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Joe Delon is a DJ and writer living in Lisbon. I personally became aware of Joe through his Ghostcast, which I listened to countless times in varying degrees of sobriety throughout 2020-2021. From this, I discovered and subscribed to his newsletter. I frequently find myself amused by the honesty from his writing - at a time when PR often masks itself as music journalism, and the internet is everyone’s highlight reel, it feels refreshing to read honest reviews about DJ sets and releases.
This mix of Joe’s carries a continuity of house throughout - but not too vocal or corny, and always sassy. His knowledge spans far and wide across minimal to house and beyond, and his sensibility around selection carries a distinct feeling which I think, is very chic but also still very gay.
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Peach: Hi Joe :) Thank you for being part of the Sixth Sense mix series. How are you?
Joe: Hey Serena! Thank you for having me! I just got back to my parents’ house after a long weekend playing in Manchester and partying in London for my friend Gwenan’s 40th birthday. It’s past 1am and I am zonked but happy.
P: Where are you based now?
J: I’ve lived in Lisbon for 12 years now, although sometimes it doesn’t feel like it because I travel a lot. But that’s my home.
P: Where are you from originally?
J: I’m from Birmingham. I’m not the city’s biggest advocate to be honest but it has some cool things going for it. Duran Duran and Justin Broadrick are from Birmingham. So is Jossy Mitsu! She went to my school, though almost a generation after me lol.
P: What made you move to Lisbon?
J: I have various answers to this question depending on who I’m talking to, but the three central factors were pretty much: 1) I had a burnout in my job in London and decided to take time out and learn a language; 2) a friend of mine had already moved to Madrid and learnt Spanish and I didn’t want to copy him; 3) Portuguese men are beautiful. Two months after arriving, I knew I wasn’t ever going back to live in London.
P: What is the scene like in Lisbon?
J: Conveniently for me, DJ Mag just put out an entire piece answering this question. My experience over the years has been that the scene can be really quite competitive and segregated, but on the rare occasions when a party or venue manages to transcend those divisions, it can be very special.
P: Beyond DJing, you are a writer, and a label owner. Can you tell us about your writing? Is that something you’ve always been passionate about?
J: I’ve been writing about my two favourite subjects — music and myself — since I was about 14 years old. I had my own RollerCoaster Tycoon fan site where I also reviewed CDs I was buying. Then later when I left uni and moved to London I was writing about discovering clubbing, drugs and house music. When I write today I try to do it with the same naivety as back then, though it’s basically impossible. But the impulse is still there to try to articulate the root of why all of this is hugely important to me and, by extension, to other ravers who read it. I think quite a lot of people are sceptical about writing/talking in depth about dance music, but I’m a big advocate for it, if it’s done in an unpretentious way.
P: I am a huge fan of your newsletter and how honest it is. I remember you once called a SASS set you saw at Horst “predictable” which I was really obsessed with. So much writing these days, like social media, feels like just a hit list. What made you start the newsletter? Have you encountered any friction from your honesty?
J: No matter what I said about your SASS set, I’m sure I said worse things about Job Jobse’s.
I didn’t actually start the newsletter to take potshots at people, but I do think everyone could be a lot more honest every now and then, and I don’t think people should have a problem with criticism if it’s presented fairly and is generally punching up. I know that some people have taken light offence. Others probably think it’s a bit creepy or parasocial, which I get, though the only person I’ve ever really gone full Swiftie on was Prosumer and I don’t think he minded that much. I guess I maybe crossed the line from “gently critical” into “a bit mean” when I did that Dekmantel x Hör recap, but in my defence I was deliriously ill in bed and the whole tawdry spectacle of it really got to me.
P: Tell us about Welt Discos, your label.
J: I’m just releasing music I am excited about and would play out. I like to think I can convince people of tunes they wouldn’t otherwise go for, rather than just feeding people the same basic formula record after record. It’s an approach that isn’t necessarily good for business, but feels spiritually righteous. After 9 vinyl releases and one CD, the next release will be a digital EP but it’s got some fun extras…including an absolutely incredible artwork that is going to be released as a limited edition jigsaw puzzle!!
P: You released one of my tracks on a compilation mix CD, which I’ve done a horrible job at talking about online. Here it is!
What made you choose the format of the mix CD?
J: I’m going to take the easy route here and link to this blog I wrote on this very topic.
P: When you initially sent me this mix, you described a very specific setting that this mix was built for.
Can you tell us about what inspired you around this scene specifically?
J: I don’t know about you but I’ve been in this scenario many MANY times, and when you do an afters like this with the right people it just can’t be beaten. It’s not that I wanted to make a mix to soundtrack an afters — it’s only 90 minutes long and of course a proper crack-on will last a good few hours — but I did want to capture the narrative arc, the build-up of unhinged energy and then the (hopefully) soft landing afterwards. I mentioned CK in the blurb simply because in my experience it’s the most silly-fun of all the afterparty drug combos!
P: Did you have any other inspirations around the mix? Do you have a favourite part?
J: The other inspiration was you and your commitment to records! I love records and love playing them but a few years ago I gave up travelling with a full bag of them because it was destroying my body. But I have all these records sitting at home, only a fraction of them digitised, and when I see people like you still lugging a bag around and really leaning into the format, the style and technique, it gives me itchy fingers. This was the perfect opportunity to go through the shelves again. The only digital tunes in the mix are from my label: Stephen Howe’s brilliant Yes x Groove Armada mash-up, and two tunes off that forthcoming digital EP by Billy Jack (which will also have a remix by your previous guest, Jay Duncan). The rest are records I’ve owned for years and years and that remind me of wonderful afterparties past. I really like the section with the two Iniquity releases, as I bought them in 2018 after finding clips on a random Australian record shop page (that I now can’t find) but have rarely played either of them out. And then I love the final stretch, the soft landing, because that’s always my favourite part of any night. For me that Module Werk tune is the exemplary end-of-an-afters record: hazy, a little bit sleepy, blissed-out.
P: How did you record the mix?
J: Two technics, one XDJ-700, my busted-up ex-club Formula Sound FF4000 mixer that I bought off ebay ten years ago, and, yes I’m THAT cliched, a cup of tea. I recorded it once with my old Shure Whitelabels and realised listening back that they are truly ruined, so I went out and bought some new Ortofons to do a second take with. The sound is preeetty clean!
P: I feel like you are truly passionate still about going out, being on a dancefloor and taking in all that is in the clubbing experience - which can’t be said for all DJs unfortunately! Can you share one of your favourite clubbing experiences from recent memory?
J: I definitely have less patience with parties these days than I used to, but I will still make the effort to go out because that’s where the real inspiration comes from. I don’t consider myself a hugely gregarious person, so I don’t have a load of wacky club behaviour anecdotes, but I do love being in the club, the dancefloor, observing and imagining other people’s storylines. One of my favourite recent nights in a club was seeing Gwenan at Globus on New Year’s Eve. I’ve seen her DJ so many times over the years and she can still surprise me. At moments it felt like the most ‘big room’/‘pop’ I’d heard her play, alongside the closing section of her set at Freero two years ago, but it still had that distinctive G wonkiness. And of course the Globus sound system is absolute magic. (Incidentally I write this answer the day after seeing her smash it again at Night Moves in London, where she played the original mix of ‘Heike’ by Ricardo Villalobos, which I would never have bet on hearing at a Night Moves party but was exactly what we all needed to hear at that precise moment.)
P: Who are your favourite DJs and producers at the moment?
J: Gwenan, obviously. Other DJs I will never tire of: Prosumer, Tama Sumo, Eli Verveine, Mike Servito, Nick Kagame. Luke Vibert at Waking Life was probably the most fun I had on a dancefloor last year: he’s basically a wedding DJ but playing all his own tunes. Maybe he’s DJing his own wedding? I can relate anyway, because I think I am a wedding DJ at heart.
My favourite producers right now are Gladstone Deluxe in NYC and Ranma Entero in CDMX. I’ve also been gradually discovering Eris Drew’s productions and remixes from over the years — she’s obviously one of the best DJs out there, but her productions are also off the chain.
You can handily refer to my End Of Year 2025 rundown for more of what I’ve been into of late.
P: Can you tell us where we can see you DJ over the next while?
J: I’m playing at Brama in London next weekend with my friend Sam PV, then the weekend after that I’m throwing a Welt Discos party at Arkaoda in Berlin with Alex Sourbis, Nick Kagame and Twist Fire. It’s a fun venue and I can guarantee the music will be sick. Then I’m DJing at Globus again, which has basically become my favourite room to both play and listen in. Over the summer one of the gigs I’m most excited about is a party in SF on pride weekend — there’s a lot of history there to grapple with, and I just know the party is going to be wild.
Tracklist
The Exile Mission - Sidewinder (Fabrizio Mammarella Remix) [Brontosaurus, 2006]
DJ Profile - Batoblues [Sound Of Barclay, 2000]
Low Top - Party Balm [Inner Sunset, 2007]
Spencer Kincy - Soho [Cyclo, 1998]
Mazi - Living On The Edge [Underground Construction, 1998]
Mijangos - Harmony [Aqua Boogie, 1995]
Grey - Doma [Fair Park, 2004]
John Tejada - Western Starland [Palettte, 2001]
Billy Jack - Dark Pink [Welt Discos, forthcoming]
Plankton - Shaka Attack [Transfusion, 1997]
Bozo - Groove Melon [Skinnymalinky, 1996]
Billy Jack - B.L.U. [Welt Discos, forthcoming]
Colfax - Bump In The Night [End, 2001]
Overmaster - Certified [Iniquity, 1996]
SH - Owner Of A Superstylin’ Heart [Welt Discos, 2026]
Overmaster - Rhythm [Iniquity, 1996]
Lazy I - Kettlefish [Slalom, 1998]
Modified Starch - Acidity Regulator [Slalom, 1998]
Module Werk - Awakening (サイボーグの夢) [Helena, 2017]