Get to know Maher Daniel, the DJ and producer making alluring minimal techno

Maher now lives in Barcelona, after moving to the Catalan capital five years ago. Having spent seven years as a resident at Stereo, he thought the change would help him get more gigs.

“When you’re in North America, sometimes it’s hard to get booked because of the cost of flights,” he explains today. “There’s four times as many clubs in Europe. Once I made the move, I started to get booked loads more.”

As well as a stint helping run No 19 Music – the label helmed by Jonny White of Art Department – Maher has increased his focus on production since moving to Barcelona, returning to the minimal, stripped-back style he originally fell in love with after seeing DJs such as Ricardo play at Stereo.

“A little while back I felt like I was chasing what was going on in music a little bit,” he reveals. “Now I’ve gone back to a very raw aesthetic, and I’m trying to keep my sound more organic. Sometimes you can try too hard to put too much into a record, and lose the energy by trying to make it sound super-big.”