Theory Therapy 57: Montana
Hopeful melancholy from Boorloo.
From Boorloo/Perth with love comes the 57th submission in the series curated by DJ and producer Montana Bourke. Read the full interview below.
Hey Montana. How are you today?
Morning :) it’s Sunday morning as I write this and I just woke up, it’s my weekend now so I’m feeling pretty good & lazy calm.
What was the last song you listened to?
The Dream - Raudie
In my friend Takeo’s mix for Re-me-de
Do you have a favourite place to listen to music?
In my car. I love turning the volume up, the coast sets the scene, or it’s 11pm driving home in the dark. The car becomes my own little safe haven, it feels like my own little world for a brief moment, just me and the music.
What's the scene like in Perth?
It’s supportive, community orientated, forward thinking, safe, adaptable to change. I’m not sure if I would still be living in Perth if it wasn’t for the community mindset of the scene here & the people attached to it. Really special.
Tell us a bit about your show on Skylab. How did it get started? Is there a particular sound the show gravitates towards?
Well, it all started when a live recording of a set I did for a show supporting Errol H. Tout here in Perth was put up on Skylab. Simon messaged me a couple months later and asked if I wanted a permanent show on the station. The idea of the show was to present music that I enjoy listening to in my down time, the oddball obscurities I come across on my deep dives & a chance to express myself musically in ways I can’t do on a dancefloor. I feel there is a very distinct style and sound I go towards, the big B word (balearic) as a feeling more than a genre haha. It’s constantly changing though depending on how my life is influencing what I’m listening to.. the shows name is also a nod to my passion for the sweet things in life :)
Can you tell us a little about your Theory Therapy mix? What were you feeling when you made it? Where did you record it?
The mix, is a love letter to my past, present & future self. A reminder, that grief, loss, heartbreak, does get easier with time and it is solely up to me and the relationship I have with myself to carry and care for myself through hard times. Lyrically there are moments that speak to me as words of comfort, as if a friend was speaking to me, when I feel lost and alone, they remind me that I am loved and cared for. It’s a reminder to keep going with your head held high.
I was feeling rather melancholic when I recorded this mix, it was cathartic for me and a big release of emotion and heaviness that I carry around with me from time to time. It doesn’t go away, it just honours it and makes me accept and appreciate the human experience.
I recorded the mix in my bedroom, looking out over our lush garden.
Where would you recommend listening to it?
Anywhere that is your safe, comfort space will be a good place to listen to it :)
Are there any tracks you’ve used in the mix that are special or significant to you?
Probably ‘The Reckoner’ by Radiohead. I first heard it when I was sitting on my friends couch with two of my friends, we had just had some mushroom tea and we decided to take turns to put songs on over his nice big speakers. We were all coming up pretty high and my friend put this song on. I had an outerbody experience, I had my eyes closed and when the song finished I realised I had been weeping. It was a moment where I realised the true cathartic capability of music, it was pretty magical.
Theory Therapy mixes are about sharing the music that you personally find therapeutic, cathartic or restorative. What does that mean for you?
It means creating a space in music to allow for vulnerability, to tether a story together, one that is not always linear but it’s a story nonetheless.
I have struggled in my own personal life to be vulnerable at times, so pouring this into a mix is where I can find my healing. Also, in a hope to touch someone else out there, it is not just my heart it’s my heart reaching out to each individual who chooses to listen and immerse themself in the story.. connection in vulnerability :)
Is there a particular album or piece of music that you find yourself returning to for similar reasons?
I think it would have to be Raul Lovisini & Francesco Messina’s album ‘Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo’, specifically the title track.
I tend to put it on in the morning, on my day off, maybe it’s become a bit of a ritual you could say. The piece goes for 23 minutes and 25 seconds, it’s really something I get totally lost in, everything else in the world seems to evaporate when I listen to it. The name translates in english to “Wet Meadows of Mount Analog”, Mount Analog as a reference to the philosophical adventure novel Mount Analog by Rene Daumal. Daumal accompanies the book with notes comparing art and alpinism saying,
“Alpinism is the art of climbing mountains by confronting the greatest dangers with the greatest prudence. Art is used here to mean the accomplishment of knowledge in action.
You cannot always stay on the summits. You have to come down again...
So what's the point? Only this: what is above knows what is below, what is below does not know what is above. While climbing, take note of all the difficulties along your path. During the descent, you will no longer see them, but you will know that they are there if you have observed carefully.
There is an art to finding your way in the lower regions by the memory of what you have seen when you were higher up. When you can no longer see, you can at least still know. . .”
And when I reflect on that sentiment I can draw ties to my own life, my own struggles, triumphs & the rest and listening to that piece of music offers a time to do so and evokes that sense of acknowledgement, peace & tranquility that can be hard sometimes to find in life.
Tell us something exciting that's coming up in your life, music or otherwise.
After not having many dj gigs over the past few months, I have lots of fun parties over the course of this month (november) that are accompanied by close buddies, in particular Strawberry Fields, so I feel very lucky and excited to play some music close to my heart at these special gigs.
