Tanz Talks 003 // Pablo Permanent
Following our recent collaboration with Berlin-based tattoo artist Pablo Permanent, we wanted to dig a bit deeper into his world. “Lost In Tanzlation” and “Metamorphing” feature a combination of t-shirts and tote bags designed by Pablo, exploring a deeper concept that resonates with our values and outlook on the scene.
“Lost In Tanzlation” represents the experience of losing yourself in the music and in different dance floor situations, while “Metamorphing” is the other side of the coin—it’s about how you evolve and develop as a person after absorbing all of these influences.
For us, collaboration is at the heart of what we do, and it was a great pleasure to work with Pablo—a fantastic artist and humble character we met on the dance floors of Berlin.
Dive in and discover the world of Pabz...
Quickfire Qs:
Funniest moment in the booth?
At a private mini festival I played B2B with a good and well known friend. The crowd and us went very wild and suddenly I could not see him anymore. Looking around the small booth, finding him huddled together in the corner under the table, looking at me with a weird, static, psychotic grin. I first thought, did he turn into Gollum or what? I asked him what’s going on and he whispers: "Pablo…I’m..I’m...so high, I’m so high…" After a while he returned and we continued playing one of our best B2Bs.
Funniest or weirdest festival moment?
There are many…one was this naked squad of 20-30 people at Waking Life that were walking behind a box of ‘nothing’ and truly worshipping it. Then they built a circle around someone with clothes on and cheered loudly for every piece of cloth being taken off. When finally all were naked, the box was opened and revealed with a big celebration: nothing inside. Then a person in a black full body suit brought a big dish filled with beautifully arranged fruits and the crew went on with their worshipping walk behind the fruits and box of nothing. I was tripping strong and loved it.
What is needed for a special dance floor moment?
When the stars align: I found the perfect spot with perfect sound, friends around but a lot of space for dancing, the dj plays exactly what I need, substances are in perfect coordination, my brain switches off, the music is taking over control of my body and I get lost in the music, dancing expressively and wild.
Favourite record artwork?
Paul Hardcastle - Rain Forest
Guilty Pleasure track?
Mainly rap tracks with inappropriate vocals that I just can’t let go. Like this one…
One thing you would change about club culture?
No more playtimes below 3 hours despite it being the wish of the artist. Get rid of all this, lots of artists on the line up to get attention and then lacking on quality because everyone is forced to press everything into two hours or even less.
Now the quickfire Qs are out of the way, welcome to the Tanz Talk series. It’s been a pleasure working on the collaboration together. We all met some time ago on the dance floors of Berlin. What are you enjoying at the moment in the city?
To be honest, at the moment it is not to party, not tattooing much and using my energy and making time for doing things I didn’t find time for yet or in the last months. That’s visiting certain lakes, food spots and places that are still on my to-do list, painting graffiti, digging records, drawing a lot, meeting friends for mixing sessions or simply some boule or basketball.
What's important to you when you are visiting a club?
Small club, good soundsystem, space for dancing, ground level booth, intimate atmosphere, not too bright lighting, a nice area for talks and consumption, but main focus on music and dancing with people that are conscious, sensitive and taking good care of each other.
What is your fondest memory of a Berlin club?
I think this was my first party after moving here in May 2018. It was my first time at good old Griessmühle and Francesco Del Garda was playing an extraordinary 8h(?) daytime set in the beautiful Wintergarten. The sun was shining through the colored windows, the vibe was on point, everything was just perfect…and then a summer thunderstorm broke loose. It started raining heavily outside and there suddenly was a waterfall coming through the roof on the dance floor. This made people go even more crazy and wild and one after the next started jumping through the water pouring on the floor. This party was one of the best I ever had and also very important for my smooth start in Berlin, because there were already so many people from our scene, that I met there for the first time (eg close friends of Tanzform, Zac and Becca) and many of these became friends, some even the best I have till today.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into you. How did you first get into tattooing?
Well, regarding my interests and skills it was clear that I have to do an artistic and creative job, but while studying fine arts, I learned that I don’t want to lick gallerist asses. Then I became a graphic designer instead, to find out that this job isn’t as creative as you think. So I searched for another way where I can do my own art, get paid for it appropriately and I remembered tattooing. I was interested in it for a long time already, but never could imagine myself doing it. After some talks with a good friend who just had started tattooing and a lot of research later, I thought I could give it a try. The first corona lock down in 2020 then gave me the needed time to learn like crazy, practice and really get started. It went very well and against every expectation (specially my own) one year later I was already offered a job as a resident tattooer at a well known studio.
Do you see any correlation between what you do as a tattoo artist and music?
For sure, especially Djing has many parallels with tattooing, more than just the essentiality of a needle. The biggest similarity is the aim of making people happy with your art (something very personal).
As a DJ you start with building a repertoire and your own style, you’re digging for tunes, mixing them, experimenting and putting together a working selection of your personal favs. This goes along with researching inspiring art, sketching a lot, experimenting and building up a portfolio of flashes (tattoo designs). Then you have to be able to read the crowd or your client, you have to react to their wishes and needs, while staying true to your style. And it all can only work out, if both parties are working together. I think I could write a book about this :D
What kind of music do you listen to when working in the tattoo studio?
It’s a wide range of genres, but mostly smooth good vibe stuff that’s not too stressful or overwhelming for clients in pain or my five colleagues and me while exhausting sessions.
A lot of downtempo, trip-hop, rap, instrumentals but also a lot of funk from all over the world, soul, jazz, synth-pop, new wave, classics and of course some chill deep house, breaks and DnB.
Check out some other jams here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjfuLpoRy6k&list=RDWjfuLpoRy6k&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wADfXOlZH4I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LlZ9rQFAJ8&list=RD2LlZ9rQFAJ8&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKhptqYnZjY&list=RDHKhptqYnZjY&start_radio=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHQeElAfVqI&list=RDUHQeElAfVqI&start_radio=1
What is planned for Pablo Permanent in the coming months?
To be honest, at the moment I have very few fixed plans and I enjoy it a lot. What's safe is, I’m taking much more time again for drawing and experimenting, with the aim to go away from black work, back to more line work based flashes, because I noticed, it’s simply much more fun to do for myself.
After enjoying life at Chant des Oiseaux festival, in Marseille and visiting family in Italy afterwards, there will be a guest spot tour that I’m figuring out these days.
Everything after this is still open yet, many ideas like always, let’s see what is coming :)
Can you leave us with one piece of advice for any creatives out there?
First care about your art and not the presentation on social media. Do not get carried away by the often unsatisfying and destructive hunt for followers and likes.
Concentrate on what you love to do and what you are doing best, never stop learning and evolving, to make your work so good that it can’t be overseen. If you make it to this point, algorithms and reach aren’t that important anymore.
Or plan B: fuck quality and passion, do what the market needs and algorithm wants, sell your soul and get rich but sad haha.
And finally…your fav piece from the webshop?
I would go with the corderoy jacket and..have to admit that I don’t know all your releases but I definitely like TEN001 and the nasty Decibolt.
https://tanzform.com/products/tanzform-corderoy-jacket-brown
Check out the Lost In Tanzlation series, Metamorphing landing August 2025.