Special THANKS to Cord Labuhn and Kim Köster for the numerous cups of tasty hot tea, the long talks, the laughs and the time for this awesome interview! You rock!
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A black something caught my eye on 11. December 2010. Cord (Robosonic) came along with it around his neck. It was called
Punchi. A scarf made out of terry cloth. Worn by DJs at clubs. Worn by people in the crowd. On the website, it is described as following:
A personal drying assistant.
A towelling scarf.
Multi-function.
Born in Berlin.
± 175 x 20cm
100% cotton.
SO. What exactly was it? What was the story behind it? Who had this crazy idea?
I wanted to know more.
I had asked people around me; the DJs and party crowd had heard from it, some already had it, there was also a comment: “That is a bit too German for me” and the reluctance to wear it but most of the time, people were quite fond of it and counting all those scarf-wearing dancing dudes in the crowd, I thought the product sooner or later would make it to the major market.
14. December 2010, PUNCHI HQ.
The team behind PUNCHI welcomed me in their HQ on one of those dark winter days in Berlin. I was almost frozen to death because I had taken the wrong road (long story). Fortunately, a pot of tea was already on the the mini stove, and that is how I met: the PUNCHI.
PUNCHI?
As far as I understood, when Cord went to Latin-America, he went to check out the clubs a s a DJ and that is where he came across the term punchipunchi, which means “four-to-the-floor” in Spanish slang and was referring to electronic music :)
What is a PUNCHI and what is it good for?
Sweat with a passion? Punchi is your cool companion in heated situations. A scarf that’s a towel. A towel that’s a scarf. On the dancefloor, in the street or at the beach – The Punchi is an essential accessory for all occasions.
Where does the PUNCHI originate from?
The Punchi is a remix of the towel with a scarf. So, it’s little wonder that it was conceived by Cord, a DJ, and Kim, a designer. During long DJ sets or dancing well into the morning, they would sweat. And sweat hard. To stay fresh in these intense situations, they would wear towels around their necks on the dancefloor and on stage. But was there a more stylish alternative?
Fuelled by green tea, brainstorming for a more practical, elegant solution began. Narrowing the towel, it transformed into a scarf. The Punchi was born. Soon, early prototypes were being tested in the clubs of Berlin. The team realized the Punchi’s appeal was lasted well after a night on the dancefloor. It kept you dry dancing, warm walking between clubs, and fresh in the gym too. The only problem was knowing when to take it off!
The discovery was too good to keep to themselves and friends…So here it is: the Punchi, fresh and hand-rolled in Kreuzberg, Berlin. You can get the PUNCHI currently in two versions: black and robosonic yellow :)
PUNCHI V.01 (NIGHT BLACK)
classic comfort in motion
PUNCHI V.02 (ROBOSONIC YELLOW)
[This] second version, the loud yellow of DJ & producerteam ROBOSONIC, brings the PUNCHI back to where it came from: the dance floor and the stage. With their “dance entertainment for junkies & joggers” and the BKI-Podcast, Cord and Sacha play a vital role in Berlin‘s field of quadratic dancemusic.
Their sporty attitude, a true passion for “punchipunchi”-music (Spanish slang for 4-to-the-floor) and a frequently washed yellow towel became the source of inspiration for the PUNCHI-cooperation. Now the towelling scarf works as a smooth medium for their upcoming club productions PUNCHI BLACK and PUNCHI YELLOW…
The tea was great and the spontaneously planned visit lasted a couple of hours. I had to laugh a lot, because I thought it was just another idea out of some creative minds in Berlin (since Cord and Kim are definitely artists), but the thought behind the product was so plausible, that I bought some for my friends as well.
First of all, my question was about the handling:
How do I treat my PUNCHI adequate and nicely, so I can have many many happy hours with it?
The answer was this Punchi sticker manual:
Easy, guys ;)
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EXTRA HOT
Exclusive Interview with Cord Labuhn, one of the heads behind PUNCHI
Punchipunchi, what kind of music style does that mean?
C: I guess in Spanish speaking regions it’s a funny term for music with a straight 4×4-kickdrum like house and techno, even trance and such. We first used it as a running gag and then it became a little more poetic when we named the Punchi after it. With Robosonic we just developed our very own style and selection of Punchipunchi music through the years.
Sacha Robotti, the other half of Robosonic, the DJ team you are part of, is doing his own thing at Klasse Recordings, and you are doing quite a lot business stuff with Punchi. Is there time left for producing new stuff for Robosonic?
C: For sure. Sacha got friends with the Klasse camp and started releasing a couple of fresh tracks under his own name. Our studio situation is now better than ever before and we are raising the output.
Actually my business part with Punchi has never been too demanding but it was a lot of fun developing the whole idea and concept. Basically it started as a Robosonic project for me, so the idea of creating music for a whole new medium – not a vinyl record but a towelling scarf – was born with it.
You are talking about the Punchi soundtrack on the Punchi site. Tell us more about it!
C: A lot of people have been asking for new tracks and songs, album plans and so on…Now we decided to release a mixtape for free as a present for Punchi-lovers. That includes brand new production work and also lots of tunes by other artists that we love to play at our DJ gigs. Probably we will release our new tracks with remixes or maybe also for free. If you like what you hear you can spend a few bucks on a yellow Punchi to support the artist.
Punchi is an outcome of you and Kim. How did you guys meet and since when are you partners on this?
C: We met through our good friend “Gaucho” in 2003. Soon Kim did an amazing artwork for my second solo record, then some more stencil artworks for vinyl records of our Broken Bootlegs collective, more CDs, websites, blablabla. In late 2009 Punchi came into our minds, which is a little different form of product design than the records we’ve done before. And as we are pretty busy in other creative fields we took it easy and went with the flow. So it’s still passionate and fun. We now have to think about ways to communicate a beautiful and beloved idea. And of course improve it.
Kim is a designer and you can actually see a piece of his actual work on the inside of the Punchi paper wrapping. Did you hide that on purpose? I discovered it by chance…
C: Haha, great question. It has to do with the zipper bags. Our prototype version had to be opened on top not at the right side. So you had to rip off the cardboard and would be pleased with a sweet hand drawn illustration inside that slick and minimalistic package. Now it became a real insider for those who know…
I have seen the Punchi a lot around. Which artists can you name that have a Punchi?
C: Well, there should be a couple. I remember Mouse on Mars were really into it very early, Christian & Justin Martin both loved it, the M.A.N.D.Y. and Tiefschwarz boys own it, Bella Berlin is representing it including the Punchi Black soundtrack, Peaches got it…of course friends like Shir Khan, Oren of Jahcoozi to drop a few names around electronic music…
Are you wearing a Punchi yourself? (At gigs etc.)
C: Of course. without getting sick of it. Always I have about two pairs rotating between washing machine, wardrobe and my neck. Not to promote it, but to show some love. And it’s just really practical…
I got loads of feedback on the Punchi, that people love it. My question now is: Are you going to push it further? Other sizes, colours? Actually, I thought it would be nice to have one that is a bit longer and slimmer…
C: Sure, we have loads of ideas and improvements to realize. For now we are promoting the black and yellow originals. First versions. Still prototypes in some way, so be quick, limited stock. Robosonic music. That’s our message to share. The whole idea got stronger and bigger. The response is really lovely so if people are willing to pay that fair price we keep doing it and make sure to offer some more quality cultural content alongside the next versions and cuts…
Thank you for your precious time!
C: Thanks for yours!
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Punchi Story by Pictures #1
I was curious how well it was received by others, so I went out to see, where the Punchi appeared. Here are some expressions:
Punchi worn in the crowd Punchi in classic elegance
Btw, soon, the first one I mentioned above went to Nhan Solo:
Someone else had a lot of fun with the Punchi at Festsaal Kreuzberg
[Unfortunately, most Punchi pics are on another hard drive, but I will upload the next ones soon!]
I also sent some Punchis out to the world, and that is what I got back so far:
Punchi next to silken dresses in France
Punchi at Yoga
Punchi Story by pictures #2
Winter in Finland – I was very pleased to get an email from my friends in Helsinki:
“Erfahrungsbericht Punchis beim Joggen in Helsinki -10°C: Der Punchi Schal eignet sich gut zum Joggen, da er kleiner ist als normale Schals. Man kann ihn ebenfalls gut nutzen um den Schweiß abzuwischen (welcher auch bei -10°C entsteht *fg*). Und nun denken wir darüber nach den Punchis mit in die finnische Sauna zunehmen… ;-)”
“Punchis field report while jogging in Helsinki at -10°C: The Punchi scarf is very useful for jogging, because it is smaller than normal scarfs. You can also use it very well to get off your sweat (which forms at -10°C as well). Now we think about taking the Punchis to the Finnish sauna… ;)”
I asked about the sauna pics, but they were against “nude pictures” lol so here go the Punchi winter pics from Finland:
Punchi while jogging through the snow – how bright it shines :)
Punchi is warming at -10°
Now you ask, where can I get this dope?
www.punchi.de/shop/punchi.html is the best way to free a Punchi from the limited storage in our basement. Pay some ransom and then quickly embrace a pal for life.
PUNCHI, you can “like” on the FB page: http://www.facebook.com/punchipunchipunchipunchi and you can even become friends with it: Pun Chi Punchi – “1♥!” said Cord, and I think, he is right.
http://vimeo.com/19893904 from ROBOSONIC on Vimeo.
If you get a PUNCHI, please send in some pictures at stylistberlin at gmail dot com with the header PUNCHI PIC, that would be really nice ;)
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