Joe’s Muse is the kind of track you’d hear in an underground techno club, somewhere in the middle of a long set, dancing in the dark. French producer and DJ Nathan Melja keeps the beat steady, with airy textures that give the major track a weightless, floaty feel. It’s confident, instead of hectic, and stays true to his intentions: subtle, inventive. An antidote to excess drama, Melja’s rhythm carries a conscious groove set off by displacements in the production.
There’s something soothingly familiar about its sound. The beat’s drive holds its own on a dancefloor, while the softer layers keep it light. Melja pushes the energetic track into a flow-state, chill rhythmic territory; it stays cool and understated, letting the groove work its power. It’s techno that holds your attention without the need to demand it.
His single Joe’s Muse opens the upcoming 108 EP, Melja’s forthcoming release on respected Parisian label Sentaku, known for introspective music with physicality. The four-track EP also includes Les Planètes, featuring Joiah, the title track 108 and Trippin’, with Strategic Patterns appearing on the digital edition. The tracklist points towards a record that moves between playful club sounds and hypnotic passages. As an opener, Joe’s Muse establishes its own enticing pace without giving too much away about what follows.
Melja has spent more than a decade developing his sound through releases and collaborations, and it shows. In 2021, he founded Parodia, an imprint intended to give him room to explore his own ideas without being tied to a single direction. His work moves between club-focused production and exploratory electronic music, and Joe’s Muse sits comfortably in that space. Its framework is a tried and tested format; the lighter textures give it even more character beyond the beat.
The techno track’s appeal is in the way it maintains a repeated pulse without becoming heavy-handed, which is smart. This is for a long club set, longer attention spans, where the music doesn’t have to peak every few minutes to keep people there. Joe’s Muse takes its time, and that’s worth it.
