Theory Therapy 51: Jake Muir
Music for chillout rooms.
Theory Therapy 51 is by producer and field recordist Jake Muir.
Jake is someone we’ve been eager to have on the series for a very long time. The Berlin-based artist has such a fantastic ability to create a specific sense of space and atmosphere in his music and mixes. This recording is no exception. It's an updated version of a set originally made for the Cool Room party in Melbourne, filled with yawning spaces of natural reverb and densely textured ambient. “The way the chillout room was described to me sounded very low key, with people drawing and what not, so I kept that vibe in mind when selecting tracks. The music spans from the late 70s through now.”
Hey Jake. How are you today?
Hey Gary, I’m doin’ pretty well. Sorry for taking 3 years to finally do this mix!
What was the last song you listened to?
Steve Roden - Winter Is Herd or Heard
When’s your favorite time to listen to music?
I guess when I’m commuting or running. It’s easier for me to concentrate on it when I’m out, as when I’m listening at home it's usually while cooking or doing some work.
What’s your favorite thing about living in Berlin? What’s surprised you most about the city?
Berlin is definitely the wildest city for music. You could be at some sort of an event 4 or more nights in a row (this happened to me last October). There’s also a pretty healthy scene here for more esoteric stuff besides club music.
Also as someone who grew up in a fairly new and secular place like LA, hearing these big church bells ricochet through the streets here really struck me; Some of the drones are super deep. I’m not a fan of the church, but I do enjoy a good bell ringing.
Your most recent solo album Mana was inspired by the illbient scene of the mid ‘90s. Is there an album or track from that period that stands out to you?
Hard to pick one since it was a pretty multifaceted genre. I’d say Sub Dub - Original Masters 93 - 95, Scarab - Secrets of the Past & Future, and Paul D Miller - Viral Sonata might be my top 3.
A special mention here for DJ Olive’s sleeping pill mixes that came out a bit later, which have had a huge impact on me. I was really jazzed to find out several years ago that he had uploaded the individual tracks, some in different versions, on Bandcamp as a compendium (Balm). He found a really nice balance between turntablism, synthesis, and guitar in that material.
Now for a very specific question – what do you reckon your most listened to Susumu Yokota track is?
Ha! It’s probably Black Sea or Spool.
Tell us an album or track you’ve been enjoying recently.
I’ve been really enjoying this album by Marc Wannabe on 90% Wasser. I think it sounds like if Madteo and The Avalanches had a baby.
Outside of music, what helps you get into a creative mindset?
I don’t really have any tips here to be honest. Outside of picking a theme/concept/processing to tie a project together, I just sit down at the computer and see where the material takes me. Some days I make more progress than others; I feel like there’s never really any rhyme or reason to it.
Can you tell us a little about the mix? Where did you record it?
I stitched the current version of this mix together between last fall and now in Ableton/at home. The good folks behind the Cool Room party in Melbourne asked me to contribute a set for their event back in November. The way the chillout room was described to me sounded very low key, with people drawing and what not, so I kept that vibe in mind when selecting tracks. The music spans from the late 70s through now.
Where would you recommend listening to it?
On the move.
Theory Therapy mixes are about sharing the music that you personally find therapeutic or cathartic. What does that mean for you? Is there an album you find yourself returning to for similar reasons?
Not sure. I get stressed out like anyone else and sometimes want to put on something that’s more relaxing, but I rarely find myself actively seeking out music that’s therapeutic in the traditional sense. I have a fair amount of music that could probably fall into that category, but I just enjoy it for what it is and the aesthetics employed.
This 20 min track by Aidan Baker is one of my favorite ambient pieces.
Do you feel that ambient music has been watered down by the so-called wellness industry?
I think there’s a few things at play that have currently left us with a generally mild version of the genre. In regards to more underground music, it’s maybe not so much the wellness industry, but a result of the pandemic, people being overworked, etc. It seems like a lot of folks are looking for an escape from their circumstances and thus wanting music that’s very sedate and unobtrusive.
I also think some people have forgotten, or are maybe not aware, of the more edgy contexts that ambient and adjacent music were born out of. The 1968 student protests in Germany and a desire to break from the norm helped inspire Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, etc. Tangential to this is that those artists and others like Iasos and Eno were doing varying levels of psychedelics, which is definitely reflected in the music. I’ve had some people tell me my music and mixes pair well with ketamine and it’s not really a mystery why that is. I’m not saying one has to do drugs or be political to make weird music, but it does have something to do with it. I find that a lot of the ambient music made with the intention of being soothing tends to not sound very exploratory.
This whole notion of wellness, quietude, and beyond has also extended to the queer community. You could argue that vulnerability and sensitivity are radical, but with many countries becoming more fascist and stripping people’s rights away, I feel like maybe we should be making and highlighting music that has a bit more agency.
Tell us something exciting that's coming up in your life, music or otherwise.
I’m working on a couple projects I’m stoked about. One involves some travel this year that I’m looking forward to, and the other is an extended version of the piece I presented at INA GRM, which was one of the best experiences of my life. I think I’ll also be starting a collab album later this year with a friend in NY that should be pretty out there.
