Today, we kick off our month-long Joachim Spieth residency. As usual, I’d like to start at the beginning. Perhaps not at the outset of Joachim’s career (that we will discuss in depth on Headphone Community throughout March), but when I technically “discovered” this Stuttgart-based German electronic musician. His music originally appeared here in 2020, with an exclusive premiere of the track “Jiwa”. From that point on, I was pulled into the undercurrent of his deeply atmospheric sound, and I never looked back. On Ousia, Joachim captivated my mind with a dreamlike environment, deep and calm, wide and open, like a limitless ocean spreading into the outer and infinite, distant and unknown. So I’m putting on this album in the background as I write this, and I think you should as well.
Joachim first came to prominence with his appearance on Kompakt‘s Pop Ambient series, which I have been a fan of for many, many years. His very own Affin imprint, founded nearly 20 years ago, in 2007, has been instrumental in setting the bar for deeply immersive, emotionally restrained electronic music that resists easy categorisation, as it seamlessly traverses the genres, from ambient to deep techno, from drone to hypnotic dub. We will surely explore much of the label’s catalog, on which Joachim also showcases many of his favorite artists and collaborations, including Warmth, zakè, Andrew Thomas, and, most notably, Markus Guentner, who, in addition to sonic contributions, also curates the label’s visual identity.
Joachim’s sound often unfolds at a glacial pace, built from gently shifting harmonies, long-form structures, and textural soundscapes. He has even created his own sound library of Textures, which other musicians can use as samples in their productions. His remixers include high-caliber artists such as Alva Noto, Pole, Abul Mogard, Rafael Anton Irisarri, bvdub, and ASC (many of whom, I hope, are already familiar to your ears). There is a strong sense of intention in everything he touches, and that is felt throughout the curation of his label and sound.
Over at Headphone Community, Joachim wrote his own quick introduction, and I shared it with his fans. Throughout this month, we will explore Joachim’s music, collaborations, DJ sets, and curatorial philosophy, taking the time to listen and appreciate everything that this fantastic, multi-dimensional artist has to offer. For example, just yesterday, Joachim generously shared some Bandcamp codes for his first entirely beatless full-length album, released on his own label, titled Tides. You can grab those and much more when you join us for as little as $1 a month. Let’s build something truly special, honest, and, most importantly, human!
