First making waves as DJ Assam and part of the Hamburg Lehult collective in the mid-2010’s, Joe Davies took on minimal techno from the 2000’s and made it deeper, cultivating an aesthetic both functional and soulful. Still, his sets are not sprints but marathons, luring dancers in with warm bass lines, soothing pads, and occasional vocal breaks.
His moderately paced mix for our podcast series is a prime example, leaving room for the tracks to breathe and yet making 75 minutes go by in the blink of an eye.
What did you have in mind when recording this mix?
I originally intended to make a really diverse soundscape mix including some of my own productions, but I could not get it to work and realized I was probably overthinking it. In the end I just had two beers and recorded this mix in one go without much planning ahead. It’s a good representation of sounds I like to play out at the moment–deep and weird yet fast and dance floor-friendly, sonically located somewhere between the UK and Hamburg. It also includes quite a lot of music by friends of mine or from labels they run.
Where did you record it and which setup did you use?
I recorded this mix with two CDJs, two beers and one Technics 1210, at the studio that I share with my friends Gentle Soul, Cubemod, L.F.T. and DJ Fuckoff in Berlin.
What’s the most memorable gig you played so far?
There are a couple really beautiful ones, more recently it was probably closing Nation of Gondwana with my friend Johan Kaseta on a stage that he designed and built for the festival. It was like a massive cage in the woods with trees right in front of the booth. It must have been at least a thousand people there and the energy was really special. First time I ever had to take a video from behind the decks because it looked so unreal. In general, one that I will never forget is Lux in Lisbon with Axel Boman and David August.
Can you name a secret weapon that you use frequently?
Three recent releases that caught your attention?
The new Jabu album A Soft And Gatherable Star, that came out a couple of weeks ago might be my album of the year! I am also very excited about Snad’s upcoming Smallville release, which is also represented in this mix. The new Magic Power record is buy on sight, as usual!
What do you have coming up?
I just released an EP on KANN with my friend Cubemod last week–we made a lot of music together this year, mostly analogue, one-take jams, and will be releasing at least one more EP with them in 2025. I have a couple more gigs before the end of the year including a final Watergate and Renate goodbye, a rooftop-party in Lisbon with the Alias crew and a show in Leipzig at 2pm club which I am all very excited for. Then, next year, maybe album number two?
Track listing:
Ron Obvious – Second Light
Snad – Lukewarm Lava
Thomas Wood – Third Floor
Zorg – Blueshift
Maus & Stolle – Extra Vergine
Space Drum Meditation – Jiaozi
Jacob Dwyer & Sam Purcell – Suitcase in the water
DJ Dorian & Carsten Fietz – Easy
Jorge Caiado – Floating Without Lifting
Carsten Fietz – Lazy Summer
Melchior Productions Ltd. – It’s Coming (Stealer’s Floating Edit)
Klon Dump – Surprise Room
Mark Ambrose – Lifeforms
