About a year ago, Sam and I wrote a rough proposal for something we didn’t yet fully understand. It grew directly out of our experience making music together online, long-distance sessions that felt oddly intimate and surprisingly alive. We didn’t know exactly what it would become, but the process felt meaningful enough to share with others.

Exposure Therapy started as a question more than a project. What happens when distance is treated not as a limitation, but as part of the process, an instrument in and of itself. What changes when collaboration is built around listening, patience, and a bit of risk, rather than polish or productivity.

The first sessions came together through an open call on the Lines forum. Early sessions by Théa and Darren and then Johannes and Alex helped establish the tone of the project. There was no formula, no expectations beyond showing up and making something together. We weren’t sure what would happen, or whether it would hold. Somehow, it did. The music worked, but more importantly, the experience Sam and I were having seemed to extend to the people participating.

Hearing back from the artists afterward mattered more than we expected. Conversations following those early sessions were the first clear signal that this might be worth continuing. At that point, there was still very little scaffolding. We were learning as we went, adding structure slowly, and trying not to rush the thing into a shape it wasn’t ready for.

Over time, Exposure Therapy began to feel less like a series of events and more like an ongoing practice. That shift became explicit over the past few months as we started mixing, mastering, and releasing the sessions as albums on Bandcamp. Releasing recordings from those early performances, alongside newer sessions, reframed the work. It gave the music a longer life, and reframed the project as something closer to a small record label with the spirit of an artist residency, rather than a live stream series.

Looking ahead, we’ll continue building the catalog while inviting new artists into live sessions and the broader orbit of Exposure Therapy. The sessions and releases remain the core of what we publish, but they’re shaped by the people who make them, and that exchange is what matters most.

We’ll also begin releasing music in physical formats, starting with cassettes and expanding from there, while exploring thoughtful ways to reach listeners beyond Bandcamp, without forcing the project into platforms or distribution channels that don’t serve the work.

While we’ve found a rhythm that works, we’re entering the coming year with the same spirit of experimentation that guided us from the start. The Collective will continue to shape what Exposure Therapy becomes. Our role is to stay attentive, remain open, and always put the music first.