Release Notes
Label: Affin
Release: Conversion
Date: October 3rd, 2025
Mastered By: Artefacts Mastering
Artwork By: Markus Guentner
There are a few collaborations that work really well. And, when something works well, why not double down? Two years ago [I almost said last November], Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth came together for a full-length release on Spieth’s own Affin imprint. This was more than just their initial conversation, which appeared on Wolfgang Voigt’s Kompakt‘s Pop Ambient‘s 2022 installment. Overlay was full of lush texture and ambience, which gently tickled the sensitive nerve endings in my ear canal, leaving my brain to decipher the signals into analgesic pleasantries. This year, the duo returns with a follow-up full-length release, delving deeper into atmospheric soundscapes, punctuating them with a dub-inspired heart-pounding beat. Fans of hypnotic, kaleidoscopic, and sonically rich environments will surely want to lose themselves in the caverns of this all-encompassing sound. If you also love [as much as I do] their solo works, you will find that here, together, the multiplier is higher. They’re truly at the top of their game here, so let’s put on a heavy ADS for a fully submersible voyage. A subwoofer is highly recommended.
This album is about our common inspirations and the music history we share. Back when we both first started making and releasing music, we didn’t actually know each other in person. It wasn’t until years later that we got in touch. The more we talked, the more we realised there’d always been a connection through certain foundational records that shaped us both. It was so nice to discover how much we had in common musically without ever meeting. Many songs we liked, listened to, and danced to! So, when we considered making music as a duo, we had just one objective: get that same feeling that inspired and shaped us, and bring it into our music. We’re not interested in copying. We just want to create the atmosphere and the mood! You might hear a few references on that track, but it’s communicated in our own shared language and through our unique method of doing things.
— Markus Guentner
The idea for this last track on the album emerged in December 2024, and we finished it on Christmas Day in the afternoon. We both had the patience and good faith that it would work out. It went through a few cycles and versions, each time opening up more space, building fields and layers. It was made after an intense stretch of work, and looking back now, as the album’s final step, I know we made it in the right way – with few words exchanged, but all the right feelings. I imagine it playing on a late train ride home and looking at the world passing by through the window. I think it captures so many essential elements we’ve been centering around with our collaboration.
— Joachim Spieth
The album is scheduled to be released on October 3rd, once again via Joachim’s Affin. It will be available digitally and as a 6-panel CD with a sticker. All of the beautiful art, pictured above, was designed by Markus. There are two singles ahead of the release, with the first premiering for you exclusively here. Pre-orders start tomorrow, and the first 25 folks to jump on a CD version will get an extra little pin. Also, in case your summer is pretty hot (I know Berlin is like over 33 degrees these days), Markus has shared with us his very special mixed drink recipe, which is called, you guessed it, “Conversion”:
6cl Gin
4cl Umeshu (ume liqueur)
2cl Lime Juice
2cl Sugar Syrup
1tsp Rose Syrup
Directions: Mix everything in a glass with ice. Garnish with lime, lemon (and cherry, if you want).
Prost!
