Joe Davies aka DJ Assam talks new Smallvillle release 'Wonderful Tempo' and more...

Your new EP marks a return to Smallville following the release of your album Shields In Full Sunlight in 2023. Looking back, how do you feel your sound and creative approach have evolved since that record, and where does this latest release sit within that journey?

Working on an album is a different process than an EP, for sure. With the album, Smallville were very open and let me explore wide open musical spaces, not necessarily functional or club focussed. I’m really thankful for that and love how it turned out. With this and the previous EP, I wanted to keep some of that openness but bring it back into a more concentrated club-minded form. I buy lots of records, and most of them to play them out. When I make a three or four track EP like this, I want people to have it in their bags and play it in their sets. Although they have to be quite open-minded to do so, maybe.

There’s always been a unique balance in your music between functionality and introspection – tracks that work on a dancefloor but also reward deeper listening. How consciously do you think about that balance when writing music, or is it something that happens naturally through the creative process?

Thank you, I think that is the goal for me. I don’t consciously think about it while making music, it’s just what I want from a track. It can start out functional or simple, but at some point, something weird has to happen, something emotional or dirty. I like imperfections in textures and sounds, unpredictable details that make you pay attention while getting lost in the groove. If something happens by chance, I will often value it higher than when I planned it.

The new EP feels rich in atmosphere and detail, with a strong sense of space running throughout. What was inspiring you during the writing process, and were there any particular places, experiences or pieces of music that found their way into these recordings?

The A1 working title was originally “Panorama Bar Sound”, because it started out as a very basic deep house track. I had just rediscovered the excellent Steffi Album on Ostgut Ton on my record shelf and thought about the classic Panorama sound from back in the day, less high energy vocal house like today and more wavey, dubby house. I was trying to emulate that at first but then it turned into something more distorted and minimal halfway through production. In the end it reminded me more of something rough, punk - hence the name “Ton, Scheine, Sterben”.

You've built a highly respected catalogue over the years across a range of labels and projects. Looking back to your earliest productions, what do you think has remained constant in your approach to making music, and what has changed the most?

What has probably remained constant is that I trust feeling over technique. Ever since I started making music, I was chasing a sound, a mood or atmosphere rather than trying to make something technically perfect. While hopefully getting a little better at producing over time, I still often decide to just leave things as they are instead of trying to iron them out. There’s a lot of soul in the dirt.

Smallville has cultivated a very distinctive identity over the years, one that often feels centred around timelessness rather than trends. What is it about the label and its ethos that continues to resonate with you as an artist?

I think it’s probably that Smallville is a patient label. They are not chasing trends; they never make nostalgic moves. They just do their thing. I have incredible respect for them, and I think lots of people do. It’s one of the very few ways a label can stay relevant for this long. Just do your own thing. It also helps that I want every record they release, I’m still also just a big fan that got very lucky to be a part of it.

Technology has transformed the way electronic music is produced, distributed and consumed since you first began making records. What aspects of modern music-making excite you most, and are there any parts of the old days that you feel we've lost along the way?

I think it’s a bit ironic that people are complaining about AI music when a lot of them have been making AI music for years. It wasn’t produced with AI, but a lot of it certainly has been sounding like it - even before Suno was around. I can’t really tell the difference between an AI track and house tune built from seven splice loops and a pop vocal. But I know AI would never come up with an Omar-S album or a DJ Sotofett record, or Bad Brains or an Alice Coltrane one.

Looking ahead, what does the next chapter hold for Joe Davies? Are there any forthcoming projects, collaborations or creative ambitions that you're particularly excited to share with the world?

I have no idea, which is a nice feeling. I have a lot of unreleased music that I made over the years and that’s made me consider starting a label again, so that might be something. I also was very lucky to take part in a writing camp for another artist for the first time last year and that was a brilliant, beautiful experience that I’d like to explore more of. Definitely will make some more weird deep house tunes, that’s for sure.

BUY LINK: https://smallville-records.bandcamp.com/album/smallville-76-joe-davies-wonderful-tempo

‍