Theory Therapy is a Sydney-based label, mix series and radio program. In the last two years, Theory Therapy has cultivated a modest yet remarkable catalog. Through their careful selection of contemporary artists and DJs spanning the globe, they've contributed to shaping an unbounded community of kindred spirits. The outcome is a collection of downtempo, ambient, and chillout music emerging from the underground.

Where are you based?

I’m currently based in Sydney, Australia. I moved here from Scotland in 2018 on a whim and at some point in time decided to stay.

Can you describe your label mix?

I’ve tried to showcase a couple sides of the label. The first half features some of the beat-based and downtempo stuff. The second half delves into more textural things. 

There are no long blends. I just wanted to play a bunch of my favourite tracks, most of which I’ve never played before. A lot of it is forthcoming.

Also shoutout to Tommy for the last track. It’s an edit he made of ‘In & Out Of Season’ for a foil event. It features Ellen Renton’s poem from the first Out of Season comp. 

What inspired you to start a label? 

A culmination of things happening at the right time, including meeting Dan, who I work on the label with. 

I think just being able to share music with people is extremely special. Knowing that it might be impacting someone’s day in some small way, that’s a gift. There are lots of labels that do that for me. I think at some point I wanted to do that as well.

Ellen’s line in the poem about ‘pairing a song with the moment and watching’ probably captures the essence of why much better than anything I could say. 

Does your label have a sound or a mission?

I'm not sure. There's a tendency towards textural ambient and downtempo but I think the label's sound is constantly being refined and re-defined with each release. I love music that can't easily be categorised. The latest release by Conna Haraway's Lusidiq might be the perfect example of that. 

 

Tell us about your scene(s). 

Australia has a thriving electronic music scene, Naarm/Melbourne in particular, but every city has people hustling in different ways. It’s just a lot more accessible down in Melbourne. Spaces like Skylab Radio have a lot to do with that. Tess and the crew put so much time and effort into running the station. It’s pretty special to be a part of something like that, even if I can only get down a few times a year.

There's also a pretty healthy ambient-adjacent ecosystem online, especially on soundcloud. It feels like everyone left soundcloud a few years back and now there’s just a small community of people sharing some extremely cool stuff and running some amazing mix series.

What's your A&R process? 

I’m pretty particular about the music I’d like to release on the label. I have a list of artists I’d love to work with. Most of the time, I’ll just reach out to them or we’ll start chatting and it comes together pretty organically.

90% of me and Dan’s pub chat is just us talking about who we’d like to ask for a mix or release music with on the label. 

What labels do you look up to?

Lillerne Tapes for its longevity, quality and the way it never seems to have deviated from its DIY origins. Also Gabe is an absolute sweetheart who helped me a lot getting started.

In terms of sound, I’ve been pretty heavily inspired by older labels like Instinct Ambient, Elektrolux and City Centre Offices. I think Terre Thaemlitz’s Tranquilizer might be the perfect album. JFC’s Chrome De Lux is another classic. I listen to those albums at least once a month.

There are so many new labels too that I look up to for different reasons – 3XL, daisart, Motion Ward, sferic, enmossed, Somewhere Press, Longform Editions, Best Effort, Companion, INDEX:Records & Appendix.Files, Quiet Time, Good Morning Tapes. I could go on.