Joachim Spieth’s musical career spans over two decades as a DJ, producer, live performer, and founder of the esteemed Affin record label. Renowned for his meticulous attention to detail and ability to craft immersive atmospheres, Spieth first gained recognition through collaborations with the Kompakt records, contributing to the Pop Ambient series as well as The Orb’s Back To Mine compilation. In 2007, he founded Affin, establishing an international platform for like-minded artists and creative collaborations, including a long-standing partnership with ambient artist Markus Guentner, who also shapes the label’s visual identity.

Spieth’s versatile discography features albums such as Irradiance, Terrain, Overlay, and Retrace, and his work has been reinterpreted by esteemed artists, including alva noto, Pole, Abul Mogard, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Dino Sabatini, Luigi Tozzi, and Claudio PRC.

Could you share with us what mood or feeling guided you while putting this mix together?

I think the mix reflects a variety of emotions, as it should, in my opinion. I always try to achieve a sense of tension in mixes, to combine things that surprise even me. It's always nice to see when different artists and moods combine, how something comes together that creates something new in a certain way... I actually see myself as a DJ more as a human filter, who, guided by my own taste, creates a sonic biotope in which others can lose themselves and find themselves. It's always about building bridges... emphasizing a mood and then moving on to other realms with another piece... at best, the listener realizes 10 minutes later that they're somewhere else, and doesn't even know how they got there...

Looking back over the years with Affin, how has curating and running the label shaped your identity as an artist?

Affin is a bit like a relationship for me. A connection that has lasted several years longer than my longest relationship. Affin embodies an incredible amount of my own life energy, ideas, dreams, views, and personal preferences. It's like a mirror; I can look back and see things about myself, read actions and consequences, and better assess and understand myself over time... That may sound highly psychological or analytical, but it's clear that I can derive a lot from it. I would describe myself as a fundamentally open character, and this openness has been expressed in the label's stylistic openness, which was more coarse-grained in the early years and then became clearer and more refined over time. But fundamentally, the label has always remained open musically and never wanted to limit itself completely to one genre. Nevertheless, it should never be arbitrary; from the beginning, it has followed certain codes, and the basic consensus is the same as it was almost 20 years ago when the label was launched. In short, I would say that I was able to grow with the label, and the label grew with all the artistic input (largely from the artists involved) as a reflection of that. It's a reciprocal relationship. It's hard to imagine how things would have turned out for me if Affin had never existed...

What does your production setup look like these days? Are there specific tools or processes you now consider essential to your sound?

I have hardware (sampler, FX, etc.), but almost 10 years ago I shifted my work almost entirely to Ableton Live. It was important to always have access to the material and to have everything in one place (no mixer settings that you have to write down, etc.). So I work in a relatively “basic” way, if you will, but as a result I have developed what I consider to be a very recognizable signature style, which has been greatly facilitated by the possibilities offered by the program. What has evolved over the years are a few plug-ins that are more in the sound processing area (by which I mean that I have purchased a few sound design tools). I always try to work with a manageable range of tools, even over a longer period of time. This gives me an overview and a focus on the things that are important to me and supports the development of my musical language. In general, I believe that the idea/approach is more important than the actual medium. You can buy yourself a huge studio with lots of equipment, but if you don't have many ideas, then the technology is of little use...

There isn't really such a thing as a typical workflow. In recent years, I've composed several albums together with musicians such as Markus Guentner, zakè, Warmth, and Andrew Thomas. The starting conditions were always different. However, what has become stronger (whether on collaborative albums or solo albums) is my ability to think in terms of roles. There are specific roles for specific ideas, and while I used to work endlessly on a piece, I now enjoy the freedom of not identifying exclusively with a basic assumption. By that I mean that I actively slip into different characters and then try to portray them within a project or track, always knowing that the other characters are still there, but that they will enter the playing field on another day... :-) The important thing is that I can fill these roles credibly.

Are there routines or daily habits outside the studio that help you stay creative and focused?

It is important for me to go for regular walks, as this clears my head of internal dialogue (or the unfavorable parts of this internal conversation). Meeting and interacting with friends is important, and I generally try to stay mentally and physically active.

Are there any specific visual or literary works that inspire you, and how have they shaped the way you approach sound and composition?

Being outdoors is essential to my work—taking in the smells, the sunlight in the different seasons, the clouds, the trees... In short, nature plays a big role for me. I feel a strong connection there, I like the grounding feeling, and it's a great source of inspiration for me. Basically, I have always been close to nature because I did not grow up in a big city. Nevertheless, it took some time before I actively recognized the subconscious feeling of feeling good in green surroundings. It's rather difficult for me to explain exactly how this affects my work process. However, anyone who listens to my music will probably notice that it works heavily with atmospheres, and I think that this corresponds strongly with the environments I have perceived.