On "Decades On Divided Stars" Brock Van Wey, aka bvdub, presents his first album on Affin, each of its tracks spanning his trademark Odyssean length, with a sonic and emotional density second to none.
You are lost... losing your sense of time... of self. Yet finding your inner existence in its inwardly-folding galaxies. Your thoughts and emotions revolve, as planets caught in gravitational pull, before you suddenly awake, as if from a dream, unaware of how much time has passed. Only the stars will tell...

written, produced, mixed and mastered by bvdub/Brock Van Wey 
design | www.markus-guentner.de
distribution | www.spacecadets.world

℗ & © Affin 2022

linktr.ee/AffinLTD

Decades On Divided Stars

bvdub - Decades On Divided Stars

With ‘Terrain,’ Joachim Spieth presents the  fourth long player on his Affin imprint. 

The follow-up album to ‘Ousia’ (2021),  ‘Terrain,’ reflects on the human relationship with nature. The album title is  a reference to a musical language that  layers Spieth’s music production practices  and intimacy with nature.   

‘Terrain’ was forged in deep solitude.“ It’s  an interplay of euphoric flashes and introspection” – says Spieth. The eight  compositions take the listener into a captivating cascade of sonic textures resembling internal states fluctuations and  emotional release. The tension between the  organic warmth and static curves broads  tones into liquified roars and empty spaces. 

Unlike Spieth’s previous albums, ‘Terrain’  holds more intimate gestures and emotional  sensibility. Soothing frequencies here are  intended to create a state of awareness in  the listener. It is a work of conceptual and emotional beauty, evoking a form of spatial  imagery that is as grounding as elevating.

pre-order vinyl & digital
https://joachimspieth.bandcamp.com/album/terrain
https://linktr.ee/affin_vinyl_shops

written, produced by Joachim Spieth
design | www.markus-guentner.de
distribution | www.spacecadets.world
https://linktr.ee/AffinLTD
https://linktr.ee/joachimspieth
https://joachimspieth.de/2022/09/27/terrain-album

℗ & © Affin 2022

Terrain

Joachim Spieth - Terrain

Reshape contains musical interpretations by Alva Noto, ASC, bvdub, Warmth, Markus Guentner, Simone Giudice, zakè and Głós. The works are related to original pieces from Joachim Spieth's past creative phase and thus form a musical conclusion to the 15th label anniversary of Affin.

Reshape is released as 2 x 12" vinyl album and digital formats. All tracks were mastered at Artefacts Mastering Studio in Berlin. The graphic design was realized by Markus Guentner.

Vinyl presale will follow asap...

Track listing 
A1 Sparsha (Alva Noto remodel) 
A2 Akasha (ASC reshape) 
B1 Ultradian (bvdub reshape) 
B2 Jiwa (zakè reshape) 
C1 Cahaya Bulan (Markus Guentner reshape) 
C2 Hyle (Simone Giudice reshape)
D1 Apas (Warmth reshape)
D2 P680 (Głós reshape) 

all tracks written & produced by Joachim Spieth
design | https://markus-guentner.de
photo | http://tim-grothe.de
Affin | https://linktr.ee/AffinLTD
mastering | https://artefactsmastering.com
distribution | https://www.spacecadets.world

Reshape

Joachim Spieth - Reshape

"Alone" is the third longplayer from Italian sound artist Simone Giudice, following his 2021 album "Materia" released on the Spanish Semantica label. The album brings together seven parts that impress with compositional diversity and confidence, merging into a complete work. 

With sensitivity, melodic arcs of tension are brought together with partly classical instruments such as the piano, a dramaturgical performance that knows exactly when to press which emotional button to involve the listener to the maximum. 
"Alone" will be released on March 17, 2023 in CD and digital formats. It was mastered at Artefacts Mastering Studio Berlin and graphically designed by Markus Guentner.

presale will start soon. follow him on Bandcamp
https://simonegiudice.bandcamp.com

credits
All tracks written and produced by Simone Giudice
design | www.markus-guentner.de 
mastering | www.artefactsmastering.com
Affin | linktr.ee/AffinLTD

Alone

Simone Giudice - Alone

With "Onda", Regensburg artist Markus Guentner releases his follow-up to Empire, which appeared on A Strangely Isolated Place in 2021.

"Onda" captivates with its orchestral-like progressions, an endlessly interwoven carpet of sound that spreads out over six etudes. As if in slow motion, he scans through the individual sound particles, works out details, lets dust fall from the source material, cores, connects and in the end lets everything flow...

"Onda" will be released on May 5, 2023 as CD and digital download. It was mastered at Artefacts Mastering Studio in Berlin and graphically designed by Markus Guenter...

Artist: Markus Guentner 
Title: Onda 
Format: CD/digital 
Cat.: Affin CD 03  
Release date: 5th May 2023

Track listing 
1 Onda
2 Prisa 
3 Nava
4 Sund
5 Sahar
6 Akijana

All tracks written and produced by Markus Guentner
design | markus-guentner.de 
mastering | artefactsmastering.com
Affin |linktr.ee/AffinLTD

Onda

Markus Guentner - Onda

In 2001, Regensburg-based Markus Guentner and Affin’s Joachim Spieth first crossed  paths through their contributions to Kompakt’s Pop Ambient series. Their creative  synergy resurfaces with ‘Overlay,' a six-track album that amalgamates decades of their  distinctive styles - a harmonious blend of Guentner's ethereal, atmospheric textures  and Spieth's pulsating rhythms.  

“We envisioned a process akin to masking and unveiling, revealing certain elements  while fading others, mirroring the essence of the album titles themselves. This  reflects how we approached the audio material, a philosophy extended to our album.  This collaboration thrived on a foundation of trust, cultivated organically, much like  our previous joint endeavors. Musically, we entrust each other almost instinctively”.
  
With meticulously crafted tracks showcasing their artistry in creating evocative sonic  landscapes, this release marks the inaugural entry in a series of collaborative works  by the duo. 

"With this album, the flow of things knows no distinct start or finish—rather, it's a  continuous stream of material in motion." 

'Overlay' will be released digitally and on a limited edition CD on November 3 via  Spieth's Affin Records. 

All tracks written and produced by Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth

design | http://markus-guentner.de/
mastering | https://artefactsmastering.com/
Affin | linktr.ee/AffinLTD  
links | linktr.ee/guentnerspieth
Press | maria@ko-hum.com

Overlay

Guentner | Spieth - Overlay

The works of zakè always take their time unfolding into rich worlds of detailed, harmonic drone, and on Dolere – his latest for Germany’s Affin – he offers two of his most patient and affecting compositions to date, over a span of 70 minutes. For this study of the ways in which time itself seems to stretch and slow during phases of sorrow and pain, the artist describes an inspiration from the feeling of being “suspended in the weight of emotions we cannot change.”


First movement, “Dolera” (from the Latin dolor, describing anguish), drifts on gorgeous, melancholy waves that encourage total focus and slow, sympathetic breath. It is ensconced in a trademark analog hiss, adorned in the stereo field by sonic streaks of light and the contemplative sound of decayed tape samples, mimicking a mind unceasingly turning over its preoccupations. Nearly album-length in its own right, “Dolera” may act – like many zakè pieces – as a sonic Rorschach Test, equally capable of serving as emotional commiseration, or as the backdrop for the essential inner work of meditation.


The artist states: “This year, my life came to a halt, as if the Spring froze in its tracks; amidst the heaviness I longed for reprieve, and to escape the relentless march forward. These tracks serve as a refuge for those burdened by distraction or sorrow, offering a brief respite from the inexorable passage of time.”


Fittingly the title piece, “Dolere”, is named for the present-tense, infinitive form of dolor. This small but significant linguistic difference echoes the shift in mood from the album’s first half, as a more darkly-tinged drone underscores barely perceptible field recordings of birdsong, and the subtle drama of a glow peeking through somber fog. “Dolere” progresses at a deliberate pace, shifting its hues in the way tree shadows move across a forest floor; the background white-noise hiss builds in tandem as fixation intensifies. The only time entropy wins is when the final notes fade, and we’re returned to the ticking of the clock on the wall.


zakè’s catalog is rich with modern ambient highlights, and Dolere feels destined to become a touchstone of the genre in league with those by artists like Thomas Köner and Andrew Chalk, perfect for those in need of a breath during an era defined by breathlessness.


The partnership in this release is a natural fit, as zakè’s own renowned label Past Inside the Present has worked with Affin’s founder Joachim Spieth closely over the years, and both share the same noble goal of building uncommon sonic spaces outside the mainstream. Dolere is graced with artwork by legendary polymath Markus Guentner, whose own releases for Affin – alongside those of bvdub, Tori Fuko, and Simone Giudice – have helped define the label’s graceful aesthetic.

design | https://markus-guentner.de
mastering | www.ambientmountainhouse.com
Affin | https://affin.bandcamp.com

Dolere

zakè - Dolere

Joachim Spieth presents his new project, "Retrace," on his eminent electronic label, Affin.
Dub influences and cooling, ambient electronics blend to create complex, aqueous soundscapes. The seven track album reveals detailed textures and crystalized melodies that captivate the imagination. Like glittering drops of water, the sound elements combine to slowly filter through sonic biotopes until they extend across the spectrum in full frequency.
In “Retrace”, Spieth offers a fresh perspective on ambient soundscapes while retaining the signature elements that have come to define his musical identity. “Retrace” unfolds with meticulous precision, leading listeners through a labyrinth of sonic possibilities where every sound and texture serves a purpose in the narrative.

Artist: Joachim Spieth
Title: Retrace
Format: CD/digital
Cat.: Affin CD06
Release date: Friday, October 4. 2024

Track listing

1 Recall
2 Shine
3 Sparkle
4 Longing
5 Drip
6 Drain
7 Reminisce

linktr.ee/joachimspieth
joachimspieth.de/

Retrace

Joachim Spieth - Retrace

With rhubiqs we welcome a new artist from the United Kingdom, who makes his first appearance on the Affin label with the album “Aegis of Silence”.
Musically, the project moves between the poles of warm electronica, post-rock and soft ambient sounds, which are miraculously merged into a melodious body of work. rhubiqs' sound works fit into the existing affin sound garden on the one hand, but shine with an independently developed signature that is able to set its own accents.

releases December 6, 2024

All tracks written & produced by Tom Squires

design | http://markus-guentner.de/
mastering | www.12kmastering.com
social | linktr.ee/rhubiqs

Aegis of Silence

rhubiqs - Aegis Of Silence

Fragments is the first joint album by Joachim Spieth and Warmth. It brings together two musical characters with an affinity for expansive, imaginary soundscapes and atmospheric compositions. 
Agustin Mena is a Spanish ambient producer and has been operating under his 2 alter egos ‘Warmth’ and ‘SVLBRD’ on the two labels he founded, Archives and Faint. Joachim Spieth has been running the label Affin for almost 2 decades and is a regular contributor to Wolfgang Voigt's Pop Ambient series on the Kompakt label.
The first musical points of contact between the two were in the form of mutual remix projects. This exchange laid the foundation for Fragments, which now reveals the intersections for a sense of space and timelessness. On seven tracks, the album takes the listener on a walk through organic textures and places of longing.

Artist: Joachim Spieth | Warmth 
Title: Fragments
Format: CD/digital 
Cat.: Affin CD09 
Release date: Friday, January 10. 2025 

Track listing 

1 Spectral
2 Exosphere
3 Obscured
4 Appearance
5 Black Marble
6 Surfaces
7 Dark Tide

All tracks written & produced by Joachim Spieth and Agus Mena
 
design | markus-guentner.de 
mastering | artefactsmastering.com 
website | linktr.ee/AffinLTD

Fragments

Joachim Spieth | Warmth - Fragments

Markus Guentner, unveils his latest work ‘Black Dahlia’, a captivating journey through the enigmatic depths of electronic soundscapes.

The seven track album, released on the Affin label, marks a bold departure from Guentner's previous works and ventures into unexplored territories of experimental sound design while retaining his unmistakable sonic identity. On ‘Black Dahlia’, Guentner's mastery shines through as he seamlessly blends electronic elements with his signature ambient textures, creating an all-encompassing sonic experience that transcends genre boundaries.
Each track serves as a sonic vignette, weaving intricate layers of pulsating rhythms, haunting melodies and ethereal atmospheres.

‘Black Dahlia’ reaffirms Markus Guentner's status as a pioneer of electronic music, pushing boundaries while remaining true to his artistic vision. This album is a testament to Guentner's evolution as an artist and a testament to the enduring power of music to transport and transform.

The CD comes in a specially designed and handcrafted 4-panel design with cover insert card and sticker.
credits


All tracks written & produced by Markus Guentner

website | https://affinmusic.de/
design | https://markus-guentner.de/
mastering | www.artefactsmastering.com

Markus Guentner - Black Dahlia

Nocturna is the first collaborative album between New Zealand musician Andrew Thomas and German artist Joachim Spieth. Inspired by fleeting moments of beauty in nature, where light illuminates and then disappears into the shadows, Thomas began composing on the piano during Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Gathering piano fragments like treasured relics, he passed them on to Spieth some months later, as Summer was now dawning in the Northern Hemisphere.

Spieth wove the piano’s delicate tones into something new, preserving its organic essence while illuminating certain sounds and removing others. The textures within Nocturna are shaped by light, time, and the discernment of each artist - as what to keep became as important as what to leave out. The shadow of what used to be allows a strange and delicate mood to arise. Though the piano remains at the heart of the album, Spieth’s intricate sonic layers form a spectral web around the immersive soundscape, while the piano’s fragile notes climb tentatively like tendrils of a plant.

Nocturna sits on the threshold of ambient and modern classical, with elements of sound design that make it an especially pleasing piece with deeper listening. As Nocturna unfolds, it transports the listener into a space of contemplation and mystery—expansion and enclosure, and perhaps reflecting the increase in nocturnal activity of nature on a Summers evening. Light and shadow, the duality of hemispheres, and the promise of Summer’s arrival converge, and then fade once more into the night.

releases April 4, 2025

All tracks written & produced by Joachim Spieth and Andrew Thomas

website | https://affinmusic.de/
design | https://markus-guentner.de/
mastering | www.artefactsmastering.com

Nocturna

Joachim Spieth | Andrew Thomas - Nocturna

Arcadia brings together zakè, Joachim Spieth, and Markus Guentner in a collaborative work that thoughtfully expands the possibilities of ambient and drone music. Released via Affin, the album merges the trio’s distinct artistic voices into a coherent whole, resulting in a body of work that is both contemplative and richly textured.

Each artist contributes a defining element to the album’s sonic architecture: zakè’s emotive soundscapes, Spieth’s meticulous minimalism, and Guentner’s vast, atmospheric layers. Their approaches converge seamlessly, crafting an immersive experience that moves fluidly between structure and abstraction, serenity and quiet intensity.

Rather than adhering to ambient music conventions, Arcadia subtly reconfigures them, offering a profound exploration of mood, space, and stillness. Intricate layers unfold with restraint and clarity, inviting the listener into a world where time seems to dissolve.

As their first joint endeavor as a trio, Arcadia stands as a testament to their shared sensitivity and craftsmanship. Available on CD, the album is a nuanced and deeply resonant addition to the ambient canon, rewarding attentive listening with its quiet depth and elegant design.

All tracks written & produced by zakè, Joachim Spieth and Markus Guentner

website | affinmusic.de
design | markus-guentner.de
mastering | www.artefactsmastering.com


zakè | Spieth | Guentner - Arcadia

With Spectral Passage, rhubiqs delivers a deeply immersive concept album that traces a psychological journey from turmoil to clarity. Inspired by artists like Tim Hecker, Fennesz, Sarah Davachi and William Basinski, the record layers guitars, synths, pianos, samples, field recordings, strings and brass into shifting soundscapes that mirror the mind’s passage through anxiety, trauma and renewal.

Opening with dense, disorienting textures (Infinite Dusk, Endless Nights), the album gradually evolves toward light and release. A turning point comes with Alone & Adrift Pt. I and Pt. II, where shadow gives way to brightness and resilience. The closing track, A Final Transmission, offers a gentle resolution, leaving the listener in a place of hard-won peace.

More than a collection of songs, Spectral Passage is an emotional narrative in sound - a transformative listening experience.

All tracks written & produced by Tom Squires

design | http://markus-guentner.de/
mastering | www.12kmastering.com
social | linktr.ee/rhubiqs
@rhubiqs

Spectral Passage

Following his debut on Affin in the summer of 2024 titled Dolere and his celebrated collaboration with label founder Joachim Spieth and longtime partner Markus Guentner on Arcadia (Affin, 2025), zakè now unveils his second solo release for the imprint, Low Harmonics. True to its title, the album descends into the shadowed strata of sound, exploring the resonance of low frequencies, deep bass currents, and subsonic vibrations. Within these layers emerges a paradoxical tension that is at once pacifying and soporific, an experience that is both grounding and transcendent.

The record continues the contemplative ethos of Dolere (Affin, 2024), a work that spanned two expansive compositions and examined “the ways in which time itself seems to stretch and slow during phases of sorrow and pain,” while offering “a refuge for those burdened by distraction or sorrow, providing a brief respite from the inexorable passage of time” (Affin, 2024). Where Dolere traced the fragile boundary between anguish and reprieve, Low Harmonics pushes further into existential terrain, using subterranean registers as both metaphor and medium. In doing so, zakè positions his practice within an ambient tradition that harmonizes intimacy with expansiveness, echoing the textural gravity of Thomas Köner and the spectral poetics of Geir Jenssen, while at the same time advancing Affin’s pursuit of “uncommon sonic spaces outside the mainstream” (Affin, 2024).

In this way, Low Harmonics resonates as both a continuation and a deepening of the path set forth by Dolere. If the earlier work enveloped listeners in melancholic waves of drone and decay, this new album distills that energy into a singular vision, an elemental exploration of vibration itself where deep listening reveals its existential weight and quiet transcendence.

All tracks written & produced by zakè

website | https://affinmusic.de/
Design | markus-guentner.de
Mastering | www.ambientmountainhouse.com
zakè | zakedrone.com

Low Harmonics

Irradiance is Joachim Spieth’s first full length album, to be released on his own imprint Affin. It reflects a cycle of realignment in a carefully realized emotional journey. A constant motion through the layers of the tracks shape the sonic landscape, while evolving atmospheres provide a cohesive feel with shimmers of optimism.

The release will be available as a double 12” and digital, mastered by Artefacts Mastering. The album release coincides with Affin's 10th anniversary.

Artist: Joachim Spieth
Title: Irradiance
Format: Vinyl/CD/Digital
Cat: Affin LP 01 LTD
Release: 2nd November 2017
Mastered by Gio @ Artefacts Mastering Berlin
Artwork by Bjoern Stolpmann & Oliver Keil
Photo by Joachim Spieth
www.joachimspieth.de

re-issued on CD in 2023
https://affin.bandcamp.com/merch

Irradiance

Joachim Spieth - Irradiance

“Tides” is Joachim Spieth’s second longplayer which will be released on his own Affin imprint. The album is divided into 8 tracks, built by seemingly endless, sensitively interwoven surfaces and creates curves of tension between immersive, melancholic and euphoric moments. Layers of atmospheric sounds create a dense and engaging mood, flowing into a swirl of emotions. The release will be available as a double 12” and digital, mastered by Artefacts Mastering.

Format: Vinyl/CD/Digital
Cat: Affin LP 02 LTD
Release: February 2020
Mastered by Gio @ Artefacts Mastering Berlin
Artwork by Oliver Keil
Photo by Joachim Spieth

https://joachimspieth.de
https://linktr.ee/joachimspieth
https://linktr.ee/AffinLTD
https://linktr.ee/Tides_Album

re-issued on CD in 2023
https://affin.bandcamp.com/merch

Tides

Joachim Spieth - Tides

With Ousia, Joachim Spieth presents the third long player on his label Affin. The follow-up album to "Tides" creates imaginary spaces, translates ephemeral impressions and condenses them into cinematic soundscapes. The eight pieces illustrate an intense and emotional journey that creates expressive relationships between external and internal perceptions.

In addition, the piece "Mutuus" reveals an enchanting and so far unique collaboration between Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth, after the two musically shaped Wolfgang Voigt's first release of the compilation series "Pop Ambient" more than 20 years ago.

The album will be available as a double 12 ”, a limited vinyl version including a printed booklet and digital formats.

Artist: Joachim Spieth
Title: Ousia
Format: 2 x 12”/CD/digital
Cat.: Affin LP 03 LTD
Release date: Jan 2021

Track listing

A1 Sparsha
A2 Jiwa
B1 Mutuus (with Markus Guentner)
B2 Akasha
C1 Hyle
C2 Apas
D1 Forma
D2 Anta

Mastering: Gio // Artefacts Mastering Berlin
Artwork: Oliver Keil // Print Solutions
Cover Photos: Joachim Spieth

Homepage: www.joachimspieth.de
Affin: www.linktr.ee/AffinLTD
Ousia: www.linktr.ee/Ousia_Album

re-issued on CD in 2023
https://affin.bandcamp.com/merch

Ousia

Joachim Spieth - Ousia

Affin is an ambient / deep techno platform for artists exploring sound and visual form.

run by @joachim-spieth

AFFIN

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