Theory Therapy 98: rec
Ethereal music for beach naps
Theory Therapy 98 comes from Tbilisi's rec. His mix channels the heat of the Georgian summer into a dreamy, Balearic-tinged selection inspired by artists like Malibu and Femi – ethereal, sun-soaked sounds made for beach naps and slow-moving summer days.
How are you today?
Heyy, thank you for having me, feeling good It’s the height of summer in Tbilisi now and it’s my favorite time of the year.
What was the last song you listened to?
I’m listening to a lot of music every day but the last one is a ‘seastar’ by bambinodj and Mikey Enwright, literally an anthem of summer 2026.
Where do you most enjoy listening to music?
Definitely during late night when the city is quiet and there is no noise pollution.
What’s the best music discovery you’ve made recently?
Hard to say honestly I’m digging music pretty often and it’s always something new for me but I really enjoy what dernier détail doing lately, pure talent!
Is there an artist or album you listen to often that people might not expect based on your own sound?
Now that's what I call r&b by Klein one and forever. This album broke something inside me, largely I started “rec” because of this album.
Tell us a bit about your musical background – what was the first album that really stuck with you, and when did you start exploring electronic production?
I've actually loved electronic music since my early childhood, and there's never been a period in my life when I listened to rap or rock or any other popular genre.
My uncle was a fan of minimal/micro tech/house and dub techno, and he had a stereo system with a bunch of CD-R discs that he burned himself (does anyone remember Nero?) I enjoyed spending time listening to all that stuff he collected.
One day I discovered an album Burial(2006) by Burial and that was a lifechanger, at that time I realized that I’m not enjoying anything else more than music and it became the most important part of my life.
Since then I started to try to do some stuff in Fl Studio that was installed on my old PC.
Before rec I had around 5 different projects and in 2015 I did my first digital release for the non existent anymore label of Pavel Milyakov aka buttechno called Johns Kingdom (it’s weird now talking about things that already doesn’t exist but it was one of the most important moments in my life I guesssss) so after that release I never stopped.
You seem to be putting more energy into rec these days. Was there a particular moment that made you want to move away from Santebela, and what does rec allow you to explore that the other project didn't?
True, I don’t think I want to continue Santebela as it was before.
As I said earlier Klein evoked something in me that somehow inspired me to move away from the image I built when I was making music under Santebela.
I realized that I don't like limiting myself. Santebela was focused on ambient sound, which I certainly still love, but I also love many other genres, now it's much more important to me to enjoy the process, rather than being that artist of one genre. I'm not so much concerned with the quality of the sound as with the emotions it can evoke in the listener. I don't want to seem like something I'm not. I love to be honest.
Do you usually work solo, or is collaboration becoming more part of your process?
I really enjoy working alone because I find it the easiest. I often release stuff right after I feel like I'm done, but lately I've been pushing myself to collaborate and participate in compilations. I think it's a good skill that will be useful in the future.
I really enjoyed working with mon1ka and perfect skin, as well as with music lovers anonymous, I think we did pretty well :)
Talk us through your Theory Therapy mix – where it came together and what kind of space you were in mentally or musically.
It's funny, but I spend a lot of time this summer on the beach or by the pool, baking in the hot Georgian sun and waiting for my vacation so I can go to the sea side and continue doing the same thing hahahh.
I thought it would be nice to make a mix for this summer that you could listen on the way to the beach, on the way back from it, or right on the beach itself. I was listening to a lot of mixes by Malibu and Femi lately and their balearic/Cafe Del Mar vibes are so inspiring, I’m huge fan of them!
Where would you recommend listening to it?
Just take a nap by the beach or pool under the sun and you’ll feel it.
Tell us something exciting that's coming up in your life, music or otherwise.
I’m waiting for a few really important mixes for my label called ‘expired’ and few compilations that I’m participating in, also I’ll probably release something this fall so stay tuned!