reading time: 14 minutes

Joachim Spieth is no stranger to our extended community, recently gracing our "Delayed with..." mix series with a dub and deep techno fusion that exudes a timeless quality ideal for repeated listening. A longstanding contributor to Kompakt’s Pop Ambient series, Spieth stands as a profound and seasoned representative of the genre. Collaborating with Markus Guentner, a key figure in this musical realm and a longtime friend, Spieth released the album "Overlay" on his own label, AFFIN, in November. This beautiful work resides at the crossroads of ambient and slow-tempered deep techno, bringing together the artistic philosophies of both contributors. Spieth's compositions carry an almost supernatural emotive power, invoking a sense of permanence and endlessness. Spieth’s label AFFIN was founded in 2007 and can be seen as “a platform that is able to inspire and stands for authenticity, far away from tailor-made marketing concepts.” It is an honor to feature him as our final Artist of the Moment for 2023. In our conversation, we delved into the timeless nature and emotive depth of music.

Hi Joachim, it's a pleasure to do this interview with you. Where are you currently, and how are you feeling today?
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to talk to you, thank you! Thanks for asking, I'm in southern Germany at the moment. Doing well so far and the sun is shining today. That's always much more valuable in autumn/winter.

Before we discuss your music, let's hear about your highlights and noteworthy experiences from 2023. This could include music, arts, literature, or events. Anything that stood out for you this year?
What stands out for me is that I found a great agency in Folk Wisdom for my ambient live performances in 2023. What started in Berlin in 2022 (Ambient Sleepers, thanks Apolline!) has spread to the Mostra Festival, UpToDate Festival, Aurora Berlin and the Ambientalny Festival in Wroclaw and has made me very grateful. I've worked there for a long time, and whenever I achieve goals I set for myself a long time ago, everything makes sense.
From Affin's point of view, a few good things have also developed, although the environment for labels these days is not easy and, from a global perspective, not everything is developing so favorably that they can be economically successful. Since the last few years have been catastrophic for everyone, I'm happy to have maintained the label's existence for another year (we don't always want to just whitewash it).

Looking at it from the perspective of my music/releases, 2023 was a very productive and good year. Releases with Claudio PRC, a remix for Warmth, a split EP with ASC on Past Inside The Present, as well as the CD re-releases of my first three albums until, finally, the actual new album and project with Markus Guentner. And there, too, some of the goals we set were achieved. There will be a lot more to come for which the seeds have already been planted. Most of what was optional at the beginning of the year has happened, and I'm grateful for that.

Beginning in November, "Overlay," your collaborative album with Markus Guentner, was released. You have known each other for a long time. How did the idea for the album come about?
Yes, that's right. We've known each other for more than 20 years and then gotten to know each other more and more over a long time.
A loose idea of doing something together first came up a few years ago. However, it took a long time before we got going. After my album” Tides” we exchanged material, and the first result found its place with “Mutuus” (on my “Ousia” album in 2021). “Kari” (on Pop Ambient 2022) was another result of our “early phase.” Since our work was driven by the desire to experiment, there was no urgency to put everything into an album straight away. The album itself was created in a relatively relaxed atmosphere and expectation, without any major strategic direction. There were a lot of conversations about our musical past, where we come from, what key events and labels were for us, and things that were essential for us. Of course, we're stuck like Chain Reaction or Basic Channel, including early works by Richie Hawtin and some other timeless projects from the late ‘90s. Since we were part of the Pop Ambient project that was emerging at the time, there is also a source of inspiration... an origin...
So it was also a common summary, which then resulted in a flow of music, from which “Overlay” finally emerged. However, we do not understand the project as a past-oriented project that only looks back. It is only about our coordinate system, and what has developed from it with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence that we have developed in the last two decades.

In such collaborations, it's about blending different points of view, skills, and approaches. How was that process? What inspired you most about each other?
As already mentioned, we are not musically identical, but similar artists and musical perspectives have influenced us independently of each other. Since we are both known for dealing very intensively with sound layers, we didn't just want to prepare a 50/50 mix of it but were also keen to use other stylistic devices. This then logically led to the use of various field recordings that more or less emphasized a rhythmic context. It was also important to have spatial expanse, things to condense... allow time, and let things develop. There was no rush, either. Everyone worked on everything. What was inspiring from my point of view was that although we talked a lot about music before the actual work process, there was very little active communication during the actual work - because there was simply no need. We could trust each other with sound material, always with the certainty that the other would know what to do. And that's exactly how it was!  All of this supported a very relaxed working atmosphere. The attitude of the mind is reflected perfectly in the music. And it will stay that way. From my point of view, there is a very good basis for cooperation.

Overlay is all about unveiling, revealing, and fading. Can you share some insights into the concepts and inspirations that influenced "Overlay"?
That's right. Superficial spectacle is far from our musical point of view; others serve that better anyway. It was clearly about depth, breathing in, breathing out, letting things go and letting others come. From my point of view, that's the basis of the idea: music is used as a vehicle to manipulate time, to let thoughts wander. Deceleration in the best sense. This is basically what we have been pursuing for a long time, each in our own way, here together in a new guise. There are different musical ways to achieve such states. We have chosen this path. This is how you can summarize it in a nutshell.

What is the best environment for you to listen to it?
To be honest, I don't really listen to the album. We've both listened to it for a while, and when it's done, that's good... albums are often more exciting after a certain time, and then you notice a lot of things that would now be hidden anyway.
As a buyer/listener, I would sit on the sofa and just let it run... and see what it does to me :-)

Markus and you both contributed to the acclaimed and longstanding Pop Ambient series. We recently had Markus as a guest, where we discussed the current reception of ambient music. What are your thoughts on this?
What fascinates me about ambient is its timelessness. Compared to other music that is primarily aimed at the dance floor and is sometimes very trend-based, you can still hear an above-average number of ambient releases even after 20 or 30 years - for example, Autechre or Warp Records, just to name a few. I appreciate the freedom in this music, not having to conform to anything - or believing that you have to conform to something. It's often music that comes for the right reason, that doesn't have to please. The motivation seems to be very pure for many artists. It's about emotions, not about being played at big events. It's very private, personal music that allows a lot of insights that are lost elsewhere. At the same time, the approach to this music is different. Ambient is a timeless answer to the too much of this time.

In another interview, you mentioned that because of the various musical influences at home, you were exposed to a "field of tension." How do you think this is reflected in your music, specifically in "Overlay"?
I can't remember the interview right now... but it's true: there were influences from classical and church music, as well as radio music from the 80s and later heavy metal. There were a lot of different things on board even before I became a boy, and until I came to electronic music, I also took guitar lessons and played electric bass. Hip-hop was the last stage until the MC disappeared or shut up. Back then, it was called Trip Hop. That was my bridge to electronic music. At the time, Mo Wax from London was a cool label, and Autechre and a few others were on a compilation with them. That's how I came across, among other things, Warp's Artificial Intelligence... a timeless sampler that had a decisive influence on me.
It has "nothing" to do with the “Overlay.” There's so much else in between, and Markus' part wouldn't even be taken into account in the result.

I’ve read a few reviews on the album and I was specifically struck by this one, I could very much relate to this reception. How do you feel about reviews in general? Or when people share what comes up for them in the listening process?
I always find it exciting to read. When you notice that the writer has dealt with the album and knows how to express more than the reproduction of the release info sheets. We also had a Bandcamp listening party a few days before the release, where the album was presented to people. In the live chat, we were able to see in real-time what impressions the listeners associated with the music... that was also very exciting.

Your sound ranges from ambient to atmospheric deep techno and incorporates a wide range of emotive landscapes. We can hear this in the mix you recorded for us. What would you say is the signature of Joachim Spieth?
It's not easy to say that about yourself or to be able to judge… I think music is a central point in my life and I like to express myself through it. The basic concepts, i.e., what interests me musically, haven't changed that much over time. What changes, however, are approaches, focal points that shift over the years... and the realization that if you dwell on something for too long and just try to hold on, then it fails. After some time in which you have worked through the content, allow yourself to try something different. Then, after a while, to pick up ideas again, but continue them differently than you would have done 5 years ago... like that: stay true to yourself in the long term, but don't ride a dead horse and bore yourself and others to death. In any case, I couldn't imagine working in one sub-genre over a period of 20 years and still being motivated to use the same hi-hat.

One of my main curiosities when speaking to artists - as someone who isn't a musician myself - is how the artist's imagination interacts with and influences their dialogue with machines. How would you describe that concerning your work?
That is not an easy question. For example, I don't particularly imagine a situation, something like a place where I am, in order to translate that into music. Most of my work is driven by emotions that I couldn't formulate. They are often basic moods, perhaps an attitude to life. Who can say that exactly? However, what always has to be there is that one moment that feels, from this point on; I can imagine that it feels "right". There is something that has an intangible value for me, something that is worth sitting for and working on. However, I also know this from the process of taking photos (only then the moment goes by much faster). I sometimes had the feeling, after I pressed the shutter, that I was infinitely rich. It may sound strange, but it's the feeling of having captured something (related to the object in the photo), of having expressed something, of making something appear differently. I feel the same way about music when it is created: You sit there. These days you have endless possibilities to transform any sample into practically anything. I only work with samples, but only with sounds that I have created myself, no presets. And it's exactly at that point, when something sounds interesting and often unexpectedly different that my desire to create sets in. As a result, the track certainly doesn't sound how you imagined it at any given moment, but it's important (at least for me) to reach such a point. If this point doesn't come about, I can just sit around for weeks and prepare the material or just get bored and do something else. The condition for music is always that it has to get me to a point - otherwise, it is worthless.

The machines are of secondary importance. A few years ago I agreed to only work with Ableton Live. I no longer use my other devices, mainly to limit the focus on one system. Ableton is a powerful tool. I can develop my way of working very well within the program. Using too many devices at the same time would distract me.

Our Delayed community has a lot of younger producers who also start labels and are dedicated to deeper sound explorations on and off the dancefloor. With your experience as an artist and label owner, what is the most important lesson you would like to share?
Actually, the only thing that counts is how you want it to be. It's definitely cool to look at other people and appreciate how they do it. But others are not you, so in the end, you have to decide to go your own way if you want to realize a project. If you have a bit of luck or appear in the right time window, then you can maybe expand the whole thing (in terms of success). If that doesn't work, you have at least created an authentic structure.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for producers today?
I think the biggest challenge is to be seen - in a positive sense. There are a large number of really talented people and labels that are not noticed enough because dubious structures have been established within the ecosystem that actually shouldn't have the weight that they currently have. It starts with the fact that so-called social media has too high a value for many people. However, these were never invented for us, but serve other purposes. The fact that a large part of the music business relies too heavily on this is a mistake in itself.

I'm by no means against further development, but digitalization in the music industry has revealed a lot of breaking points that make it difficult for individuals to assert themselves. At the same time, there are opportunities, but the concentration of attention is limited.

 Apart from the infrastructure that is currently in use, it also depends on the individual. Who is willing to pay fair value for things that mean something to them? Who is aware of their own voice and is looking for music to consume and would like to maintain or see growth in it? Who is looking for exciting events, trying out alternative concepts/musicians/DJs, or always going where everyone else goes? The list goes on for a long time. What I mean by this is that when people are aware of themselves, they always have alternative courses of action. That’s up to each of us.

2024 is coming soon. What are your hopes for music and what's on the horizon for you and AFFIN?
In the past questions, I have already said a lot about how I view current developments and what could happen. So I'll keep it a little shorter now. I hope that 2024 will be a positive year, and I wish that for everyone!