo. Whatever you do, you're in time. That's one small example of many things Joachim built - hardware, software, PCB, code, all of it.
JORIS: We also built a large custom controller for the crowd - because regular controllers have tiny knobs and buttons. You can't hand that to someone who's never touched gear.
JOACHIM: So we built something that's intuitive, something you just understand when you pick it up. We have a keyboard where you can come and play, even if you've never played one in your life - it will always sound good. You still make real decisions, but there's a net underneath. And sometimes things go wrong - someone stops the music by accident - and honestly? That makes it better. Everyone laughs, we start again, and it's even more alive.

What would a fly on the wall see in a PACT rehearsal that might surprise people?
JOACHIM: A lot of hard work. An insane amount. We're on version 244 of the Ableton session. The machines, the hardware, the artistic direction, the label, the designs - we basically do everything ourselves. At the beginning there were tensions, because we were all exhausted and we all wanted the best for the project. But what was great is that we argued for the project - never for our own ego or agenda.
TEHO: And now? No more tensions. We know how to work together.
JORIS: The fly on the wall would probably be bored, honestly - just watching three guys fix problems all day.

In a noisy industry - what makes you stay with the people you're already working with?
TEHO: We're not doing this for fame. We're doing it because we love it.
JORIS: And we have the same values - the same commitment to staying true, to putting
the music above everything else.
JOACHIM: We're completely different people, but we have the same vision, the same goal, and the same way we want to get there. We discovered our different strengths when we started working together - and there was actually a moment, like an epiphany, where we realised: you're great at this, I'm great at that - so let's just each do what we're best at. And it just works perfectly.
JORIS: The main thing is that we share the same vision. We are all hard workers. And we want to do great things.
TEHO: That’s what keeps it together.

A huge thank you to Joris, Teho and Joachim for sharing their story, their vision and the incredible amount of work behind PACT with us.
We are proud to have PACT as part of the dig dis! family and excited to support them on this journey.
This is just the beginning. More to come.