A beguiling sound collage from Melbourne maverick Jim Sellars.
Theory Therapy 29 is a heady bricolage of amorphous textures and unusually beautiful sounds by Naarm-based producer Jim Sellars aka Yunzero.
Fans of the Lillerne and .jpeg Artefacts affiliate will find a lot to love here. Sellars has somehow assembled 55 mesmerising tracks into a brief 45- minute mix. It feels very similar in vision to his recent collaboration Wall of Junk with friend and fellow producer Body Clock. Like that album, Sellars turns otherworldly samples and unconventional rhythms into captivating, mysterious soundscapes.
I get that a lot of great electronic music is intended to be transportive, but Sellars' music feels like its own self-contained world. I’m not really sure how they manage to make such disparate sources coalesce so well (for one, not many producers could pull off sampling Vin Diesel as they did on Blurry Ant) but that inexplicable quality is what keeps me returning to their brand of electronic music. I’m confident it’ll be a similar story with this mix.
How are you today?
Good, thanks. Hope you’re well, yourself.
Can you tell us a little bit about the mix? What were you feeling when you made it?
It’s kind of a mix, kind of a big scrapbook of sounds I pinched from all over the place. It’s a lot of noise, muddy synths and percussion, haze and bliss, snippets of things weaving in and out quickly. Bit of “radio transmission into space” energy in this one. I was feeling good, content, and made this over the last few days.
Where did you record the mix?
In the garage, looking out onto the garden. Possums come and go in here. They sometimes sit on the ledge above my computer and watch me, unfazed. I don’t mind either, as long as they don’t shit everywhere or chew my cables.
Where would you recommend listening to it?
In a quiet spot, using it as a soundtrack or foley to something visual, like a movie or video game with the volume down. Microcosmos could be cool, or the Silent Hill games. It might zone you out if you were distracted by doing something else.
Are there any tracks you’ve used in the mix that are special or significant to you?
A lot; I mean, there’s a lot of tracks here. I started the mix with Dimlite, who I used to geek out with friends over. Adore those memories. Beautiful, colourful music and very nostalgic.
Theory Therapy mixes are about sharing the music that you personally find therapeutic and restorative. What does that mean for you?
I think anything can relax you, depending on your mood. A lot of people I know find rap, pop and generally loud music restorative. I feel that. I sometimes chuck on the YouTube algorithm and just try and play bass along with it. That might be where I’ve found the most peace. I go through phases of meditating too, and often silence, staring up at the ceiling, is the best thing to collect my thoughts.
Is there a particular album or piece of music that you find yourself return to for tranquility?
Too many to name, but a few that come to mind: Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise, picnic by picnic, Dopethrone by Electric Wizard and anything by chipmunks on 16 speed or Fia Fiell.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I have a new record coming out (hopefully by the end of the year, or early next), and I think it’s my favourite release I’ve made. I’d love to play an a/v set as soon as it’s permitted, too. Other than that, I’m just taking life slow, doing a little gardening, looking after my health, making the most of the time I have.
Tracklist:
Dimlite - One of Uh Infinite’s Countless Uh Tiny Cycles [Now-Again]
Gil Michel - Boy [This Thing]
Gri Gri - I’m Not A Performing Monkey (Side A) [not on label]
Dylan Nyoukis - The Dog Lady Dreams With Pebbles Under Foot [Discombobulate]
Samoyed, Tapes & Lukid - Untitled [not on label]
The Process - Cannabis Improvus [not on label]
Naps - Arrangement [Habitat Tapes]
Anode - Goteberg [Anode Productions]
Eberhard Schoener - Nadi [HOR ZU]
Cacophony ’33’ - Side B [Park Holme Recordings]
Alessio Ballerini - Half Water [Lost Children]
Bluetung - Room Tone [Altered States]
Capricorni Pneumatici - P.Pvc. M. [666 Production]
Siegmar Fricke - Electrohome Europa [IRRE Tapes]
Yunzero - Fog Bank [not on label]
Carl Matthews - Money Talks [Electronical Dreams]
Craig McElhinney - Strange Readings [Badminton Bandit]
Rain Tree Crow - A Reassuringly Dull Sunday [Virgin]
Match Fixer - In The Distance [not on label]
Caveman LSD - Untitled [not on label]
Merz - Untitled [IEP]
Pink Buffalo - Untitled [Taped Sounds]
Hans Reichel - Hohou Speaks [Rastascan]
Radius - Traverse Waves (cv313 reshape) [Echospace]
Albrecht, D & Fognin - Track 21 [Break The Line]
iL - Unprotected Sex Press [not on label]
Reigens - TZ [not on label]
Andreas Grosser - Inspirations From The Mental Realm [Running Back]
Skullcaster - Revaluation A [Holodeck]
Tolerance - Pulse Static (Tranquillia) [Vanity Records]
Untold - 5 Wheels [Hemlock]
Verdrame - Gleim [not on label]
Warren Burt - Improvisation In Two Ancient Greek Modes [Extreme]
Joel Graham - Under Terra Cotta [Lions Main Music Production]
Autumn - 7.49 [not on label]
Areknuteknyterne - Barnetimen [not on label]
Rieg - Music For Wind Part 2 [Fermet]
Lavatone - Terrafish [Full Spectrum]
Larry Wendt - Gasoline [VOD]
The Land of Yrx - Merman Ikon Bee [Auricle]
Rita Revell - I Was Our Ear [Happy Endin]
Divination Matrix - Eidolonic Pulse [Lillerne Tapes]
Takashi Toyota - Galaxy [Nexus]
Endzeitgeneration - Basis [IRRE]
Lightwave - Untitled [not on label]
Lisa Lerkenfeldt - Collagen [Shelter Press]
Gil Melle - Wildfire [Kapp]
Body Clock - The Pedestrian [Music Company]
Etant Donnes 3 - Etant Donnes B [Bain Total]
Unheimlich - Thoughts In Our Hearts [not on label]
Pendant - Formula To Attract Affections [West Mineral]
Larry Wendt - Zoo [VOD]
Prefuse 73 - Formal Dedications [Warp]
Grass Mirror - Meeler Swamp [not on label]
Dem Hunger - Squint Fucker [Vlek]